KSW - The Klash of Styles Warzone

vladjarca · June 28, 2020

Finally, we kick off KSW's 2021:

KSW 63: De Fries v. Bedorf II

In Szczecin, January, Week 4.

FOR GOD'S SAKE, ZIOLKOWSKI MISSES WEIGHT AGAIN. No matter how this fight goes, Ziolkowski's moving to welterweight and the next LW title fight is Gamrot v. Szymanski.

Prelims:

Burnell's little prelims win streak comes to a halt, as Buki gets his first KSW W.

Willamy Freire debuts with a decisive win.

Pudilova keeps being a beast, with a great KO win.

Main card:

1. LW Bout: #4 Mansour BARNAOUI (20-4) v. #9 Rashid MAGOMEDOV (23-6-1)

The first half of round 1 sees tham exchange, with Rashid doing better than expected, and Mansour shoots for a TD after Rashid misses a big strike. Rashid pulls guard and they trade short strikes for the rest of the round. Fun first round.

Exchanges are fewer in round 2, but Rashid hits some impressive strikes, while Barnoui is focusing on body shots. Impressive striking exchanges start again, and the crowd is loving this, as more clinching was expected from this fight. With 2 minutes left, Mansour gets another takedown and they brawl again on the flour, with Rashid pulling guard. Another fun and close round, will Rashid pull of the upset?

Barnaoui is the better striker in the first minute, as he dodges and counters with quick strikes. Then he shoots for the TD and ends up in Rashid's guard once again. They brawl on the floor until the end, with Rashid hitting more than your average taken down guy, but still this was surely Mansour's round.

Winner: Barnaoui (Decision, 29-28 x 2, 30-27). Rating: Great.

Post fight: Mansour congratulates Rashid for putting on a good fight and is excited and looking forward to proving himself worthy of a title shot.

2. FW Bout: #1 Arnold ALLEN (17-1) v. #8 Salahdine PARNASSE (15-1-1)

Damn, it's all Parnasse in the first minute, hitting some slick combos but missing a head kick. He hits it on a second attempt, tho, and Allen now has a cut close to his eye. Parnasse keeps landing some strong shots, while Allen is just waiting for the right time to get grappling and eating plenty of hits. Finally, with 90 seconds remaining, Allen gets a tad reckless when trying to get close and Parnasse hits him with a cross straight from France, sending Allen down. He follows up with mean hammers and Goddard puts an end to it. Before this cross, Allen had survived 3 big hooks and a mean head kick.

Winner: Parnasse (Cross & pound TKO @3:54, round 1). Rating: Great.

Post fight: Parnasse calls out Gilber Melendez, saying he's a legend and would be proud to fight him, and it's a fight that just makes a lot of sense. He's saying he's proud of derailing the Allen hype train and it's time that the MMA world finds out who the F Salahdine Parnasse is.

3. LW Bout: © Mateusz GAMROT (16-1-1) v. #13 Marian ZIOLKOWSKI (23-7-1-1)

Gamrot tries to strike with Ziolkowski again for the first half of the round, and gets outstrike by a pretty big margin. As the half of the round comes, Gamrot gets close and pins Ziolko against the cag, pressing and punching him until the end of time. No big shot landed from Ziolko in the first half, so it's likely Gamrot's round.

A nice straight right catches a complacent Ziolko right above the eye, opening up a nasty cut. And damn, the whole round is just one big boxing war, with Ziolko landing way more, but Gamrot nailing a couple of big shots. Hard to judge, but one thing that's clear is that Ziolko is the more tired of the 2 by the end of it.

First exchange sees a nice 1 2 land from Ziolko, but Gamrot answers with 3 quick jabs and a hook that send Ziolko straight to the floor, and the crowd goes crazy as this is was damn unexpected and a really impressive combo from the wrestler Gamrot. GAMROT is throwing DAMN BOMBS on Ziolko', and he's managed to beat Ziolko at his own game, in a quite impressive effort. Holy sh*t.

Winner: Gamrot (Hook & pound @0:35, round 3). Rating: Great.

Post fight: "Many people doubted me after that defeat. I'll admit, maybe I've doubted myself too. That's why I wanted to outstrike Ziolko. I worked on my striking like a damn machine, I wanted to KO him and make all the doubters shut up. He outstruck the hell out of me in the first minutes, I did what I had to do to win the round. Round 2, I hit him with some good strikes. Round 3, game over. Now onto the next fight, which will hopefuly be an actual title defense. After that, I'd like to give Daisuke Nakamura a shot, but he has some climbing up the rankings to do if he likes it. I'm sorry Rashid's run isn't turning out as I've hoped, I'd have loved to defend against him too."

4. FW Title & Final: © Khamzat DALGIEV (13-3) v. #9 Filip PEJIC (16-3-2)

For all the marbles, our first final.

The fight starts swingin', and both men seem to land equally in the first 2 minutes. A mean hook gets Pejic bleeding pretty bad, affecting his vision. The next exchange sees a Pejic hook give Dalgiev a cut under the eye. At first they were trading in the center, now Pejic is the one pushing forward, and they both land nicely, with Pejic focusing on body kicks. Final minute and Dalgiev eats a great hook from Pejic. A pause to check the cuts on both men, and then they trade leather until the end. Great round from these 2 warriors, with 0 grappling attempts from Dalgiev.

Pejic throws a wild right that misses, and Dalgiev answers with a straight right that sends Pejic to the floor. Great pounding from Dalgiev aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand

Your winner, and STILL KSW FEATHERWEIGHT CHAMPIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON: KHAMZAAAT DALGIEEEV! (Russian Beatdown, baby @0:33, round 2). Rating: Fantastic. Hell yeah.

Post fight: Khamzat is excited to win the tournament in such a war. He congratulates Pejic for putting on the fight of his life, and aknowledges he's a quality fighter and they might meet again. He's ready for any challange.

Title's prestige went from 44 to 46.

5. Main Event time, in a bout that's for the KSW HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP, AND FOR A PLACE IN THE FINALS OF THE HEAVYWEIGHT TOURNAMENT: © Philip De Fries (19-6-1) v. #15 Karol BEDORF (16-5)© Philip DE FRIES (19-6-1) v. #15 Karol BEDORF (16-5) & SF: © Philip De Fries (19-6-1) v. #15 Karol BEDORF (16-5)

Surpisingly, despite being labeled as the better striker and fighting in his hometown, Bedorf is the one who settles for counterpunching early, as De Fries lands some clean shots early on. De Fries follows up with a takedown, Bedorf pulls guard. Nothing happens, tho, and with 30 seconds remaining, the ref gets them up and De Fries lands some more as Bedorf misses a mean head kick attempt. Fans are booing as this round was really dissapointing for their boy Bedorf. Might have been a 10-8 round if Bedorf didn't protect himself so well on the ground.

Again, De Fries attacks with strong strikes and then goes for a TD, getting side control. Soon, he gets a kimura and that's it, as this fight angers the Szczecin fans.

Winner, AND STILL KSW HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION (sadly): Philip De Fries (Kimura submission @2:07, round 2). Rating: Decent.

Post fight: Dissapointed with his performance, Bedorf apologizes to the fans and congratulates De Fries, admitting he was clearly the better man and declaring he hopes to go on an win the final aswell. He says he feels like it's time to retire, and thanks KSW for this last title fight. De Fries thanks Bedorf for this fight and manages to get the crowd on his side by putting over Karol as one of the best KSW Heavyweight champions the company had.

Belts prestige raised from 45 to 48.

Attendance: 3 269

Critical rating: 77. Commercial rating: 69.

FOTN: K Dalgiev v. F Pejic

KOOTN: L Pudilova v. A Niedzwiedz

SubOTN: P De Fries v. K Bedorf

Profit: + 418 201

Martin & Maciej are back, and they're talking about their last show:

Martin: Well, it could have been better but I won't complain with such a profit.

Maciej: Good. Dalgiev is a made man after this tournament, and Parnasse beating an undefeated UFC kid like that is making our division look amazing.

Martin: But what will we do with Allen and Parnasse next? And who should be Dalgiev's next challanger?

Maciej: I don't know what to say... Bermudez would make a good challanger. Melendez was on a pretty big losing streak so one win surely won't be enough for a title shot. Should we do Melendez - Parnasse?

Martin: Nah, Melendez is already booked to fight Jason Knight and Parnasse could use a fight against another top guy in the meantime, let's go for Parnasse - Lamas.

Maciej: Alright, we might do that. We'll have to figure out something to do with Pejic too, he put on a good fight. Enough with that. How do you feel about the lightweight drama?

Martin: Mateusz was magic tonight. Crazy. If anything, I think the initial setback made him even a bigger star tonight. Can't wait to see him beat Szymanski. But sadly, the HW division losses another pillar.

Maciej: Yes, it's sad. And Pudzi is 43, he'll be gone soon for sure... We might get Karol to do some commentary or something. He's a fun, smart guy.

Martin: Aaaaand soon we start the ladies tournament.

Maciej: Awwww yeeees. Let's drink to our success, buddy.

Martin: Not yet. Let's keep focusing on what's to come. We have a Pudzi card coming up, we gotta make sure everything goes perfect.

Tournaments:

HEAVYWEIGHT TOURNAMENT:

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT TOURNAMENT:

LIGHTWEIGHT TOURNAMENT:

Mateusz Gamrot v. Roman Szymanski

Cut from the company: Rachael Swatez (W FlyW)

New signings:

HW: Shamil Abdurakhimov (20-6)

Updated rankings:

HW

LW

(reminder that Gamrot is the champ, but I had to have him vacate due to a technicality)

FW

BW

W FlyW:

And now that we have the women's rankings and room for a new tournament, having done the randomized bracket draw, KSW anonunces the new:

WOMEN'S FLYWEIGHT TOURNAMENT:

Carina Damm v. Karla Benitez

Lucie Pudilova v. Cornelia Holm

Bryony Tyrell v. Polyana Viana Mota

Agnieszka Niedzwiedz v. Angela Lee

Now, let's talk about the second card of KSW's 2021. No title fights, but a great card nonetheless, with a theme of Polish fighters squaring off against foreigners, KSW 64: Polish Heroes is scheduled for Warsaw in the last week of February.

Prelims:

WW: M Michalski v. V Bakocevic

W FlyW: S Davidsdottir v. I Badurek

LW: B Kopera v. M Kazieczko

WW: T Depret v. A Odzimkowski

FW: D Rutkowksi v. A Lobov

WW: #10 A Arish v. #13 K Kaszubowski

HW: #10 J Albini v. #14 A Delija

Main card preview:

1. Middleweight Bout: #6 Marc-Andre BARRIAULT (11-5) v. #12 Nicholas MUSOKE (17-6-1)

Shitting on our Polish v. Foreigner theme from the first main card fight, the show was supposed to be opened by a Featherweight fight between Filip Wolanski and Artem Lobov, but Wolanski got injured and Lobov is now fighting Rutkowksi on the prelims.

Now about the present fighters: Barriault is riding a painful streak of 4 UFC losses. He's all about striking, and with his boxing skills, he should be. He also has great submission defence and decent TD defence. Being 30 years old, he still has time to turn his luck around. Musoke is being his regular self, altho he seems to be on the verge of decline. He doesn't seem to have the necessary qualities to beat Barriault, so he'll probably be a good stepping stone and give Barriault a nice spotlight.

Prediction: Barriault by 3rd round KO.

2. Middleweight Bout: #2 Krysztof JOTKO (21-5) v. #7 Albert DURAEV (13-4)

Jotko is looking to make an impact in KSW, as only now he debuts in the Polish company. Expect him to punch and eventually pound his opponent when he gets the occasion. Duraev is a great wrestler who might give Jotko some real trouble, and he has some powerful fists on of his own. He's coming off an unsuccessful titleshot and will like nothing more than ruining a top guy's debut to bring himself back in the mix.

Prediction: Duraev by 1st round submission.

3. Light Heavyweight Bout: Michal MATERLA (27-8) v. #15 Goran RELJIC (16-9)

Materla's LHW redebut. He's still beloved by the fans and he's still a quality fighter, with good boxing and BJJ. Reljic is fresh off a loss in his KSW redebut, and although he's just as old as Materla, he seems to not have as much fight left in him as Materla does. He's still a black belt in BJJ, but Materla is just levels above him in too many tiers.

Prediction: Materla by 3rd round submission.

4. Lightweight Bout: #8 Clay GUIDA (35-20) v. #10 Borys MANKOWSKI (22-8-1)

A lowkey legend, Guida holds Ws over Nate Diaz, RDA, Taka Gomi, Anthony Pettis and (a way past his prime) BJ Penn. Worth noting most of these victories were around 2010. Still, he's a good wreslter with nice submission skills and also occasionaly likes to bang like a damn mad man. Mankowski has announced he's on his way to the top and is coming off 3 decisive wins. He's growing into an amazing complete fighter and seems to be in his prime, so he'll happily take a fight against a low-key legend to add to his record and put his name higher in the rankings.

Prediction: Mankowski by 3rd round KO.

5. Heavyweight Bout: #13 Brandon SAYLES (8-1) v. #15 Mariusz PUDZIANOWSKI (14-7-1)

Sayles is coming off 6 straight wins, all by finish. Since he's 39, he'll probably never fight for the gold, especially with the killers that are ranked above him. But he makes just the right opponent for a 43 Pudzianowski. He's all power and heart, and has some nice unorthodox strikes in his arsenal as well. Pudzi will love this challange, and if he retires here, win or not, no one will blame him. He's main asset is still his power (who would have thought), and it's a pretty even match up. Since the show is called Polish Heroes, of course we're hoping our hero will win.

Prediction: Pudzianowski by decision.

But who do you think will get them Ws? Share your

Main card predictions:

MW: Marc-Andre BARRIAULT v. Nicholas MUSOKE

MW: Krysztof JOTKO v. Albert DURAEV

LHW: Michal MATERLA v. Goran RELJIC

LW: Clay GUIDA v. Borys MANKOWSKI

HW: Brandon SAYLES v. Mariusz PUDZIANOWSKI

It's not too late to post your predictions on who do you think will end the year as champs for all the belts that weren't already defended on KSW 63:

LHW Champ:

MW Champ:

WW Champ:

BW Champ:

W FlyW Champ:

Prediction rankings 2021:

CageRage: 4/5

vladjarca: 3/5

Also, from now on I'll take it a tad easier and only post once per 2 days, sadly it turns out I gotta invest more time in education and stuff like that I'll post in the 17:00-20:00 interval (as I post this, it's 19:08 in my timezone, UTC+2:00)

CageRage · June 28, 2020

Main card predictions:

MW: Marc-Andre BARRIAULT v. Nicholas MUSOKE

MW: Krysztof JOTKO v. Albert DURAEV

LHW: Michal MATERLA v. Goran RELJIC

HW: Brandon SAYLES v. Mariusz PUDZIANOWSKI

vladjarca · June 28, 2020

Main card predictions:
MW: Marc-Andre BARRIAULT v. Nicholas MUSOKE
MW: Krysztof JOTKO v. Albert DURAEV
LHW: Michal MATERLA v. Goran RELJIC
HW: Brandon SAYLES v. Mariusz PUDZIANOWSKI

I had forgotten to add the Co-main event to the list, add in your pick for Guida v. Mankowski if you see this in time, bud'

CageRage · June 28, 2020

Main card predictions:

MW: Marc-Andre BARRIAULT v. Nicholas MUSOKE

MW: Krysztof JOTKO v. Albert DURAEV

LHW: Michal MATERLA v. Goran RELJIC

LW: Clay GUIDA v. Borys MANKOWSKI

HW: Brandon SAYLES v. Mariusz PUDZIANOWSKI

Majster_93 · June 28, 2020

Main card predictions:

MW: Marc-Andre BARRIAULT v. Nicholas MUSOKE

MW: Krysztof JOTKO v. Albert DURAEV

LHW: Michal MATERLA v. Goran RELJIC

LW: Clay GUIDA v. Borys MANKOWSKI

HW: Brandon SAYLES v. Mariusz PUDZIANOWSKI

mattu29 · June 29, 2020

Main card predictions:

Marc-Andre BARRIAULT

Krysztof JOTKO

Michal MATERLA

Clay GUIDA

Mariusz PUDZIANOWSKI

vladjarca · June 30, 2020

BREAKING NEWS: Albert Duraev got injured, and has been forced to pull out of the Jotko fight. Taking his place, on 10 day notice, hero of the day, #8 contender Piotr Strus. Polish vs. Polish on a show that was supposed to have a Polish vs. Foreginer theme.. Well, at least the main card still has 3 other big profile Polish vs. Foreigner fights. FOR POLAND!

<div style="text-align:center;">KSW 64: POLISH HEROES

Warsaw, february, week 4, 2021.</div>

Prelims:

<img alt="IHvlarR" data-src="https://imgur.com/IHvlarR" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

Lobov KOed Rutkowski and still wants his fight with Wolanski.

#9 welterweight Arish got beat so he's likely out the top 10.

#10 heavyweight Albini lost his debut fight, against Delija.

Main card:

1. MW Bout: #6 Marc-Andre BARRIAULT (11-5) v. #12 Nicholas MUSOKE (17-6-1)

Yamasaki refs, but he's earned our respect so no more prayers as we believe in him now.

First exchange sees 6 shots land and Barriault get a cut above his eye. Unexpected good start from Musoke. They both miss everything for the following minute, and finally Barriault hits a hook to get the ball rolling again. Barriault gets landing for a minute or two, but they start checking each other again. Musoke eats bunches of jabs but dodges the big crosses, and the ref stops to check Barriault's cut. Back to the center and Musoke quickly gets a takedown and Barriault pulls guard, and they stand there for the last seconds of the round.

Musoke gets Barriault stuck against the cage ASAP and hits him with all kind of beautiful strikes for the first 2 minutes, reopening his cut. He goes for a TD, but Barriault grabs the cage and receives a warning. This happens again and Yamasaki makes a 1 point deduction against Barraiult. Finally, Barriault breaks free and gets punching the body. Musoke tries to initiate an exchange but gets countered with a body shot from hell and collapses to the floor with 30 seconds remaining. Barriault hammers like Thor and gets the TKO victory.

Winner: Barriault (Body hook & Hammers TKO @4:50, round 2). Rating: Fantastic.

Post fight: Barriault admits it was a tough fight and respects Musoke for his toughness and skill. He's glad he snapped his bad streak and is looking to get winning again.

2. MW Bout: #2 Krysztof JOTKO (21-5) v. #8 Piotr STRUS (16-7-2-1)

They trade like it's a bar brawl and Strus leaves a nasty gash on Jotko's forehead. Strus is getting the better of the wild exchanges, but they're hitting each other with all they've got. Strus is also hitting a bunch of leg kicks that Jotko doesn't defend well against. This round was an all out war, and Jotko caught some heavy hooks on Strus in the second half of it.

They defend better this round in the early part, and Jotko slightly outstrikes Strus, but Strus hits a couple of nice little head kicks. Strus is the one pressuring and towards the end of the round, it seems closer and closer. Strus hits a strong hook to the ribcage, and then a cross opens another wound on Jotko's forehead. Round over and it was likely won by Strus.

They strike again, at a lower pace, with Strus focusing on the body and the legs, while Jotko hits some nice hooks. A third head kick lands from Strus, but Jotko is still mean muggin' him like he didn't feel nothing. Getting tired, Strus initiates a clinch, which is a bad idea against a judoka like Jotko. Jotko doesn't get the TD tho, so he settles for putting Strus against the cage and hitting small strikes. He manages a inside leg trip and Strus can only pull half guard! Jotko spends the rest of the round throwing small shots and likely winning the round, but Strus did great for a +650 underdog on 10 days notice.

Winner: Jotko (Decision, 29-28 x 2, 30-27. Rating: Good.

Post fight: Jotko is happy to see high level MMA in his home country, although he'd have preffered to not have to fight a Warsaw boy in Warsaw for his debut. He's glad he won this tough contest and is looking to take KSW in the right direction.

3. LHW Bout and finally a Polish vs. Foreginer fight: Michal MATERLA (27-8) v. #15 Goran RELJIC (16-9)

Reljic dodged very well in the first 2 exchanges, but the third one sees him get whammed with a great right cross, and he falls down like a tree. Materla mounts and punches with massive shots, and Goddard saves Reljic. Cipao Materla is back, dear Light Heavyweight division.

Winner: Materla is glad he won and is inviting everyone to his big post-show party, including Pudzianowski, Sayles, Reljic and whoever the f*ck feels like a winner tonight. Well, Maciej is likely to join as well.

4. LW Bout: #8 Clay GUIDA (35-20) v. #10 Borys MANKOWSKI (22-8-1)

Guida outsmarts Borys in the striking department, hitting him while dodging his strikes. They both fight pretty defensive, tho, as only 3 strikes have landed in the first 2 and a half mintues. 2 jabs land from Guida in the second half of the round, while Mankowski only manages to touch Guida with a small head kick, in what was a really dissapointing first round.

Well, after some more uneventuful striking attempts, Mankowski says "f**k it" and gets the takedown, and is now in Guida's guard. Still, Guida is hitting more than Mankowski, which is weird. The ref gets them up with 40 seconds remaining, and Borys hits a 3 jab flurry, while Guida only lands a leg kick. Boring round, but it's probably won by Borys.

Mankowski hits some nice small strikes before getting Guida stuck against the cage. He takes some damage from Guida, but he hits him with a slick damn SUPLEX, getting side control. He hits a few knees and fails an armbar attempt, and a scramble sees them back in the same side control position. Mankowski hits more knees and goes for a kimura AND GETS IT, WITH 40 SECONDS REMAINING! That's gotta be it. NOPE! Guida pops his arm free! Dissapointed, Mankowski elbows Guida's head until the end of the round, and it's fight over.

Winner: Mankowski (Decision, 29-28). Rating: Great.

Post fight: Mankowski is down with joining Materla's party, and tells Guida he and his boys can hop in too. Ain't nothing but a gangsta paaaarty

5. Our main event, A HEAVYWEIGHT BOUT BETWEEN #13 BRANDON 'MAN OF WAR' SAYLES (8-1) vs. #15 MARIUSZ PUDZIANOWSKI (14-7-1)

Sayles is the one pushing forward, but only lands a few jabs, altho Pudzi ain't landing nothing in the first 2 minutes. A jab-head kick combo lands for Sayles in the 3rd minute. They trade more leather, and as we reach the end, Sayles hits a hook and secures a sinlge leg takedown. Pudzi didn't touch him this round <img alt="" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/frown.png.e6b571745a30fe6a6f2e918994141a47.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

Finally, Pudzi hits a few jabs in the first minute, but seconds after, he misses a big gross and gets punished for it with a powefrul straight right that sends him to the floor. Sayles hammers away and that's all, folks..

Winner: Sayles (poundin' TKO @1:50, round 2). Rating: Good.

Post fight: It was predictable... All eras most come to an end, and tonight marks the end of the era of Mariusz Pudzianowski, a certified legend of Polish sports. The crowd gives their hero a standing ovation, as Man of War Sayles tells Pudzi it was a honour to fight him. Sayles is proud of this moment and is looking forward to his next challange.

Attendance: 4 188

Critical rating: 76. Commercial rating: 77.

FOTN: M Barriault v. N Musoke

KOOTN: A Lobov v. D Rutkowski (prelims)

SubOTN: B Kopera v. M Kazieczko (prelims)

Profit: + 393 600.

After a night of celebration with a lot of teary eyes, following Pudzianowski's retirement, Maciej calls Martin in the morning (where "morning" for them means 2 PM):

Maciej: MARTIN! I'VE GOT GREAT NEWS!

Martin: Pudzi, Bedorf and Grabowski all unretired and want to fight in a triple threat at the next card?

Maciej: Nope. I'VE RECEIVED A NEW LETTER FROM THE COUNCIL OF THE MMA GODS!

Martin: Aaah, of course, "the council of the MMA gods". I guess they loved the party we had after our August card last year. Are they inviting us to visit them for a party?

Maciej: NO, MARTIN, WE'RE NOW A MID LEVEL NATIONAL COMPANY!

Martin: What is this? The whole Poland knows KSW, we have guys like Spider Silva and Till, we're international!

Maciej: No, Martin, I'm afraid the council doesn't recognize Poland as a country?

Martin: What?

Maciej: They see it like this: There's the United Kingdom, There's Russia, and in between them it's not a bunch of other countries. It's Europe. So we're "Mid Level National" in Europe.

Martin: What a wise system, Maciej! There have got to be some really wise MMA gods behind this system!

Maciej: SHUT UP, MARTIN! And you wonder why Chuck Lidell threatened you back at the August party.

Martin: Threatened me? You were the one that was screaming "F**k Chuck" at Wanderlei Silva!

Maciej: Shut up and pop the champagne, damn it. I'm calling Wanderlei up, we're doing another big party for the next card!

Martin: Alright, alright, with such a stacked card it would be a shame not to. Should we invite Chuck this time?

Maciej: I'd rather not...

TOURNAMENTS:

HEAVYWEIGHT TOURNAMENT:

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT TOURNAMENT:

LIGHTWEIGHT TOURNAMENT:

Mateusz Gamrot v. Roman Szymanski

WOMEN'S FLYWEIGHT TOURNAMENT:

Carina Damm v. Karla Benitez

Lucie Pudilova v. Cornelia Holm

Bryony Tyrell v. Polyana Viana Mota

Agnieszka Niedzwiedz v. Angela Lee

Updated rankings:

HW

<img alt="K4Wr24y" data-src="https://imgur.com/K4Wr24y" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

LHW

<img alt="uFmIapC" data-src="https://imgur.com/uFmIapC" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

MW

<img alt="ImicYDY" data-src="https://imgur.com/ImicYDY" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

WW

<img alt="Je5THIQ" data-src="https://imgur.com/Je5THIQ" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

LW

<img alt="XHW4oU7" data-src="https://imgur.com/XHW4oU7" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

FW

<img alt="0gABRz6" data-src="https://imgur.com/0gABRz6" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

Cut from KSW: Vaso Bakocevic (WW), Izabela Badurek (W FlyW), Albert Odzimkowski (WW)

And now, KSW goes back to London, with a card for the ages, with some HUGE match-ups:

KSW 65: Askham vs. Till, March, week 2.

Prelims:

MW: A Ilic v. J Kamieniarz

BW: P Politylo v. L Krusic

WW: V Bohrer v. S Lazic

HW: #15 L Henrique v. F Rodrigues Jr.

WW: #15 M Inman v. I Truscek

FW: #14 D Trueman v. D Torres

BW: #1 J Rivera v. #6 B Katona

Main card preview:

1. Bantamweight Bout: #3 Kyoji HORIGUCHI (28-3) v. #5 Luke SANDERS (13-4)

Horiguchi is figthing for the first time since 2019, as he's been away with a nasty injury that saw him vacate his Rizin & Bellator BW championsips. He is a great boxer, full of heart and with an interesting ground & pound game. Sanders is coming off a defeat against Ray Borg, and altho' he's 35, he's evolving quite nicely, as he's been working hard on his BJJ. He's also got the heart of a lion, so this is likely to be a fun fight.

Prediction: Horiguchi by 3rd round KO.

2. Bantamweight Title: © Antun RACIC (25-8-1) v. #2 John DODSON (22-12)

The boring wrestle Racic is here to show off his ability to grind out boring wins once again. Today's challanger? Veteran Dodson, who'll be looking to whoop him and force him to fight a fight that's actually worth watching. I hope he succeeds. I don't bet on it, tho <img alt="" data-src="//content.invisioncic.com/g322608/emoticons/frown.png.e6b571745a30fe6a6f2e918994141a47.png" src="<___base_url___>/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png" />

Prediction: Racic by decision.

3. Welterweight Bout: #2 Rafael DOS ANJOS (29-14) v. #5 Albert TUMENOV (23-4)

A good striker, but a great ground fighter, it's interesting to see how RDA will approach this fight, as there's huge pressure on him, as he wants to prove the world he's still a world class athlete. Tumenov is growing stronger and loves to throw head kicks, but he only seems to have a slim edge on RDA in striking, while his ground game is clearly inferior. He'll hope to keep it on the feet and probably end it early.

Prediction: Dos Anjos by decision.

4. Featherweight Surprise Bout: MOTHAPHUKKIN JOSE ALDO (28-7) v. BRYAN CARAWAY (23-9)

Well, both guys are unranked, and this will probably lead to a ton of interesting match ups in our featherweight division, which seems to be our most interesting one as of now. Aldo is the same killer we all know, altough his chin is getting weaker and he's on a 3 fight losing streak, following his latest loss, against Urijah Faber. Caraway will look to ground the fight and sub Aldo, but I simply don't see him managing to do so.

Prediction: Aldo (2nd round KO).

5. Middleweight Title: © Scott ASKHAM (20-4) v. #1 Darren TILL (19-2-2)

Well, ladies and gentlemen, now that we're officially a big deal, we cement that status with a banging card and what's surely going to be a great main event. Champ Askham has been working hard on his grappling game and will surely hope to make good use of it. Till would love nothing more than to kick his way to a sweet victory, but seems prepared to be taken down, as it seems he's taking Askham extremely seriously. A win here would cement his status of worldwide Middleweight king, but Askham is looking to get himself some recognition too.

Prediction: Askham (4th round KO).

Dear studs, don't be afraid to share your

Main card predictions:

BW: Kyoji HORIGUCHI v. Luke SANDERS

BW Title: Antun RACIC v. John DODSON

WW: Rafael DOS ANJOS v. Albert TUMENOV

FW: Jose ALDO v. Bryan CARAWAY

MW Title: Scott ASKHAM v. Darren TILL

And now that all the boys are back, the prediction rankings:

vladjarca: 3/4, total 6/9 (low-key 69)

mattu29: 3/4

Majster_93: 2/4

CageRage: 1/4, total 5/9

Didn't count the Jotko fight, as his opponent got changed on 10 days notice (I write the previews with 14 in-game days before the event)

CageRage · June 30, 2020

Main card predictions:

BW: Kyoji HORIGUCHI v. Luke SANDERS

BW Title: Antun RACIC v. John DODSON

WW: Rafael DOS ANJOS v. Albert TUMENOV

FW: Jose ALDO v. Bryan CARAWAY

MW Title: Scott ASKHAM v. Darren TILL

mattu29 · July 1, 2020

Main card predictions:
BW: Kyoji HORIGUCHI v. Luke SANDERS
BW Title: Antun RACIC v. John DODSON
WW: Rafael DOS ANJOS v. Albert TUMENOV
FW: Jose ALDO v. Bryan CARAWAY
MW Title: Scott ASKHAM v. Darren TILL

Pretty much gonna go with these picks, but ill take tumenov over RDA and caraway over aldo to mix it up

vladjarca · July 1, 2020

KSW 65: ASKHAM vs. TILL

London, week 2, February 2021

Prelims:

#1 Rivera beats Katona with a first round armbar, and Katona's last 3 losses were all to armbars. Get a grip on that sub defense, Brad, damn.

Main card:

1. BW Bout: #3 Kyoji HORIGUCHI (28-3) v. #5 Luke SANDERS (13-4)

Kyoji starts with a strong body hook and a powerful straight, and Sanders seems to not have been expecting such a rough start, as Kyoji follows with a spectacular combo of 3 hands and a great roundhouse body kick from the pocket. Sanders finally hits his first counter jab, and manages to defend the next big shots Kyoji throws, for the next 2 minutes. Then, Kyoji hits another strong straight right, then follows it up with another one, as Sanders goes down. Kyoji kneels and hammers away, and that's a TKO.

Winner: Horiguchi (Straights & Hammers TKO @3:38, round 1). Rating: Decent. How was that only a decent, damn it?

Post fight: Horiguchi is glad his injury didn't get the best of him and is happy to start off his KSW run with a win. He'll be watching the next fight with great interest.

2. BW Title: © Antun RACIC (25-8-1) v. #2 John DODSON (22-12)

First 2 flurries see Dodson land to big shots, and Racic is waiting for the right time to grapple. It looks like Racic checks the jabs, but eats the bigger shots. Racic is definetly not rushing in, fearing Dodson's striking. After nailing a ton of crosses and hooks, Dodson finally hits a killer left cross on Racic, sending him down. Is Racic's reign over? Yup, it is. 5 punches later, Racic is saved by the ref, as Dodson stands victorious.

Winner: Dodson (Cross & pound @3:37, round 1). Rating: Good.

Post fight: Glad to be champion, Dodson says he'd love to defend against Rivera, and Horiguchi can get his after that one too. Dod's carrying himself like a big deal, and everyone's buying into it.

Title prestige went from 32 to 42, thanks a lot Mr. Dodson!

3. WW Bout: #2 Rafael DOS ANJOS (29-14) v. #5 Albert TUMENOV (23-4)

First exchange sees Tumenov punish RDA with a jab-body kick combo. They trade really nice, with Tumenov focusing on the body, and RDA's hitting those legs, babeh, and Tumenov starts limping in the fights second minute. A great kick lands to Tumenov's tight, and Tumenov answers with a good right hand. Great left hook from RDA. Another leg kick, but Tumenov answers hit a strong hook. Tumenov's limping really bad, with 2 minutes remaining, he'll better seal the deal soon, he's losing if it goes for much longer. He dodges the next low kick and hooks the body. RDA hits another leg kick, but eats a strong hook. He hits another leg kick and it's round over, with Tumenov barely walking. Tumenov might have won that round, but the next ones will be really hard, as his legs look really bad.

RDA misses a big cross and gets struck with a huge hook right to the jaw, and he's down on the ground, but Tumenov's pounding is unable to end RDA, and eventually RDA pulls half guard. Rest of the round sees small shots land for Tumenov, and he'll surely be glad with this round, as his legs took 0 damage.

Another leg kick lands for RDA, but Tumenov catches him with nice punches. Damn, a great hook lands from Tumenov, but RDA still stands strong. He hits back with a hook, but Tumenov answers with a massive cross and RDA gets a second date with the floor. Still, Tumenov's pounding doesn't finish it, can RDA do some BJJ magic to secure a win with 3 minutes remaining? He transitions again to half guard. 90 seconds remaining and a scramble sees RDA on top, in north-south position. Choke attempt fails, and RDA moves to side control. A kneebar attempt fails, and sadly RDA's ego will surely be damaged by yet another defeat, as his streak extends to 4 losses.

Winner: Tumenov (Decision, 30-27 x 3). Rating: Good.

Post fight: Tumenov is sitting on a chair for his interview, and he calls RDA a great fighter, and tells him to keep his head up. He's proud of today's victory and recognizes he has to work hard on his ground striking.

4. FW AWESOMENESS: MOTHAPHUKKIN JOSE ALDO (28-7) v. BRYAN CARAWAY (23-9)

Aldo only hits a jab before Caraway can clinch with him. Aldo's not getting stuck against the cage, tho, and he actually manages to push Caraway to the cage wall. Knee and elbow from Aldo, and now he has Caraway in the thai clinch. MASSIVE KNEE FROM ALDO AND IT'S AAAAAAALL OVER, LIGHTS OUT FOR CARAWAY!

Winner: Aldo (Thai Knee KO @3:35, round 1). Rating: Decent. WHY ONLY DECENT, DAMN IT, EVERYONE WOULD LOVE THAT IN REAL LIFE.

Post fight: *read this in Aldo English* "The King is here." *leaves the cage*

5. Ladies and gentlemeeeeen, YOUR MAIN EVENT, FOR THE KSW MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP: © SCOTT ASKHAM (20-4) v. DARREN 'THE GORILLA' TILL (19-2-2)

Don't lemme down, Scotty.

The first 90 seconds see Till putting pressure, but only hitting 2 jabs. Askham then shoots, AND HE GETS THE TAKEDOWN. GET HIM, SCOTT! He doesn't manage to get past guard, tho, and he only hits a few strikes as the time runs out on round 1. Hard to deny Askham that round.

Again, weird 90 seconds, as a Till jab is the only hit that connected, and a body kick gets caught by Askham. Askham gets Till stuck against the cage, but a failed TD attempt sees Till manage to turn Askham with his back against the cage, AND TILL GETS A TAKEDOWN! They exchange some rough shots, and the ref gets them up with 20 seconds remaining. Askham shoots straight for a TD and gets it, hitting a few shots before the round ends. Still, it was likely Till's round.

Some leather trading, and Askham gets another takedown, with Till pulling guard. Uninspired scramble from Till, as ASKHAM GETS SIDE CONTROL! Small punches and a bunch of knees land from Askham, and they're brought back up by the ref with 30 seconds remaining. 2 counter jabs from Askham are all that land, and it's definetly Askham's round, as Till dealt 0 damage in these 5 minutes. AW YEAAAAAAA!

Finally, Askham seems more confident, and trades with Till, hitting a jab-leg kick combo, but getting touched with a strong right hook from Till. Till gets touchy, nailing some nice jabs and a spin rib kick. But he's starting to look just a bit tired. Askham gets defending efficiently again, hitting the occasional counter jab. Jab-hook combo lands for Till. 3 jabs and a roundhouse body kick land for Till, as he keeps pressuring Askham. Another jab-body kick combo lands from Till. He also hits a hard cross, and also two more body kicks, until he stumbles into a clinch, with 40 seconds remaining. No one gets a TD, tho, and the round ends as they still clinch. Clearly Till's round, so it seems the last round will decide tonight's winner.

Till dodges a hook and answers with a nice one of his own. Askham dodges a head kick and answers with a roundhouse rib-kick straight outta a kung fu movie, and Till is looking really tired now, while Askham's holding up really well. The tired Till clinches, and surpisingly takes Aksham down, ending up in his guard. Askham gets an elevator sweep, and the resulting scramble sees Askham end up on top of Till, in half guard. Another scramble sees Askham get side control. A few shots later, another scramble sees control change once again, as Till is on top, in half guard, with 50 seconds remaining. Askham takes a few shots but manages to switch to full guard, and the fight is over. Really close round, but Till being the one who got the actual TD is likely to give him the edge, although Askham connected more shots while on the ground.

Judges scorecards: 48-47 Askham. 48-47 Till. 48-47 ASKHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM.

AND YOUR WINNER, AAAAAAAAND STIIIIIIIILL KSW MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPION, BY SPLIT DECISIOOOOOON: SCOOOOOOOOOOOOOTT ASKHAAAAAAAAAAAAAM.

Rating: Decent.

Post fight: Askham is visibly having the time of his life, as he's defeated the man that was regarded as the best Middleweight in the world. He'll happily offer a rematch, and says if this doesn't make people believe KSW is the real deal, they've probably been brainwashed by baldfathead Dana White. "I'M THE WORLD'S BEST, AND IF YOU WANNA FIGHT ME, YOU'LL FIND ME HERE, IN KSW, WITH THIS BEAUTIFUL BELT AROUND MY WAIST!"

Prestige of the championship went from 54 to 56. More bull', if you ask me.

Attendance: 1 807 (You'd believe a card with Till and Aldo would be a bigger draw for a show in London, wouldn't you?...)

Critical rating: 60 (THAT'S BULL', m8). Commercial rating: 82 (AWWW YEA)

FOTN: A Ilic v. J Kamieniarz (prelims)

KOOTN: J Aldo v. B Caraway

SubOTN: J Rivera v. B Katona (prelims)

Profit: + 11 042 (Aldo ain't cheap, man)

HEAVYWEIGHT TOURNAMENT:

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT TOURNAMENT:

LIGHTWEIGHT TOURNAMENT:

Mateusz Gamrot v. Roman Szymanski

WOMEN'S FLYWEIGHT TOURNAMENT:

Carina Damm v. Karla Benitez

Lucie Pudilova v. Cornelia Holm

Bryony Tyrell v. Polyana Viana Mota

Agnieszka Niedzwiedz v. Angela Lee

Martin and Maciej are happier than ever, as they visit the Askham residence for brunch the following morning:

Martin: I can't believe you did it, Askham. You're a tough SOB.

Maciej: YOU'RE SHOWING THE WORLD WHO'S THE BEST! THAT BLOODY INTERVIEW AFTER THE FIGHT! THAT VICTORY! WE'RE TAKING OVER THE WORLD AND YOUR VICTORY WAS A HUGE MILESTONE!

Askham: Thanks a lot for getting us Till. Without an opponent as big as him, no one would have remembered good old Scott Askham. This victory makes us all look way more legit than we were seen as a year ago.

Martin: I must agree. But sadly, we must realize it was a split decision only, and the world would like to see a clear winner.

Maciej: Which also means there's more money to be made with a rematch.

Askham: I can get a UD over him. Damn it, I can get a finish on him too.

Martin: But we don't want to give him the rematch right away.

Maciej: Yup, losers must win if they want more chances.

Askham: Alright. Who do you have in mind for my next title fight?

Martin: Jotko got a nice little win over Strus. He's a decent name and a guy you can surely win against.

Maciej: You can surely kick his ass.

Martin: And after that, we'll start a Middleweight tournament, where we'll set you up with a fight against Till if everything goes well.

Askham: I like that plan. He beat me when we were in the UFC years ago. I'll love getting back at him. Now come and sit at the table, my wife's prepared us some champion food, lads.

Maciej: I fuc***g love champion food, champ.

New signings:

HW: Justin Willis (12-3, PFL HW champion), Justin Tafa (7-1, Deep HW champion).

LW: Marcin Held (28-7, PFL LW champion), Magomedsaygid Albekov (12-1, FNG LW champion).

Updated rankings:

HW:

WW: (Mankwoski movin' up)

FW:

BW:

Cut from roster: Jakub Kamieniarz (MW), Savo Lazic (WW), Luis Henrique (HW), Matt Inman (WW), Dean Trueman (FW).

And now, it's time for the preview for our next show: KSW 66: The New Spartans, in Cieszyn, Poland. Week 2, April.

Prelims:

LHW: J Sloane v. D Rodriguez

FW: M Magomedov v. A Azhiev

HW: N Barno v. D Stojnic

LW: #15 S Bak v. H Szymajda

FW: #15 G Suleymanov v. K Klaczek

W FlyW Tournament QF: #2 Carina Damm v. #6 Karla Benitez

BW: #10 B Bouland v. #15 V Lee

Main card preview:

1. Welterweight Bout: #11 Marius ZAROMSKIS (23-10-1) v. #13 Patrik KINCL (24-9-2)

The veteran Zaromskis is coming off an unsuccessful challange for the WW gold. He's still a powerful striker and getting and keeping him down isn't easy, but time is catching up with him, and he probably won't remain active for long. Kincl is still looking to make an impact, after his loss to Amoussou turned to a NC because of a drug test failure of his opponent. His style is a little similar with that of Zaromskis, but his tougher chin and pretty good submission abilities might are some clear advantages. Still, don't expect this one to be one sided.

Prediction: Zaromskis by decision.

2. Heavyweight Bout: #7 Ben ROTHWELL (38-13) v. #14 Satoshi ISHII (23-11-1)

UFC veteran Rothwell is coming off a defeat against Latifi and is looking to bounce back with style, and make a lasting impression in the last years of his career. The power of his hands is still his main weapon, and he can also take guys down to pound with those mean hands. Ishii upset Goncharov in his last fight and has been working on his striking, but still isn't anything close to a good striker. He'll look to grapple the life out of Rothwell, and he has good chances of pulling off another upset while spoiling another debut.

Prediction: Ishii by 2nd round submission.

3. Featherweight Bout: #9 Gilbert MELENDEZ (24-8) v. #11 Jason KNIGHT (21-7)

After 5 consecutive losses, Melendez is now coming off 2 wins and would love to collect a third. His chin is still hard as a rock and he's still a good boxer and wrestler. Knight has a nice kicking and submission game, so this will be an interesting fight, but Knight's style gives him a nice chance, although Melendez is a big favourite.

Prediction: Melendez by 2nd round KO.

4. Light Heavyweight Bout: #2 Jan BLACHOWICZ (27-9) v. #9 Ivan SHTYRKOV (18-2-1)

Jan used to be a great all arounder, although now he's mostly just good. The few qualities that age didn't took away from him are his power and his chin. Shtyrkov's years of domination in Russia ended recently, as he's been defeated twice in the last 2 years. Still his boxing and ground striking are extremely dangerous, even for a guy like Blachowicz, and he might just pull off an upset, despite losing to Vemola on the prelims in his KSW debut.

Prediction: Shtyrkov by decision.

5. Heavyweight Title Eliminator: #6 Aleksander EMELIANENKO (30-7-1) v. #8 Mukhomad VAKHAEV (9-4-1)

With 7 wins and a draw in his last 8 fights, Emelianenko seems bound to get his title shot against De Fries, who he called out and taunted after winning in his KSW debut. He has great hands, strong legs and some nice muay thai too, and might even go for a good submission if his pounding ain't sealing the deal. But first, he must go through another Russian, Mukhomad Vakhaev, the ex-2-time-ACA HW champion, who's on a 7 fight win streak of his own. A good boxer and wrestler, Mukhomad is a nice fighter, but surely not enough to keep Emelianenko from getting the De Fries fight, right? We'll see.

Prediction: Emelianenko by 3rd round KO.

And our prediction rankings:

vladjarca: 3/5, total 9/14 (low-key 69)

mattu29: 3/5, total 6/9

CageRage: 3/5, total 8/14

Majster_93: Absent , total 2/4

CageRage · July 2, 2020

Zaromskis

Ishii

Melendez

Blachowicz

Emelianenko

Majster_93 · July 2, 2020

Patrik KINCL

Ben ROTHWELL

Gilbert MELENDEZ

Jan BLACHOWICZ

Aleksander EMELIANENKO

mattu29 · July 2, 2020

Zaromskis

Rothwell

Knight

Blachowicz

Emelienenko

vladjarca · July 3, 2020

KSW 66: The New Spartans

In the small beautiful town of Cieszyn, Poland. Week 2, april.

In sad news, 8 days before the fight, Ishii got a nasty foot injury, and no one wanted to replace him on such a short notice, so Rothwell will debut some other time. As a result, Brian Bouland v. Vaughan Lee has been moved to the main card.

Prelims:

Magomedov moved up to FW and won his debut in the division, and is now 2-0 in KSW.

Nick Barno also wins on his debut, and Denis Stojnic announces his retirement after the bout, sporting a 13-6 record at the age of 41.

Carina Damm gets the UD nod in the first women's tournament QF, as the 42 Karla Benitez announces her retirement after the defeat, with a 18-15-1-1 record. Carina calls out Pudilova, in a friendly manner.

Main card:

1. BW Bout: #10 Brian BOULAND (11-3) v. #15 Vaughan LEE (15-15-1)

The fight starts off slow, with only 1 strike landing in the first 90 seconds, but gets interesting as Bouland starts pressuring Lee, hitting a few jabs but missing the follow ups. Lee hits some counter jabs, but eats a pair of great right hooks from Bouland. Bouland gets overconfident, tho, as a wild right cross gets countered with a great hook from Lee, and the younger Bouland is down on the floor. Lee hits some big strikes on the floor, and tries to lock in an arm triangle! He doesn't get it, tho, and hits some weaker strikes until the round ends.

Round 2 starts off faster, with both men landing combos. All shots land from both men for the first minute, and a clean right gets Lee looking dazed. Bouland follows up with a spinning back fist and Lee goes down! But Bouland is getting reckless in his pounding and Lee manages to sweep! Lee ends up in Bouland's guard, what will he do? He moves straight into side control with ease, Bouland's overconfidence is getting him in trouble! Or not? Lee spends the rest of the round throwing small punches. Well, that was an exciting first half, at least. Surely Bouland's round, as he landed several big shots.

Bouland is getting the best of the early exchanges in round 3. But not many major strikes land until the second half of the round, when Lee hits two jabs and a left cross, as Bouland gets groggy and falls on his ass! Lee's unloading some massive lefts! No option for the ref, Bouland is looking lost, that's a TKO!

Winner: Lee (box & pound @3:16, round 3). Rating: Fantastic. (well, now I'm glad this one made it to the main card - worth mentioning Lee was a +620 underdog)

Post fight: Lee announces that this was his last fight, and he's glad to go out in such a way. He knows it's a big upset and tells Bouland to focus more in the future, as Lee's own recklessness brought him the 15-15 record.

2. WW Bout: #11 Marius ZAROMSKIS (23-10-1) v. #13 Patrik KINCL (24-9-2)

Kincl hits a jab in the first exchange and a hook in the second, but Zaromskis anwers with a crazy spinning back kick that connects perfectly, and Kincl's down. Huge hammerfists from Zaromskis, but Kincl stays in the game, managing to survive under side control. Zaromskis hits Kincl for the next minutes, and Herb Dean gets them up with 80 seconds left. They trade hooks and crosses for the final minute, but nothing major lands. Zaromskis won this round surely, but Kincl has done a great job surviving that onslaught.

Zaromskis pushes forward and hits a big left hand 10 seconds in round 2. HE FOLLOWS UP WITH AN UPPERCUT AND KINCL FALLS AGAIN! Kincl can't survive again, as Herb Dean saves him from the lethal Zaromskis.

Winner: Zaromskis (Uppercut & poundin' TKO @0:36, round 2). Rating: good.

Post fight: Another veteran wins and retires, on tonight's main card. It's been a while since we've had a card with no retirements.

3. FW Bout: #9 Gilbert MELENDEZ (24-8) v. #11 Jason KNIGHT (21-7)

Melendez starts the fight with a crunching right hook that gets Knight groggy! Knight avoids the following uppercut, and he's right back in the game. Still, counterjabbing is all that Knight does as Melendez pressures and punches him. Melendez uses some nice body hits. He also nails some combos, and as we enter the last minute he catches another POWERFUL hook on Knight, but Knight stays on his feet. A few more small strikes and it's round over.

After taking a hook to the body, Knight shoots and gets Melendez against the cage, but Melendez reverses it, gaining control. A TD attempt is successful, as Knight pulls half guard. Melendez secures side control and punches Knight until the end of the round, and Melendez is making everything look easy tonight.

A big right hand to the head and a hook to the ribs land for Melendez early. Follows up with a right cross. Jab and low kick combo. Knight isn't even managing to hit counter strikes at this point. He finally hits a pair of jabs at the midpoint of the round. Melendez hits 3 good punches and a big right hand, and Knight takes them and shoots for a TD, but doesn't get it. He gets Melendez against the cage with 1 minute remaining. And that's about it. Clear win for Melendez.

Winner: Melendez (Decision, 30-27 x 2, 29-28). Rating: Good.

Post fight: Melendez says he still wants to fight Arnold Allen, as he's feeding on the blood of younger fighters. Alright, Gilbert, we'll see what we can do about that.

4. LHW Bout: #2 Jan BLACHOWICZ (27-9) v. #9 Ivan SHTYRKOV (18-2-1)

The fight starts with a wild strike from Shtyrkov getting countered with a nice hook from Jan. The next exchange sees them both miss big strikes, while the following one sees Shtyrkov nail a great right hook on Jan. Again, they just bang their heads with strong hooks. Seconds later, Jan hits a jab-overhead right combo, and Sthyrkov looks dizzy, leaning against the cage! But Jan ain't going in for the kill, just hitting a knee to the ribs before Shtyrkov circles back to the center. A right cross from Shtyrkov connects. Some actionless seconds later, they again get connecting combos on one another. Shtyrkov is already getting a bit tired. They get banging again and both miss their big shots, and the next exchange sees Jan miss with a big cross, as Shtyrkov counters WITH A BIG RIGHT HOOK! BLACHOWICZ IS ON THE FLOOR! AND HE'S TAKING A BEATING FROM 'URAL HULK', RIGHT IN HIS HOMETOWN! MAMMA MIAAAAAA!

Winner: Shtyrkov (Hulk Smash TKO @4:16, round 1). Rating: Great.

Post fight: Aware he just pulled off a great upset that will count greatly in his future, Ivan brags about how he always knew this was his fight to lose.

5. And our main event, on a night full of upsets: A HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE ELIMINATOOOOOR

ALEKSANDER EMELIANENKO (30-7-1) v. MUKHOMAD VAKHAEV (9-4-1)

Vakhaev starts the fight with a strong straight, but eats a big right from Aleks in the next exchange, and is looking damn straight up rocked. EMELIANENKO FOLLOWS WITH A BIG RIGHT HAND AND VAKHAEV IS DOWN! He hits MASSIVE shots on Vakhaev AND WE HAVE OUR NEW CONTENDER!

Winner: Emelianenko (Russian beatdown TKO @1:06, round 1). Rating: Good.

Post fight: Emelianenko thanks his supporters and God Himself. He has a big fight coming up, so he's a bit more humble this time, as he wants God's support in his upcoming bout. He also adds that his next fight will be his last. Well, that's nasty, but a title eliminator's a title eliminator.

Attendance: 3 941

Critical Rating: 61. Commercial rating: 61.

FOTN: V Lee v. B Bouland

KOOTN: H Szymajda v. S Bak (prelims)

SubOTN: V Lee v. B Bouland (prelims)

Profit: - 966 647 (really, don't ask about how much we're paying Blachowicz)

HEAVYWEIGHT TOURNAMENT:

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT TOURNAMENT:

LIGHTWEIGHT TOURNAMENT:

Mateusz Gamrot v. Roman Szymanski

WOMEN'S FLYWEIGHT TOURNAMENT:

Carina Damm v. Lucie Pudilova / Cornelia Holm

Bryony Tyrell v. Polyana Viana Mota

Agnieszka Niedzwiedz v. Angela Lee

Martin is extremely pissed about how this card went:

Martin: WE GAVE BLACHOWICZ MORE THAN A MILLION DOLLARS TO LOSE IN LESS THAN 5 MINUTES!?

Maciej: It's not that bad, Shtrykov is now a made man!

Martin: BLACHO'S GETTING THAT KIND OF MONEY FOR HIS NEXT FIGHTS REGARDLESS, AND HE'S FU**ING DAMAGED GOODS! You know when I said we lost a bunch of money, following the GP, and you said "if that's a bunch then we got plenty of other bunches"!? THIS IS REALLY A GOD DAMN BUNCH!

Maciej: Well at least he hasn't won! And ok, we're not booking him again until we make some serious cash. We don't wanna risk solvency problems.

Martin: IT LOOKS TO ME LIKE YOU DON'T GIVE A SH*T ABOUT SOLVENCY PROBLEMS, HOW CAN GIVING A FIGHTER MORE MONEY THAN HE CAN MAKE BE PROFITABLE?

Maciej: I thought he'd draw more, damn it.

Martin: HOW MUCH MORE? This is the most dumb thing you ever did. We lost around a quarter of all the companies money.

Maciej: VERY WELL! WE PAY LESS TAXES!

Martin: Amazing. Oh, and also, two old fighters beat our younger ones ON THE MAIN CARD and then retired. At least Zaromskis is respected in the whole Europe, but Voughan Lee? Kincl and Bouland ain't gonna do much after these losses.

Maciej: Martin. You wanna talk about the actual card? We just set up De Fries vs. Emelianenko. They've been going at each other for months all over the place, barking about each other to anyone who'd listen. People will want to see this fight.

Martin: Yea'? If De Fries vs. Emelianenko gets us more money than we lost tonight, I buy you a... I don't know..

Maciej: You build me a statue.

Martin: I build you a statue? Isn't that a bit too arrogant?

Maciej: Ok. You build a hall of fame of KSW and induct me, alone.

Martin: Way more tasteful, what can I say, Maciej?

New signings:

HW: Felipe Micheletti (5-0), Stipe Miocic (20-4).

LHW: Mauricio Rua (26-13-1).

WW: Yancy Madeiros (16-9-1), Sadibou Sy (11-6-2).

BW: Rob Font (17-5).

W FlyW: Nicco Montano (4-5).

Updated rankings:

HW

LHW

WW

LW

BW

Cut from the company: Darwin Rodriguez (LHW)

And we take KSW to Obrovac, Croatia, home of LHW title challanger Erslan, and really close to Bosnia, Roberto Soldic's home country. KSW 67: Warborn. Week 2, May.

Prelims:

LHW: #15 D Bisson v. M Wojcik

W FlyW: #14 K Lubonska v. D Felipe

W FlyW: #12 K Porczyk v. K Owczarz

W FlyW: #9 M Maverick v. #13 E Ducote

LW: #4 R Glenn v. #11 R Magomedov

W FlyW Tournament QF: #2 L Pudilova v. #7 C Holm

LHW: #9 V Nemkov v. #11 M Grishin

Main card preview:

1. Heavyweight Bout: #9 Frank MIR (20-14) v. #13 Evgeny GONCHAROV (14-4-1)

Good old Mir is still a badass. Goncharov is an interesting fighter too, but he has a weak chin. That being said, from top position, he's one of the best heavyweights you'll see in MMA, and might actually be capable of giving Mir some big trouble.

Prediction: Mir by decision.

2. Light Heavyweight Title Bout & Semi Final: © Tomasz NARKUN (18-3) v. #10 Ivan ERSLAN (10-0-1)

Champ Narkun is a great submission artist who loves to roll, but also goes for some big strikes while on the feet, although he really lacks KO power. Undefeated local boy Erslan seems like a great prospect and might just leave with the belt: great muay thai and really hard to keep down, he also has some powerful legs and simply seems to have a great ground defence, making him really hard to submit, which counters Narkun's bigger weapon.

Prediciton: Erslan by 5th round KO.

3. Featherweight Bout: #3 Ricardo LAMAS (19-9) v. #9 Salahdine PARNASSE (16-1-1)

Coming off 2 KO losses in the UFC, Lamas used to be a great wrestler. He's still a capable one, and he's that's great at dodging big strikes on his way to getting close enough to grapple. Once he gets the grapple, he has some nice submissions at his disposal, as he's a BJJ black belt. Parnasse is seemingly alone against the world, as his big win against Allen moved him up a place in the rankings, but Aldo and Caraway's arrival see him now even lower on the totem pole. Surely a win against a veteran like Lamas will help him?

Prediction: Parnasse by decision.

4. Featherweight Title: © Khamzat DALGIEV (14-3) v. #4 Manny BERMUDEZ (18-2)

The greatest sambo master KSW has ever seen, Dalgiev is matched up against another capable challanger. Bermudez is a quality kickboxer, and he's simply phenomenal on the ground. He might just leave as champion, as his ground skills are simply a tier above Dalgiev, and he loves to pressure his opponents into grappling with him.

Prediction: Bermudez by 4th round submission.

5. Welterweight Bout: #1 Gunnar NELSON (18-6-1) v. #8 Roberto SOLDIC (18-4)

Nelson is a great karateka and jiu jitsu master, and his biggest chance of winning is taking the fight to the ground, and throwing some fancy kicks while on feet. Soldic has some educated feet of his own, and his kicks surely carry more power than Soldic's. He seems more than ready to take a good fight to Nelson wherever the fight goes, as he's sure (and we all are) that he should be closer to the title picture than he is right now.

Prediction: Soldic by 2nd round KO.

Noticed I forgot to do this the last time, but I ain't forgettin' it 2 times in a row: hit me up with the

Main card predictions:

HW: Frank MIR v. Evgeny GONCHAROV

LHW Tilte & SF: Tomasz NARKUN v. Ivan ERSLAN

FW: Ricardo LAMAS v. Salhadine PARNASSE

FW Title: Khamzat DALGIEV v. Manny BERMUDEZ

WW: Gunnar NELSON v. Roberto SOLDIC

And our predictions rankings, of course:

vladjarca: 4/4, total 13/18 (72%) (Noticed I miscalculated the last time, giving me 12/14 instead of 9/14, my bad, lol)

CageRage: 3/4, total 11/18 (61%)

mattu29: 2/4, total 8/13 (61%)

Majster_93: 2/4, total 4/8

CageRage · July 3, 2020

HW: Frank MIR v. Evgeny GONCHAROV

LHW Tilte & SF: Tomasz NARKUN v. Ivan ERSLAN

FW: Ricardo LAMAS v. Salhadine PARNASSE

FW Title: Khamzat DALGIEV v. Manny BERMUDEZ

WW: Gunnar NELSOV v. Roberto SOLDIC

mattu29 · July 4, 2020

HW: Frank MIR v. Evgeny GONCHAROV

LHW Tilte & SF: Tomasz NARKUN v. Ivan ERSLAN

FW: Ricardo LAMAS v. Salhadine PARNASSE

FW Title: Khamzat DALGIEV v. Manny BERMUDEZ

WW: Gunnar NELSON v. Roberto SOLDIC

Majster_93 · July 4, 2020

Main card predictions:

HW: Frank MIR v. Evgeny GONCHAROV

LHW Tilte & SF: Tomasz NARKUN v. Ivan ERSLAN

FW: Ricardo LAMAS v. Salhadine PARNASSE

FW Title: Khamzat DALGIEV v. Manny BERMUDEZ

WW: Gunnar NELSON v. Roberto SOLDIC

vladjarca · July 4, 2020

We're live from Croatia, with a decent card:

KSW 67: WARBORN

2nd week of May, 2021.

Prelims:

Well, the Rookie of the Year guy just got smashed.

Rashid Magomedov finally gets a KSW win, spoiling #4 Rick Glenn's debut. Will he manage to turn it all around and get that sweet Gamrot fight?

Cornelia Holm took Pudilova to a long ride, but Pudi won by split decision. Interesting result, is Holm tougher than we thought?

#9 Vik Nemkov makes it 2-0 in his KSW run and calls out Shtyrkov.

Main card:

1. HW Bout: #9 Frank MIR (20-14) v. #13 Evgeny GONCHAROV (14-4-1)

Well, they miss all they throw in the first 2 minutes, until Goncha scores with a hook and Mir with a jab. Amazing stuff. Dissapointing exchanges until the last minute, but as they enter that last minute, Mir throws a cross straight from Nevada and gets MAULING Goncharov, and that was that.

Winner: Mir (Cross & pound @4:21, round 1). Rating: Good.

Post-fight: Mir declares his respect for Goncha and is looking forward to the next ass-whooping he's getting paid for.

2. LHW Title & SF: © Tomasz NARKUN (18-3) v. #10 Ivan ERSLAN (10-0-1)

Erslan says "hi" by hitting 2 big rights in the first exchanges, as Narkun tries to get grappling ASAP. Narkun's already sportin' a nice little cut under the eye. Another jab-cross lands from Erslan and the local underdog is making the crowd go crazy. Another jab-cross combo, and Narkun is looking hurt. Erslan gets him in the thai clinch! But all he manages is a weak knee to the chest, and he lets the clinch go with 90 seconds remaining. Another jab-cross combo, Narkun isn't defending well at all. The ref stops to check Narkun's cut, and as soon as the fight starts again Narkun eats another big shot. And another one. 30 seconds remaining, and a jab-head kick combo lands from Erslan, and Narkun's on rubbery legs. A BIG RIGHT SENDS THE CHAMP INTO THE CAGE AND DOWN TO THE FLOOR! But as Erslan pounds, the round comes to an end. 5 extra seconds might have been enough to secure him the title, I'd call this a 10-8 round.

Back with more of the same, Narkun blocks the first big shot but gets touched with a hard cross, but shoots for a TD and gets it, and he's in Erslan's guard. He throws small shots for about a minute, until Erslan gets a scramble going, BUT IT GOES WELL FOR NARKUN, HE SECURES SIDE CONTROL! HE MOUNTS ERSLAN! NARKUN IS POUNDING AND LANDING MASSIVE SHOTS! He struck some big strikes, but Erslan gets defending well, and the fight continues. A SWEEP ATTEMPT SEES NARKUN GET ERSLAN'S BACK! 1 minute left, and Narkun gets a tight body triangle. AND THE RNC IS FULLY APPLIED, ERSLAN'S FLATTENED OUT! HE TAPS, and Narkun manages one hell of a defence, as Erslan tastes defeat for the first time in his career! Big strikes landed: Round 1 - 0 from Narkun, 11 from Erslan; Round 2 - 13 from Narkun, 1 from Erslan. Aw yea

Winner, AND STILL YOUR KSW LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION: Narkun (RNC submission @4:36, round 2). Rating: Fantastic.

Post fight: Narkun is glad he managed another win and ignores the fact that the whole crowd hates him, as he's getting used to it, since his last defence was in his opponent's country aswell.

Title prestige went from 44 to 48, thank you for the show lads.

3. FW Bout: #3 Ricardo LAMAS (19-9) v. #9 Salahdine PARNASSE (16-1-1)

They kick off with a nice trade, but then Lamas goes for the takedown. He gets it, and moves from full guard to side control with ease! He settles to throwin' small strikes for about 2 minutes, then goes for an americana, but Parnasse defends well. Armbar attempt fails aswell. Ref gets them up with 40 seconds remaining, but a Parnasse leg kick is all that lands in the last seconds. Bad round for Parnasse.

But the second round starts well for Parnasse, as he hits a nice hook and a really powerful leg kick. He keeps focusing on the leg, while pressuring Lamas well. Lamas is only hitting few counter jabs, but he starts dodging well in the 2nd and 3rd minute of the round. He starts visibly limping in the 4th minute, tho. Parnasse almost connected with a big hiead kick, and then caught Lamas with a nice straight right. Another strong leg kick and that's it, and it's likely 19-19 heading into round 3.

They both show off impressive defensive skills in the first minute, but Lamas's leg is looking bad. Only a leg kick from Parnasse lands until the half point of the round, when Lamas dodges a big cross and hits with a jab and a cross of his own. He gets cocky, tho, and Parnasse chills him with a great hook. 1 minute left, and Parnasse gets touched with a hook, but hits another strong leg kick, and Lamas is barely walking. A few more hands land from Parnasse and it's round over. It was a pretty close round, as Lamas scored many counter jabs, but Parnasse's big hook will likely secure him a UD win.

Winner: Parnasse (Decision 29-28 x 2, 30-27). Rating: Decent.

Post fight: Just like Melendez said he still wants to fight Allen after his last post fight interview, Parnasse repeats his challange to Melendez.

4. FW Title: © Khamzat DALGIEV (14-3) v. #4 Manny BERMUDEZ (18-2)

The betting odds see these 2 as equals, both sporting -110 odds.

Bermudez tries to get grappling, but Dalgiev catches him with multiple jabs each time he gets close. Finally he catches a strong straight right, in the 4th barrage. Following that one, he's the one pressuring Bermudez, and he hits a crunching right hook, followed soon by a roundhouse body kick. Bermudez tries to get close again, but eats another big right hook from Dalgiev! A BIG CROSS LANDS NOW FOR DALGIEV, but Bermudez's chin seems to be made of steel! A big straight doesn't budge him either! Finally, Bermudez eats one more big strike and gets that clinch he's been searching for the whole round, but Dalgiev doesn't get taken down! He actually muscles Bermudez up against the cage! Bermudez gets roughed up by Dalgiev with short strikes for the rest of the round. Dalgiev is exploiting his reach advantage well.

Again, Dalgiev lands multiple big strikes, but Bermudez gets the clinch just as the first minute ends. He tries the leg sweep TD for a second time, and fails again. Another failed attempt, and he lets go of the clinch. Is Bermudez losing the mental battle here? Dalgiev hits 2 more nice crosses. And 2 more nice straights. Bermudez seems to be really frustrated because of Dalgiev's TD defence. BERMUDEZ GETS A CLINCH AGAIN, but is simply getting punched by Dalgiev, and forced against the cage again. An even more 1 sided round. Bermudez gotta stay sharp mentally.

Another big straight hits for Dalgiev, followed by a great 4 strike combo, with the last straight finally getting Bermudez groggy! DALGIEV HITS A HUGE OVERHEAD RIGHT AND THAT IS IIIIIIIIIIIIIT! BERMUDEZ IS OUT COLD!

Winner, AND STIIIIIIIILL YOUR KSW FEATHERWEIGHT CHAMPION: Dalgiev (Overhead Punch KO @0:53, round 1). Rating: Good.

Post match: Dalgiev is glad to retain one more time and is looking forward to his next defence, in this stacked division.

Title prestige went from 46 to 49. Fair.

5. It's time for our MAAAAAAAIN EVENT OF THE EVENING, A WELTERWWEIGHT BOUT BETWEEEN TWO ABSOLUTE WARRIOOOOOORRRRRS:

#1 Gunnar NELSON (18-6-1) v. #8 Roberto SOLDIC (18-4)

Nelson throws a wild cross and Soldic counters with some small shots. Nelson tries more of the same and misses again, but this time he ROBOCOP SOLDIC PUNISHES HIM WITH A SPINNING BACK FIST, AND DOWN GOES GUNNAR! SOLDIC IS HAMMERING NELSON LIKE A BLACKSMITH AND NELSON IS KNOCKED OUT COLD, WHAT A GREAT NIGHT OF VIOLENCE!

Winner: Soldic (Hammerfist KO @1:07, round 1). Rating: Good.

Post-fight: "These fists are made to kill! BOSNIA'S BIGGEST WEAPON! THANK YOU TO MY FANS FOR TRAVELLING HERE! LET'S GET THE TITLE AGAIN, THESE HANDS ONLY KNOW TWO THINGS: DAMAGING AND HOLDING BELTS, BABE!"

Attendance: 4 122

Critical rating: 72. Commercial rating: 61.

FOTN: T Narkun v. I Erslan

KOOTN: R Soldic v. G Nelson

SubOTN: T Narkun v. I Erslan

Profit: + 476 088

HEAVYWEIGHT TOURNAMENT:

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT TOURNAMENT:

LIGHTWEIGHT TOURNAMENT:

Mateusz Gamrot v. Roman Szymanski

WOMEN'S FLYWEIGHT TOURNAMENT:

Carina Damm v. Lucie Pudilova (SF)

Bryony Tyrell v. Polyana Viana Mota

Agnieszka Niedzwiedz v. Angela Lee

Updated rankings:

HW

LHW

WW

LW

FW

W FlyW

Cut from the roster: Emily Ducote (W FlyW)

Martin & Maciej aren't too excited with the main event's result:

Martin: Well, RDA and Nelson were supposed to get title shots after their debut wins. They're still the top guys in the rankings. Who the hell is Naurdiev going to defend against?

Maciej: Well, no one, right now, but fear not, we still have Magny who might win his debut.

Martin: Except we didn't even book him yet.

Maciej: I talked to him. He's missing the summer due to injury, but he's down to fight in September or October.

Martin: If he only fights in September or October, he isn't challanging Naurdiev this year. Naurdiev isn't defending at all this year?

Maciej: We'll see what we can do. One thing we can do is have the November GP be for a title shot at Welterweight.

Martin: Ok. So we're pretty much accepting Naurdiev not defending this year. Amazing.

Maciej: Chill, would you? We'll see what we can do. But right now, don't we have a great Final to prepare? Mateusz. Roman. In Poznan.

Martin: And Barberena debuting on that card, maybe he'll get an impressive win that'll bump him up in the rankings.

Maciej: Exactly! Things will surely fall into place somehow!

Martin: Alright, alright, let's hope everything goes well.

And our next card, that will finally conclude the wonderful mess that was the Lightweight Tournament:

KSW 68: Gamrot v. Szymanski

May, week 4, 2021, in Poznan, Poland, hometown of both main event fighters.

Prelims:

MW: A Grzebyk v. P Abedi

LHW: P Mysiala v. W Janusz

FW: #12 F Wolanski v. A Lobov

LHW: #13 M Pasternak v. A Vegh

MW: #7 M Barriault v. #11 A Alihkanov

W FlyW QF: #5 A Niedzwiedz v. #9 A Lee

W FlyW QF: #6 B Tyrell v. #4 P Viata Mota

Main card preview:

1. Welterweight Bout: #6 Bryan BARBERENA (15-8) v. #11 Krystian KASZUBOWKSI (10-2)

Barberena is coming off a win against Magny on an independent show. He has good muay thai skills and is decent if he manages to get on top. Kaszubowski is a young Polish fighter who's getting a real chance to shine here. He's a great striker and also won't let Barberena bully him in the thai clinch. He also has some great submission skills, but his wrestling is a big weakness of his.

Prediction: Kaszubowki by decision.

2. Middleweight Bout: #4 Khalid MURTAZALIEV (17-3) v. #9 CB DOLLAWAY (17-11)

After an impressive run in the Middleweight Challange, Murtazaliev meets again with his last UFC opponent: CB Dollaway. He won then, he'll likely win now, as this fight is mostly taking place so Murta can bounce back against an opponent with a name. He's been working on his wrestling, but his striking is still, by far, his best weapon. Dollaway is no slouch, tho, and might just get back his victory, as he surely has good chances of securing a TD and a submission on pretty much any opponent. How likely is that, tho?

Prediction: Murtazaliev by 2nd round KO.

3. Lightweight Bout: #1 Mairbek TAISUMOV (28-6) v. #5 Abel TRUJILLO (16-8-1)

Taisumov is looking to cement his reputation as KSW's best striker. Naming a better strikes than him surely ain't easy. Trujillo is coming off an impressive debut against Norman Parke. His main skill is his boxing, which pretty much assures this fight will go just as Taisumov will want it to go (and it will likely end when Taisumov decides to finish it).

Prediction: Taisumov by 1st round KO.

4. Bantamweight Bout: #7 Renan BARAO (34-9-2) v. #9 Damacio PAGE (21-10)

Barao is coming off 5 defeats and a draw that was overturned to a NC because of his opponent failing a drug test. He used to be a killer in UFC's Bantamweight division, but those days seem long gone, and he's not expected to get near the KSW title picture. Damacio took a break from MMA in 2015, coming back in 2020 with 2 KO wins in LFA. He's a good striker, with powerful hands and pretty good submissions.

Prediction: Page by 2nd round KO.

Gamrot, our champion and amazing grappler, is coming off a dramatic pair of fights against Ziolkowski, where he lost and regained his credibility. His next challange will be another big test: Szymanski is a great wrestler himself, also possesing great submissions, and being a little bigger might be a really useful advantage for Gamrot. This should be a spectacular grappling war. This should be really poetic: Two Poznan boys, both amazing grapplers, trying to outdo each other for the most prestigious Lightweight title in European MMA.

Prediction: Szymanski by decision.

Give me youuuuuuur

Main card predictions:

WW: Bryan BARBERENA v. Krystian KASZUBOWSKI

MW: Khalid MURTAZALIEV v. CB DOLLAWAY

LW: Mairbek TAISUMOV v. Abel TRUJILLO

BW: Renan BARAO v. Damacio PAGE

LW Title & Final: Mateusz GAMROT v. Roman SZYMANSKI

And our wonderful prediction rankings:

CageRage: 4/5, total 15/23 (65%)

vladjarca: 3/5, total 16/23 (69%)

mattu29: 3/5, total 11/18 (61%)

Majster_93: 3/5, total 7/13 (53%)

CageRage · July 4, 2020

Main card predictions:

WW: Bryan BARBERENA v. Krystian KASZUBOWSKI

MW: Khalid MURTAZALIEV v. CB DOLLAWAY

LW: Mairbek TAISUMOV v. Abel TRUJILLO

BW: Renan BARAO v. Damacio PAGE

LW Title & Final: Mateusz GAMROT v. Roman SZYMANSKI

Majster_93 · July 5, 2020

Main card predictions:

WW: Bryan BARBERENA v. Krystian KASZUBOWSKI

MW: Khalid MURTAZALIEV v. CB DOLLAWAY

LW: Mairbek TAISUMOV v. Abel TRUJILLO

BW: Renan BARAO v. Damacio PAGE

LW Title & Final: Mateusz GAMROT v. Roman SZYMANSKI

vladjarca · July 6, 2020

KSW 68: GAMROT vs. SZYMANSKI

Poznan, Poland, May, week 4.

In meh news, Renan Barao missed weight by 3 pounds. Thank God Gamrot's opponent didn't, finally.

Prelims:

Following his defeat, 42 Papy Abedi announced his retirement, with a record of 10-6.

Przemyslaw Mysiala also announced his retirement, following his defeat, aged 38, with a 23-11-1 record.

Lobov beat Wolanski, in a heartbreaking moment for Filip.

Pasternak moves to 3-0 in KSW and called out Karlos Vemola.

#7 MW Barriault got KO'd by #11 Alikhanov, who then got ambitious and called out Anderson Silva.

Angela Lee advanced in the W FlyW Tournament, with Bryrony Tyrell winning her QF match to set up their semi-final bout. Or not? Bryrony Tyrell, aged only 33, announced her retirement, with a 7-2-1 record. Damn.

Main card:

1. WW Bout: #6 Bryan BARBERENA (15-8) v. #11 Krystian KASZUBOWKSI (10-2)

Kaszubowksi hits nice combos early, while Barbarena also hits a jab-cross combo. Kaszubowski's looking ambitious, throwing 2 head kicks that fail to hit the target, in the first 90 seconds. They trade some shots, but most hits are dodged in style by both men. End of the round and it's hard to judge, could go to anyone.

Barberena gets pressuring, and hits some body hooks and leg kicks. But then he goes for a wild cross, and Kaszubowski counters with a huge hook. Barberena stands strong, but he's the one being pressured now. Kaszubowski lands a lot of jabs, but missing the big shots, wasting plenty of energy. Barberena notices Kaszu getting tired, and pulls him in a CLINCH AND SUPLEXES HIM, DAMN BOI! He takes the back! But Kaszu doesn't let him sink in the choke, and it's round over, LET'S SEE MORE OF THIS! Another close round.

Kaszubowski's looking pretty tired, but still he outstrikes Barba in the first minute, before getting pulled into another clinch. Kaszu eats a few shots and gets stuck against the cage. BARBERENA GETS THE THAI CLINCH, AND LORD KNOWS HE HAS SOME KILLER ELBOWS! But it's a knee that catches Kaszubowski hard, in the sternum! But he survives and breaks free like Freddy Mercury! Last minute, and both men look equally tired. Big miss from Barba, as Kaszu counters with a jab-hook combo. They exchange hooks again, and that's it. Another close round, don't be surprised if the decision won't be unanimous.

Judges cards: 29-28 Kaszubowksi. 29-28 Barberena. 30-27 KASZUBOWSKI.

Winner: Kaszubowksi (Decision). Rating: Decent.

Post fight: Visibly delighted, Kaszubowski says it was a really hard fight and he's glad to pick up a win on the main card.

2. MW Bout: #4 Khalid MURTAZALIEV (17-3) v. #9 CB DOLLAWAY (17-11)

A JAB-HEAD KICK COMBO GETS DOLLAWAY DIZZY, BUT HE AVOIDS A KILLER HOOK AND CIRCLES AWAY! ANOTHER HEAD KICK LANDS, THO! UPPERCUT AND DOLLAWAY'S DOWN! PUNISHING STRIKES AND THAT IS IT!

Winner: Murtazaliev (Poundin' TKO @1:18, round 1). Rating: Good.

3. LW Bout: #1 Mairbek TAISUMOV (28-6) v. #5 Abel TRUJILLO (16-8-1)

They both land cleanly in the first exchange. Trujillo throws some wild strikes and Taisumov if making him pay with body shots and some unsuccessful head kicks. They miss alot of strikes in the 3rd and 4th minutes. And the last minute sees Taisumov keep countering with smart body kicks, Trujillo's ribs took some damage this round. Clearly Taisumov's round.

Taisumov keeps missing a ton of head kicks, and Trujillo catches him with a clean right. What looked like a good hook might have just broke Taisumov's right hand, with 3 minutes in the half remaining in round 2. Still, Taisumov is the one pressuring, and switches to a safer gameplan: leg kicks, nailing a strong one that gets Trujillo limping. Taisumov is still looking calm and in control, hitting plenty of leg kicks, including some really hard ones. DAMN! ANOTHER STRONG LEG KICK GETS TRUJILLO FALLING, UNABLE TO CONTINUE! What a freakish power from Taisumov!

Winner: Taisumov (Leg kick TKO @3:47, round 2). Rating: Great.

Post fight: Taisumov praises his opponent's toughness and will gladly take the belt off whoever wins tonight's main event.

4. BW Bout: #7 Renan BARAO (34-9-2) v. #9 Damacio PAGE (21-10)

Barao hits a jab. Page anwers by throwing the damn sink at him with a decapitating head kick. Barao falls like a bag of groceries. It's sad, and Damacio checks on his opponent, rather than throwing extra shots. Really nice from a guy nicknamed "The Angel of Death".

Winner: Page (Decapitation via head kick @0:53, round 1). Rating: Good.

Post fight: Page is glad to beat a fighter like Barao and calls out Nick Pace, to hae a nice little brawl together.

5. AND NOW, IT IS TIME FOR OUR MAAAAAIN EVEEENT OF THE EVENIIIIIIING! FOR THE KSW LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP, IN THE KSW LIGHTWEIGHT TOURNAMENT FINAAAAAAAL:

TWO ELITE ATHLETES, POZNAN'S OWN:

Gamrot lures Szymanski into a clinch without taking damage, managing to push him against the cage. Szymanski escapes with ease, tho, and hits Gamrot with a straight right, cutting him under the eye. As they distance, Gamrot shoots for a takedown and Szymanski's pulling guard, holding a guillotine! Gamrot escapes, tho,, and keeps throwing small strikes until the end of the round. Definetly his round.

Round 2 and Gamrot hits 2 weak jabs, as Szymanski hits a big straight right! A new Szymanski combo hits and reopens the cut on Gamrot. Gamrot gets close and pushes him to the wall, but Szymanski turns it around. They spend the rest of the round there, switching control, and it was a really close round, as Gamrot hit a great knee to the body of Szymanski.

Leg kick from Szymanski and Gamrot gets grappling again, as they fight for control. They literally spend 3 minutes grappling all around the cage until Gamrot finally gets his opponent stuck against the cage. There, Gamrot outsrikes him until the round is over. Gamrot's round.

An uninspired kick from Szymanski gets caught, and Gamrot takes him down, ending up in guard. They brawl nicely for a while, and Miragliotta gets them up with 2 minutes left. Szymanski hits some strikes until Gamrot gets clinching again, and he puts him against the cage, punching him until it's round over. Another pretty obvious Gamrot round.

Gamrot doesn't wait for games this time, he shoots straight for the takedown and Szymanski pulls guard. Szymanksi again seemed to have a guillotine, but Gamrot escaped with ease. Gamrot dominates and hits him until the ref finally gets them up, with 80 seconds remaining. Aware of having already pretty much won, a cocky Gamrot lets Szymanski come with strikes, hitting a few jabs of his own, as nothing big lands until the end of the round.

Your winner, AND STILL THE KSW WORLD LIGHTWEIGHT CHAMPIOOOOOOOOON: Mateusz GAMROOOOT (Decision, 50-45 x 2, 48-47). Rating: Poor.

Post fight: "I did it again. And I intend to keep doing it for a long, long time. Bring anyone, I'll be ready."

Title prestige went from 50 to 52.

Attendance: 4 611

Critical rating: 67. Commercial rating: 74.

FOTN: M Taisumov v. A Trujillo

KOOTN: D Page v. R Barao

SubOTN: W Janusz v. P Mysiala (prelims)

Profit: + 629 007 (aw yeaaa)

HEAVYWEIGHT TOURNAMENT:

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT TOURNAMENT:

WOMEN'S FLYWEIGHT TOURNAMENT:

Carina Damm v. Lucie Pudilova

??? v. Angela Lee

Martin & Maciej recap the KSW's problems again:

Martin: So, Barberena ain't challanging for the title anytime soon.

Maciej: The final of our Lightweight tournament just made us 600k and that's what's on your mind?

Martin: Well, yes. Welterweight is one of our most stacked divisions, and we can't build a proper title match right now.

Maciej: So be it, it means we'll at least have one stacked one-night tournament. But what do we do with the women's semi-final?

Martin: I'd be panicked, but happily, we have a young, hungry and talented Miranda Maverick who's been on a tear and is more than worthy of taking Tyrell's place.

Maciej: Fair enough. Any other problems you want to be annoying about?

Martin: Not really. Next card is pretty weak, but Mankowski'll sell it by himself, hopefully. I'm also negotiating for some new big names: Rockhold and Brunson.

Maciej: Great. Now let's keep on rolling, buddy.

New signings:

LHW: Luke Rockhold (17-6)

MW: Derek Brunson (20-9)

W FlyW: Ashlee Evans-Smith (6-5), Ariel Beck (8-5)

Updated Rankings:

LHW

MW

WW

LW

FW

BW

W FlyW

A pretty weak card, sadly, is coming next, but we have better ones incoming. But right now, we have to get through this:

KSW 69: Friday Night Raw, in Olsztyn, home of Saidov. June, week 4.

Prelims:

LW: L Krakowski v. G Szadinski

LW: G Szulakowski v. M Janicic

HW: F Micheletti v. A Szostak

WW: M Ziolkowski v. A Rakas

W FlyW: #15 S Frota v. R Swatez

FW: #13 F Pejic v. #14 I Buchinger

LW: #11 M Alibekov v. A Sowinski

Main card preview:

1. Bantamweight Bout: #12 Josh REED (12-4) v. #13 Damian STASIAK (12-8)

Reed is coming off 3 straight choke wins, 2 of them in the first round. He's a great wrestler who loves to roll as if he'd be a BJJ master too, although he's not. Still, he seems to be just the right opponent for Stasiak. Stasiak has been working on them low-kicks and his ground game. He can be great, he can be weak, as his record shows and recent main card fights show. He has a decent chance here, but it's likely to be a really close fight.

Prediction: Reed by decision.

2. Bantamweight Bout: #4 Ben NGUYEN (19-10) v. #8 Brad KATONA (9-5)

Well, both of these guys fought Stasiak, and Ben TKO'd him in style, while Katona got subbed from guard, just like he did in 3 out of his last 4 fights. Nguyen has been developing his wrestling and ground game, while keeping his fists sharp. Katona is training on his kicks, as the armbar streak is mainly because of a lack of focus during the fights than he simply has to straighten out on fight nights. Good luck against Ben, Brad!

Prediction: Nguyen by 2nd round KO.

3. Heavyweight Bout: #12 Brandon SAYLES (9-1) v. #14 Satoshi ISHII (23-11-1)

Coming off some impressive wins, Sayles is now 40 and seemingly willing to force the world to give him attention. He's mainly a puncher full of heart. Will this cut it against an olympic gold winning judoka? I highly doubt it.

Prediction: Ishii by 1st round submission.

4. Lightweight Bout: #4 Willamy Freire (28-6) v. #10 Clay GUIDA (35-21)

Freire has been fighting proffesionaly since he was FIFTEEN YEARS OLD. I HAVE NO IDEA HOW. CHECK OUT TAPOLOGY IF YOU THINK I'M KIDDING. He took a break since 2013 and has come back in 2020, with 2 victories via RNC. He likes to fight on the floor but has some decent kicks too. Guida is coming off 3 losses and is declining, as most 39 athletes do. Still, he's a tough test, and that's pretty much his role on the roster. This should be a really close one.

Prediction: Guida by decision.

5. Welterweight Bout: #13 Borys MANKOWSKI (23-8-1) v. Aslambek SAIDOV (22-8)

Well, Mankowski has decided he wants to join the Welterweight fun, so here he is. Tremendous power, amazing takedowns, amazing top control and a killer look, and seemingly not afraid of killers like Tumenov and Soldic. You go get them, champ!

Prediction: Mankowski by whateva he wants, whenever he wants.

Hit me up with your

Main card predictions:

BW: Josh REED v. Damian STASIAK

BW: Ben NGUYEN v. Brad KATONA

HW: Brandon SAYLES v. Satoshi ISHII

LW: Willamy FREIRE v. Clay GUIDA

WW: Borys MANKOWSKI v. Aslambek SAIDOV

And of course, our predictions rankings:

vladjarca: 4/5, total 20/28 (71%)

CageRage: 3/5, total 18/28 (64%)

Majster_93: 2/5, total 9/18 (50%)

mattu29: Absent , total 11/18 (61%)

CageRage · July 6, 2020

BW: Josh REED v. Damian STASIAK

BW: Ben NGUYEN v. Brad KATONA

HW: Brandon SAYLES v. Satoshi ISHII

LW: Willamy FREIRE v. Clay GUIDA

WW: Borys MANKOWSKI v. Aslambek SAIDOV

mattu29 · July 7, 2020

Damian STASIAK

Ben NGUYEN

Satoshi ISHII

Clay GUIDA

Borys MANKOWSKI

Majster_93 · July 7, 2020

Main card predictions:

BW: Josh REED v. Damian STASIAK

BW: Ben NGUYEN v. Brad KATONA

HW: Brandon SAYLES v. Satoshi ISHII

LW: Willamy FREIRE v. Clay GUIDA

WW: Borys MANKOWSKI v. Aslambek SAIDOV

vladjarca · July 7, 2020

In "no one asked" news, Simona Soukupova retired, aged 43, with a 6-8-1 record.

Now, let's get through with it.

KSW 69: FRIDAY NIGHT RAW

Olsztyn, Poland. 4th week of June.

Prelims:

Ziolkowski gets a W on his Welterweight debut.

Pejic gets a great KO win over Buchinger, being now involved in consecutive Fantastic fights.

Main card:

1. BW Bout: #12 Josh REED (12-4) v. #13 Damian STASIAK (12-8)

Reed catches an early kick from Stasiak and gets Stasi stuck against the cage, but the Polish escapes with ease, and lands a big right soon after. Reed manages to clinch tho, and a slick sweep TD sees him get side control. HE GETS A KIMURA aaand that's IT!

Winner: Reed (Kimura submission @2:10, round 1). Rating: Great.

Post fight: Excited to get a chance to show his skills on a main card, Reed calls out Tomas Deak, who's already scheduled to fight top 10 ranked Nick Pace.

2. BW Bout: #4 Ben NGUYEN (19-10) v. #8 Brad KATONA (9-5)

They trade nice early on, and a right cross from Nguyen hurts Katona, but he dodges the follow up and goes back to the center. Nguyen counters Katona's big misses with impressive punches, but gets touched with a few jabs and a leg kick. End of the round and it was clearly Nguyen's round, as he landed several big shots.

Katona hooks the body, while Nguyen shows great speedy strikes. Katona counters a hook with a decent high kick. KATONA GETS A TAKEDOWN AND NGUYEN PULLS GUARD! Will the story repeat again?... Probably not, as Katona gets to half guard and hits some easy shots. BUT A SCRAMBLE SEES NGUYEN GET KATONA'S BACK ON THE FLOOR, WITH 50 SECONDS REMAINING! But Nguyen doesn't get the RNC, and it's round over, likely Katona's.

Both men start the round landing quality combos. Nguyen eats a one-two, but hits a jab-cross combo, and follows it up with a combo of 2 jabs AND A MASSIVE RIGHT HOOK, AND KATONA'S ON THE FLOOR! HE POUNDS UNTIL KATONA GOES OUT, AND THAT IS IT!

Winner: Nguyen (Poundin' KO @1:26, round 3). Rating: Great. (Well, at least it wasn't an armbar this time)

Post fight: Nguyen gives Katona a show of respect, and he simply has an aura that makes him endearing.

3. HW Bout: #12 Brandon SAYLES (9-1) v. #14 Satoshi ISHII (23-11-1)

Sayles is about 25-30lbs heavier than Ishii. The bigger they are, the harder the fall, right?

Ishii refuses to touch gloves, he's seemingly in killer mode. He shoots for the takedown and gets it. A few shots go in, and a scramble sees Ishii secure side control. A lot of submission attempts fail, and Ishii only gets punching in the last 30 seconds of the round. Still, 0 offence from Sayles means it's his round.

Ishii eats a pair of jabs, but gets Sayles stuck against the cage and goes for a judo throw. HE GETS IT AND SAYLES PULLS HALF GUARD! Seems like Ishii is aware he's not getting a submission win too early tonight, as he settles for striking this time. Ref gets them back up with 25 seconds remaining, and Sayles lands a cross before the round is over. Another clean Ishii round.

Sayles finally hits a big hook. But that's his only big strike, and just a minute later Ishii has him against the cage again. He strikes him for a minute, before getting him in the thai clinch. He hits two weak elbows and misses 2 knees, and Sayles escapes with 1 minute remaining to finish the fight if he hopes to win. HE MIGHT DO JUST THAT, A BIG UPPERCUT SENDS ISHII TO THE FLOOR! HE GETS POUNDING, but Ishii defends well and survives until the end of the round, and he's likely getting the decision nod.

Winner: Ishii (Decision, 29-28 x 2, 28-29). Rating: Decent.

Post fight: Ishii thinks it should have been a unanimous decision, and it's tough to argue.

4. LW Bout: #4 Willamy Freire (28-6) v. #10 Clay GUIDA (35-21)

Freire eats a jab but manages to clinch. It takes a while, but he manages to trip Guida, ending up in half guard. A scramble sees Freire get side control. After that, ground punches, elbows and a few failed sub' attempts are all that happen in this round.

Freire clinches without taking damage and gets Guida down faster this time. He's in guard, but finds his way to side control a minute later. HE TRIES A KIMURA, but that's not it chief. But two minutes later, after a bunch of striking he tries again AND GETS IT! IT'S IN DEEP! BUT GUIDA FREES HIS ARM, HE'S OUT OF THE KIMURA! Still, Guida spends the rest of the round under side control, getting roughed up. Round over. 20-18 Freire.

Guida starts off wild this time, JAB HOOK COMBO SENDS FREIRE DOWN! HE'S POUNDING, HE'S POUNDING AND FREIRE IS JUST TAKING THEM, and Dan Miragliotta puts a stop to this beatdown. Guida wins.

Winner: Guida (Guida beatdown TKO @0:39, round 3). Rating: Great.

Post fight: Guida's having a party. Let's get hammered. If you're jaw is alright, you can come too, Willy.

5. And now, for our extremely meh main event, a welterweight bout:

#13 Borys 'THE TASMANIAN DEVIL' MANKOWSKI (23-8-1) v. Aslambek SAIDOV (22-8)

Mankwoski dodges a shoot attempt from Saidov. They try to trade, but literally nothing lands in the first 2 minutes. Finally, Manko' hits a cross. Get goin', man. Oh, and he does, nailing 5/5 quick jabs and a leg kick. Mankowski gets grapplin and knees Saidov to the stomach twice, before getting him against the cage. Now of course, WE GET THE FUC*ING MANKOWSKI SPECIAL, A DAMN SUPLEX ON SAIDOV AND MANKO GETS SIDE CONTROL OFF IT! He elbows away, as the last 20 seconds of the round go by.

Straight for the takedown, Mankowski is in half guard seconds after the round starts, moves fast into side control. He punches and knees for 2 minutes, and a scramble starts when he tries to mount. They end up on feet, and Mankowski is shooting for a takedown like a Goldberg spear. He gets it and is now in half guard, where he spends the remaining 40 seconds of the round.

He shoots full speed again, and he's in half guard. After 2 minutes of small strikes, a scramble sees Saidov pulling a full guard. It backfires for Saidov, as Mankowski manages to get a toe hold, AND THAT WAS IT!

Winner: Mankowski (Toe hold submission @3:12, round 3). Rating: Great.

Post-fight: "Hey, screw that Guida party! Props to the warrior Saidov, hope he won't need to see the hospital tonight, let's get together and have a good time together. Nothing like a KSW Winner's Party, especially WHEN THE WINNER IS MANKOWSKI, BABY!"

Attendance: 4 897

Critical rating: 73. Commercial rating: 68.

FOTN: F Pejic v. I Buchinger (prelims)

KOOTN: B Nguyen v. B Katona

SubOTN: B Mankowski v. A Saidov

Profit: + 726 500 (that's what you get when you combine big star power with low paid fighters, babe)

HEAVYWEIGHT TOURNAMENT:

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT TOURNAMENT:

WOMEN'S FLYWEIGHT TOURNAMENT:

Carina Damm v. Lucie Pudilova

Miranda Maverick v. Angela Lee

Martin & Maciej are having their usual chat following KSW 69:

Martin: That was a really dumb name for a card.

Maciej: Everyone involved loved it! Look at the money we made with Mankowski and Guida being the only draws!

Martin: Fair enough. Nguyen is becoming a nice asset too. And Pejic and Ziolko keep shining even on the prelims, I guess you could say we are doing pretty good.

Maciej: I'd say we are doing GREAT, and it will be even more obvious after our next card!

Martin: It's a card with great names on it.

Maciej: It's a card where everyone involved is gonna raise their value! Imagine if Janik beats Silva! Or if young boy Allen beats Aldo! Or if Caraway beats Bektic, he'd show he's still top class!

Martin: I get it, I get it, plenty to be optimistic about it. But there are also some unpleasant things we need to do.

Maciej: Like?

Martin: Like cutting Sowinski. He just ain't doing enough to stay alive in such a stacked division. He was featherweight champion, now he can't make featherweight and is getting smacked around at lightweight.

Maciej: Ah... So be it. If we want to be the best, we can only keep the best.

Martin: And Rakas is going to.

Maciej: Alright, alright. PLMMA and SC will love to have our leftovers, as usually.

Updated rankings:

HW

WW

LW

FW

BW

Cut from the roster: Akop Szostak (HW), Aleksandar Rakas (WW), Artur Sowinski (LW).

Our next card will surely be one featuring more recognizable names. KSW 70: Legends, in Warsaw, in the last week of July.

Prelims:

MW: T Giles v. M Pietrzak

HW: E Jun v. J Tafa

FW: M Magomedov v. D Rutkowski

MW: A Ilic v. C Kesik

HW: N Barno v. M Andryszak

BW: J Buys v. D Gralka

MW: #13 A Magomedov v. C M'Pumbu

Main card preview:

1. Welterweight Bout: #14 Jacek JEDRASCZCZYK (10-2) v. Ali ARISH (28-8)

Riding a streak of 5 Ws, 4 of which were KOs, Jacek is a powerful kickboxer that pretty much lacks technique. He's also a great submission threat, but that and good takedown defence are all he has, really. Arish is a decent wrestler and muay thai fighter, and his tough chin might be enough to resist his opponent's big strikes. A win here would be good for Jacek, while Arish is just here to be a test.

Prediction: Jedraszczyk by decision.

2. Heavyweight Bout: #8 Ben ROTHWELL (38-13) v. #14 Junior ALBINI (15-8)

Big Ben's gotta unleash those hands, baby. An injury got Ishii out of their scheduled fight, and changes of plans now have him debuting against Junior Albini. Albini is on a depressing streak of 6 losses, and now no one even remembers he KO'd Tim Johnson cold in the first round. He's a pretty good boxer and a threat when he's on his back, so he should be capable to give Big Ben some problems here. Will he manage to turn his luck around?

Prediction: Rothwell by 1st round KO.

3. Featherweight Bout: #1 Mirsad BEKTIC (15-3) v. #6 Bryan CARAWAY (23-10)

Bektic is a great catch for KSW, coming off 2 UD UFC wins. He's a great boxer who loves throwing big shots, a great wrestler and overall a very smart fighter, with great conditioning and a tough chin. His first KSW victim is the soon-to-be a has-been Bryan Caraway, who'll hope to catch a submission outta nowhere, as that seems to be his only hope.

Prediction: Bektic by 1st round KO.

4. Featherweight Bout: #2 Jose ALDO (29-7) v. #5 Arnold ALLEN (17-2)

Aldo is still a beast, but his weak chin means he needs to control the fight and always be wary of what his opponents might throw at him. Luckily for him, Allen isn't quite a striker, although he has decent hands and some alright low kicks. Allen likes to grapple and is pretty good at it, but Aldo is likely to devour him, much like Parnasse did. UFC top prospect, huh?

Prediction: Aldo by decision.

5. Middleweight Bout: #6 Anderson SILVA (35-12-1) v. Damian JANIKOWSKI (6-3)

Remember when we had a bout between two great wrestlers, Janikowski and Kichigin, and I said the winner will move on to bigger things, last August? We'll, I didn't really hold up to my end of the bargain until now. Martin wanted to give Janik' a Musoke fight to build him up a tad more, but he wouldn't take it, so Martin said "f it" and gave him Anderson Silva. Do or die, wrestler.

Prediction: Silva by 4th round submission.

Hit me up with your

Main card predictions:

WW: Jacek JEDASZCZYK v. Ali ARISH

HW: Ben ROTHWELL v. Junior ALBINI

FW: Mirsad BEKTIC v. Bryan CARAWAY

FW: Jose ALDO v. Aronld ALLEN

MW: Anderson SILVA v. Damian JANIKOWSKI

And our spectacular prediction rankings:

vladjarca: 5/5 (aw yiiis), total 25/32 (78%)

Majster_93: 5/5 (aw yiiis 2u2, my man), total 14/23 (60%)

mattu29: 4/5, total 15/23 (65%)

CageRage: 1/5, total 19/32 (59%)

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