Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki
Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki (English: Martial Arts Confrontation) better known by its initials KSW, is widely considered to be the premiere mixed martial arts organization in Poland[1] and one of the leading in Europe.
Current season, competition or edition:![]() | |
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Sport | Mixed martial arts promotion |
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Founded | 2004 |
Founder | Martin Lewandowski Maciej Kawulski |
Owner(s) | Private |
Country | Poland |
Headquarters | Warszawa |
Official website | www |
History
![](../I/Hala_Gda%C5%84sk_Sopot_wn%C4%99trze.JPG.webp)
Martin Lewandowski had been the manager of the Hotel Marriott in Warsaw when he met Maciej Kawulski in 2002. Kawulski was organizing one of the biggest sports expos in Poland at that time, and as both businessmen come from martial arts backgrounds, they quickly found a common subject. Eighteen months later the first KSW show was born.[2]
The promotion is famed for its four and eight-man tournaments, which until KSW X - Dekalog took place over the period of one night,[3] but since KSW XI they are split, with the tournament final taking place on the next event. KSW XV is the first event without a new tournament, only with extra fights and finals from previous tournaments.
Different from other bigger promotions such as the UFC, KSW adopted the strategy of having events that are less frequent but bigger, focusing on creating big shows with stacked cards and with great spectacle.[4] In 2017, KSW 39: Colosseum beat the record for the largest live attendance to a MMA event in Europe, and second-largest in history with 57,776 fans, only after the Pride Shockwave in 2002 and ahead of UFC 193.[5][6]
Several fighters who have been successful in KSW have signed on to more well known promotions such as the UFC. KSW has its own fight team, the KSW Team, which consists of some of the promotion's elite fighters, such as Mamed Khalidov, Jan Błachowicz, Krzysztof Kulak, Łukasz Jurkowski or Antoni Chmielewski. KSW co-operates with many other promotions in Europe by exchanging fighters, for example WFC and The Cage. KSW runs the majority of its shows live on a variety of TV networks (Polsat Sport, Polsat Sport Extra) throughout Europe. Since KSW XI, the promotion runs its shows live on nationally available at private free-to-air television network Polsat.
The KSW ring announcer is Waldemar Kasta, a former rapper born in Wrocław.
Roster
Rankings
The rankings for the KSW's fighters are both recorded and updated when information has been obtained from the KSW's website.[7]
- Updated as of October 17, 2023.
KSW MMA rankings | ||||
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Rank | Heavyweight | Light heavyweight | Middleweight | Welterweight |
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Rank | Lightweight | Featherweight | Bantamweight | Women's Strawweight/Flyweight |
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List of KSW events
List of KSW events:
- 2004 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki - 2005 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki - 2006 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki - 2007 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki - 2008 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki - 2009 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki - 2010 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki - 2011 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki - 2012 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki - 2013 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki - 2014 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki - 2015 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki - 2016 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki - 2017 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki - 2018 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki - 2019 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki
Current champions
Men's divisions
Division | Upper weight limit | Champion | Since | Title defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|
Heavyweight | 120 kg (264.6 lb; 18.9 st) | ![]() | April 14, 2018 (KSW 43) | 9 |
Light Heavyweight | 93 kg (205.0 lb; 14.6 st) | ![]() | January 15, 2022 (KSW 66) | 2 |
Middleweight | 84 kg (185.2 lb; 13.2 st) | ![]() | June 3, 2023 (KSW 83: Colosseum 2) | 0 |
Welterweight | 77 kg (169.8 lb; 12.1 st) | ![]() | April 22, 2023 (KSW 81) | 0 |
Lightweight | 70 kg (154.3 lb; 11.0 st) | ![]() | June 3, 2023 (KSW 83: Colosseum 2) | 0 |
Featherweight | 66 kg (145.5 lb; 10.4 st) | ![]() | December 18, 2021 (KSW 65) | 2 |
Bantamweight | 61 kg (134.5 lb; 9.6 st) | ![]() | December 17, 2022 (KSW 77) | 0 |
Women's divisions
Division | Upper weight limit | Champion | Since | Title defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|
Flyweight | 57 kg (125.7 lb; 9.0 st) | ![]() | September 23, 2018 | |
Strawweight | 52 kg (114.6 lb; 8.2 st) | ![]() | September 21, 2015 |
Championship history
Heavyweight championship
- 120 kg (264.6 lb; 18.9 st)
No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|
Current | ![]() def. Michal Andryszak |
KSW 43![]() |
April 14, 2018 | 1. def. Karol Bedorf at KSW 45 on Oct 6, 2018 in London, England 2. def. Tomasz Narkun at KSW 47 on Mar 23, 2019 in Łódź, Poland 3. def. Luis Henrique at KSW 50 on September 14, 2019 in London, England 4. def. Michał Kita at KSW 57 on December 19, 2020 in Łódź, Poland 5. def. Tomasz Narkun at KSW 60 on April 24, 2021 in Łódź, Poland 6. def. Darko Stošić at KSW 67 on February 26, 2022 in Warsaw, Poland 7. def. Ricardo Prasel at KSW 74 on September 10, 2022 in Ostrów Wielkopolski, Poland 8. def. Todd Duffee at KSW 79 on February 25, 2023 in Liberec, Czech Republic 9. def. Szymon Bajor at KSW 84 on July 15, 2023 in Gdynia, Poland |
Title vacated after Rozalski announced his return to kickboxing.[8] | ||||
3 | ![]() |
KSW 39![]() |
May 27, 2017 | |
2 | ![]() |
KSW 37![]() |
December 3, 2016 | |
1 | ![]() def. Pawel Nastula |
KSW 24![]() |
September 28, 2013 | 1. def. Rolles Gracie at KSW 28 on Oct 4, 2014 in Szczecin, Poland 2. def. Michał Kita at KSW 33 on November 28, 2015 in Kraków, Poland 3. def. James McSweeney at KSW 34 on March 5, 2016 in Warsaw, Poland |
Light heavyweight championship
- 93 kg (205.0 lb; 14.6 st)
No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|
Current | ![]() |
KSW 66![]() |
January 15, 2022 | 1. def. Ivan Erslan at KSW 77 on December 17, 2022 in Gliwice, Poland 2. def. Bohdan Gdnidko at KSW 85 on August 19, 2023 in Nowy Sącz, Poland |
5 | ![]() |
KSW 32![]() |
October 31, 2015 | 1. def. Cassio Barbosa de Oliveira at KSW 34 on March 5, 2016 in Warsaw, Poland 2. def. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou at KSW 36 on October 1, 2016 in Zielona Gora, Poland 3. def. Marcin Wojcik at KSW 39 on May 27, 2017 in Warsaw, Poland 4. def. Przemyslaw Mysiala at KSW 50 on September 14, 2019 in London, England 5. def. Ivan Erslan at KSW 56 on November 14, 2020 in Łódź, Poland |
4 | ![]() def. Attila Végh |
KSW 31![]() |
May 23, 2015 | |
Title vacated after Błachowicz left KSW for UFC.[9] | ||||
3 | ![]() |
KSW 17![]() |
November 26, 2011 | 1. def. Houston Alexander at KSW 20 on Sep 15, 2012 in Gdańsk, Poland 2. def. Goran Reljic at KSW 22 on March 16, 2013 in Warsaw, Poland |
2 | ![]() def. Jan Błachowicz |
KSW 15![]() |
March 19, 2011 | |
Title vacated after Khalidov moved down to middleweight. | ||||
1 | ![]() def. Daniel Acacio |
KSW 11![]() |
May 15, 2009 | 1. drew with Ryuta Sakurai at KSW 13 on May 7, 2010 in Katowice, Poland |
Middleweight championship
- 84 kg (185.2 lb; 13.2 st)
No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|
7 | ![]() def. Tomasz Romanowski |
XTB KSW 83![]() |
June 3, 2023 | |
Soldić vacated the title when he signed for the ONE Championship.[10] | ||||
6 | ![]() |
KSW 65![]() |
December 18, 2021 | |
5 | ![]() |
KSW 55![]() |
October 10, 2020 | |
4 | ![]() def. Michał Materla |
KSW 49![]() |
May 18, 2019 | |
Khalidov vacated the title in order to pursue a rematch against KSW Light Heavyweight champion Tomasz Narkun.[11] | ||||
3 | ![]() |
KSW 33![]() |
November 28, 2015 | 1. def. Aziz Karaoglu at KSW 35 on May 27, 2016 in Sopot, Poland |
2 | ![]() def. Jay Silva |
KSW 19![]() |
May 12, 2012 | 1. def. Rodney Wallace at KSW 21 on Dec 1, 2012 in Warsaw, Poland 2. def. Kendall Grove at KSW 23 on June 8, 2013 in Gdańsk, Poland 3. def. Jay Silva at KSW 26 on March 22, 2014 in Warsaw, Poland 4. def. Tomasz Drwal at KSW 31 on May 23, 2015 in Gdańsk, Poland |
Title vacated after Kułak was unable to defend the title due to injury. | ||||
1 | ![]() def. Vitor Nobrega |
KSW 13![]() |
May 7, 2010 |
Welterweight championship
- 77 kg (169.8 lb; 12.1 st)
No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|
Current | ![]() def. Artur Szczepaniak |
KSW 81![]() |
April 22, 2023 | |
Soldić vacated the title when he signed for the ONE Championship.[10] | ||||
5 | ![]() |
KSW 45![]() |
October 6, 2018 | 1. def. Krystian Kaszubowski at KSW 49 on May 18, 2019 in Sopot, Poland 2. def. Patrik Kincl at KSW 63 on September 4, 2021 in Warszawa, Poland |
4 | ![]() |
KSW 43![]() |
April 14, 2018 | |
3 | ![]() |
KSW 41![]() |
December 23, 2017 | |
2 | ![]() |
KSW 27![]() |
May 17, 2014 | 1. def. David Zawada at KSW 29 on December 6, 2014 in Kraków, Poland 2. def. Mohsen Bahari at KSW 30 on February 21, 2015 in Poznań, Poland 3. def. Jesse Taylor at KSW 32 on October 31, 2015 in London, England 4. def. John Maguire at KSW 37 on December 3, 2016 in Kraków, Poland |
1 | ![]() def. Borys Mańkowski |
KSW 21![]() |
December 1, 2012 | 1. def. Daniel Acacio at KSW 25 on December 8, 2013 in Wrocław, Poland |
Lightweight championship
- 70 kg (154.3 lb; 11.0 st)
No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|
Current | ![]() promoted to undisputed champion |
— | June 3, 2023 | |
Marian Ziółkowski vacated the title due to continuous inactivity and an injury minutes before his fight against Salahdine Parnasse at XTB KSW 83.[12] | ||||
Interim | ![]() def. Sebastian Rajewski |
KSW 76![]() |
November 12, 2022 | |
3 | ![]() def. Roman Szymański |
KSW 57![]() |
December 19, 2020 | 1. def. Maciej Kazieczko at KSW 60 on April 24, 2021 in Łódź, Poland 2. def. Borys Mańkowski at KSW 66 on January 15, 2022 in Szczecin, Poland 3. def. Sebastian Rajewski at KSW 71 on June 18, 2022 in Toruń, Poland |
Gamrot vacated the title when he signed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship.[13] | ||||
Originally scheduled as a title unification bout, Mateusz Gamrot defeated interim champion Norman Parke on July 11, 2020 in a non-title bout due to Parke missing weight. Interim title was vacated at this time. | ||||
Interim | ![]() def. Marcin Wrzosek |
KSW 50![]() |
September 14, 2019 | |
2 | ![]() def. Mansour Barnaoui |
KSW 35![]() |
May 27, 2016 | 1. def. Renato Gomes at KSW 36 on October 1, 2016 in Zielona Gora, Poland 2. def. Norman Parke at KSW 39 on May 27, 2017 in Warsaw, Poland 3. def. Grzegorz Szulakowski at KSW 42 on March 3, 2018 in Łódź, Poland 4. def. Marian Ziółkowski at KSW 54 on August 29, 2020 in Warsaw, Poland |
Jewtuszko vacated the title when he pulled out of a title fight due to an injury and moved up to compete in the Welterweight division. | ||||
1 | ![]() def. Artur Sowiński |
KSW 21![]() |
December 1, 2012 |
Featherweight championship
- 66 kg (145.5 lb; 10.4 st)
No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|
Interim | ![]() def. Lom-Ali Eskiev |
KSW 80![]() |
March 17, 2023 | |
Current | ![]() def. Daniel Torres |
KSW 65![]() |
December 18, 2021 | 1. def. Daniel Rutkowski at KSW 68 on March 19, 2022 in Radom, Poland 2. def. interim champion Robert Ruchała at KSW 85 on August 19, 2023 in Nowy Sącz, Poland |
Daniel Torres stripped of the title due to missed weight. | ||||
6 | ![]() |
KSW 58![]() |
January 30, 2021 | |
5 | ![]() promoted to undisputed champion |
— | — | 1. def. Ivan Buchinger at KSW 52 on December 7, 2019 in Gliwice, Poland |
Gamrot vacated the belt to focus on the Lightweight division. The interim champion Salahdine Parnasse became the new champion.[14] | ||||
Interim | ![]() def. Roman Szymanski |
KSW 48![]() |
April 27, 2019 | |
4 | ![]() def. Kleber Koike Erbst |
KSW 46![]() |
December 1, 2018 | |
Kleber Koike Erbst stripped of the title due to missed weight.[15] | ||||
3 | ![]() |
KSW 39![]() |
May 27, 2017 | |
2 | ![]() |
KSW 37![]() |
December 3, 2016 | |
1 | ![]() def. Kleber Koike Erbst |
KSW 33![]() |
November 28, 2015 | 1. def. Fabiano Silva da Conceicao at KSW 34 on March 5, 2016 in Warsaw, Poland |
Bantamweight championship
- 61 kg (134.5 lb; 9.6 st)
No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|
Current | ![]() |
KSW 77![]() |
December 17, 2022 | 1. drew with Sebastian Przybysz at KSW 86 on September 16, 2023 in Wrocław, Poland |
2 | ![]() |
KSW 59![]() |
March 20, 2021 | 1. def. Bruno dos Santos at KSW 64 on October 23, 2021 in Łódź, Poland 2. def. Werlleson Martins at KSW 69 on April 23, 2022 in Warsaw, Poland |
1 | ![]() def. Damian Stasiak |
KSW 51![]() |
November 9, 2019 | 1. def. Bruno dos Santos at KSW 57 on December 19, 2020 in Łódź, Poland |
Women's flyweight championship
- 57 kg (125.7 lb; 9.0 st)
No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|
Lipski vacated the title when she signed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship.[16] | ||||
1 | ![]() def. Diana Belbiţă |
KSW 39![]() |
May 27, 2017 | 1. def. Mariana Morais at KSW 40 on October 22, 2017, in Dublin, Ireland 2. def. Silvana Gómez Juárez at KSW 42 on March 3, 2018, in Łódź, Poland |
Women's strawweight championship
- 52 kg (114.6 lb; 8.2 st)
No. | Name | Event | Date | Defenses |
---|---|---|---|---|
Kowalkiewicz vacated the title when she signed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship. | ||||
1 | ![]() def. Marta Chojnoska |
KSW 23![]() |
June 8, 2013 | 1. def. Jasminka Cive at KSW 27 on May 17, 2014, in Gdańsk, Poland |
KSW fighters
Notable fighters
Daniel Acácio
Houston Alexander
Scott Askham
Roberto Soldić
Jan Błachowicz
Mateusz Gamrot
Francis Carmont
Jasminka Cive
Brett Cooper
Phil De Fries
Tomasz Drwal
Damian Stasiak
Yasubey Enomoto
Eric Esch
Maiquel Falcao
Kalindra Faria
Sheila Gaff
Andrey Gerasimchuk
Konstantin Gluhov
Rodney Glunder
Rolles Gracie Jr.
Peter Graham
Sergej Grecicho
Kendall Grove
Jason Guida
Alexander Gustafsson
Mike Hayes
Matt Horwich
James Irvin
Satoshi Ishii
Rafal Jackiewicz
Damian Janikowski
Maciej Jewtuszko
Yusuke Kawaguchi
Mamed Khalidov
Szymon Kołecki
Karolina Kowalkiewicz
Matt Lindland
Melvin Manhoef
John Maguire
Sean McCorkle
James McSweeney
Mario Miranda
Christian M'Pumbu
Tomasz Narkun
Pawel Nastula
Oleksiy Oliynyk
Daniel Omielańczuk
Wojciech Orłowski
Valentijn Overeem
Rousimar Palhares
Norman Parke
Łukasz Parobiec
Igor Pokrajac
Wagner Prado
Mariusz Pudzianowski
Paweł "Popek" Rak
Goran Reljic
Ryuta Sakurai
Bob Sapp
Przemysław Saleta
Jay Silva
Thiago Silva
Paul Slowinski
Peter Sobotta
Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
Simona Soukupova
Artur Szpilka
Jesse Taylor
Paulo Thiago
James Thompson
Oli Thompson
Kazuki Tokudome
Attila Végh
Rodney Wallace
Jim Wallhead
Curt Warburton
Andre Winner
Arkadiusz Wrzosek
Virgil Zwicker
References
- Leidecker, Tim (2008-09-14). "Euro Light Heavyweight Showdown Ends in Draw". Sherdog.com. Retrieved 2015-04-10.
- Leidecker, Tim (2008-09-12). "The Polish Pride". Sherdog.com. Retrieved 2015-04-10.
- Leidecker, Tim (2008-09-12). "The Polish Pride". Sherdog.com. Retrieved 2015-04-10.
- Albuquerque, Adriano (17 Oct 2017). "Com eventos maiores e apoio da TV aberta, KSW "peita" UFC e domina MMA na Polônia". Combate. Retrieved 4 Jan 2021.
- Zidan, Karim (2017-05-27). "KSW 39 stadium show reportedly breaks UFC 193 attendance record". Bloody Elbow. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
- "Total Attendance". Tapology. Retrieved 2022-01-09.
- "KSW - Martial Arts Confrontation - Official KSW Federation website". www.kswmma.com. Retrieved 2022-01-08.
- Dubert, Magdalena (6 November 2017). "Marcin Różalski: Narósł pewien konflikt interesów z federacją MMA". mmarocks.pl. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
- Nowosielski, Tomasz (30 March 2015). "Goran Reljic kontra Attila Vegh o pas mistrza KSW w wadze półciężkiej na gali KSW 31 w Trójmieście". mmarocks.pl. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
- Lee, Alexander K. (2022-08-01). "Roberto Soldic parts ways with KSW, signs with ONE Championship". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2022-08-01.
- Al-Shatti, Shaun (30 July 2018). "Mamed Khalidov vacates KSW middleweight title, four-man tournament set to crown new champion". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
- Staff (2023-06-03). "Marian Ziolkowski Relinquishes Lightweight Belt Following Last Minute Cancellation at KSW Colosseum 2". Cageside Press. Retrieved 2023-06-22.
- Bricker, Matt (18 September 2020). "Mateusz Gamrot Signs With UFC; Debut Set". mmasucka.com. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
- "Promu champion, Salahdine Parnasse défendra sa ceinture le 30 janvier !". lasueur.com. 19 December 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
- Edwards, Jim (22 December 2017). "KSW Strip Featherweight Champion Of Title After Missing Weight At KSW 41". mmanytt.com. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
- Stachura, Bartłomiej. ""KSW miało pierwszeństwo w negocjacjach, ale…" – Ariane Lipski o opuszczeniu KSW i celach w UFC". lowking.pl. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
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