Jesse Kosakowski, an undefeated professional fighter from Connecticut, earned his second victory with a submission win over Daniel Konrad at Reality Fighting back on May 4.

He’s turned his sights towards a fellow prospect, one with a lot of hype: John Gotti III.

Gotti III

“I just called out John Gotti III after my fight,” Kosakowski told MMASucka. “I’m really trying to get that Gotti fight. I put a post up on Instagram because somebody tagged me in a (comment) on one of his posts that said, ‘Why don’t you put it up with Jesse Kosakowski?’ and I said, ‘Any time, any place.’

“Then he basically said, ‘Get in line with 100 other people hoping to fight me.’ And I’m like, ‘Alright, that shows where you’re at right there. You obviously don’t want to fight.’ I’m trying to get that fight but he’s not fighting until 2019. I’m not going to wait that long, I’m trying to fight once or twice even [before then].”

Kosakowski only turned pro in January of this year and already has two wins on his resume. It’s no surprise he’s looking for two more before the end of the year. But whoever Kosakowski does end up fighting, his primary goal remains the same.

“I got full tunnel vision,” he said. “I’m just going to the top man. I want to go in the UFC, Bellator. I’m just waiting for that call. I’m just going to keep winning and that’s all you can really do.”

Main Event

Three weeks ago, Kosakowski breathed in wispy air clogged with traces of burnt paper and plant at the Mohegan Sun Casino and Resort. There he competed under the Reality Fighting promotion for the second time. A promotion which is based out of Connecticut and hosts two shows a year at the Mohegan Sun Arena.

After a weight cut mishap from one half of the original main event at Reality Fighting 101, Kosakowski and his opponent, Daniel Konrad, were promoted to the night’s headlining bout. The opportunity was a new experience for the Connecticut fighter. He had never headlined an MMA card and the chance to do so had him very excited.

“I was saying, ‘Let’s go! I’m the main event’… I like having that pressure, I think I kind of feed off that pressure, when there’s a lot of people watching. I think that’s where I really start to do my best.”

The Fight

In the final fight of Reality Fighting 101, Kosakowski earned a submission victory over Daniel Konrad. The finish came in the third round of what was an indiscriminately close fight. He wore the victory with a bruised-up face and exhausted body. It was a performance which he was mostly happy with. Yet, he conceded a few errors on his behalf. What mostly came to mind was his opinion of his opponent.

“Honestly, I felt like I kind of underestimated his abilities a little bit,” he admitted. “I looked at his team’s record out there in Switzerland and the whole team was 6-14. That being said, I thought he wasn’t going to have a ground game… I just thought I was going to go out there and smash him first round.

“They told me the day before weigh-ins that he was on Matt Serra and Ray Longo’s team. (So) I’m like, ‘Alright, he’s coming with a good ground game, he’s (going to be) well prepared.’

“I was studying his tapes but the problem was a lot of his footage on YouTube was from a long time ago, so his style could definitely change. And based off his ground, I could see (in) one of his fights he got taken down right away. So, I knew his wrestling was going to be weak. He did play a little bit off his back but I’m used to that. I fight Jiu-Jitsu guys all the time.”

Konrad was able to surprise Kosakowski with his submission defense. The Long Island-based fighter got out of half a dozen submission attempts before succumbing to the eventual fight-finisher.

“So I’ve got to give him credit for that, he’s a very, very good grappler,” Kosakowski said. “Very poised too, very calm, very relaxed. I think he was definitely one of the best opponents I’ve faced if not the best opponent I’ve faced so far.”

That’s solid praise considering Kosakowski has had more than just the two professional bouts. He went undefeated as an amateur in five bouts, though he regrets not having more.

“Throughout my amateur career, I had so many people pulling out. So much this and that, I actually had a lot of fight camps where I didn’t even have a fight. I should have had 12 fights as an amateur and I still didn’t get 12 fights. I only got five fights.”