For many of our readers, KSW might be unknown. But KSW (Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki – Martial Arts Confrontation in eng.) is one of Europe biggest MMA promotions (We use ‘Biggest’ because they literally have some of the ‘Biggest’ units in the world). They’re managed by Martin Lewandowski and Maciej Kawulski who give it an ironman-esque crazy billionaire vibe, KSW is having its 47th event in Lodz, Poland this weekend. I am Polish and am used to everything that happens during KSW. But you might not. So here are six crazy things that happened during KSW events.
#6 They sold-out the PGE Narodowy Stadium
Lewandowski and Kawulski organized their first MMA event in a Warsaw restaurant named Champions in 2004. Fast forward 13 years later, and they beat the UFC record in sold-out tickets by 1,552, making 57,766 in total attendance. Of course they could not do this without some cutbacks – the cheapest tickets were sold for 60 PLN which is about 15 dollars. But DAAAAAAMN. Being able to pack all these people into an MMA arena was phenomenal.
Speaking about Stadium Event…
#5 A title fight was the curtain jerker for a fight card…
You might know Ariane Lipski – a beautiful Brazilian fighter who is currently signed with the UFC. What you might don’t know, is that she was the KSW Flyweight Champion. She gained her title on KSW 39 card, where she submitted Diana Belbita late in the first round. Lewandowski and Kawulski seeked to make the Stadium fight-card one of the most stacked of all-time. That is why the flyweight title fight was opening the whole event. You must be thinking “Whoa, wait, so later fights were super fights?”
Nope. Here are some “superfights” that happened after Lipski-Belbita title bout:
- Polish rapper “Popek Monster” fought with Lithuanian bodybuilder, Robert Burneika
- A clash of “titans” between two strong-mans – Mariusz Pudzianowski and Tyberiusz Kowalczyk
- Polish sports commentator, Lukasz Jurkowski, come back after 6 years of lay-off to fight (18-16) PRIDE veteran, Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
- Polish Bronze medal Olympic wrestler, Damian Janikowski, was making his pro MMA debut against Julio Gallegos.
Damn, and I though that Aldo-Edgar 2 for an interim title fight as the second bout of the main-card of UFC 200 was disrespectful…
#4 Mariusz Pudzianowski had to weigh-in with two of his potential opponents
Ok, things are going crazy here. MMA veteran, James McSweeney in January of 2017 explained that he was retiring from combats sports because he was diagnosed with epilepsy and had suffered a stroke. Seems fine, yes? Guy says he has enough and wants to put down the gloves. Not for Kawulski and Lewandowski. They convinced McSweeney to participate in their first event in Dublin, Ireland. He was scheduled to fight Mariusz Pudzianowski – five time worlds strongest man. The plan was simple – feed Pudzianowski with easy fights so he could participate in title match in the future. Kawulski and Lewandowski forgot about one crucial details – that James McSweeney needs to be medically cleared by Safe MMA in order to fight.
To save their Main Event, KSW owners contacted Jay Silva – former middleweight contender with a decent record of 10-11-6. Because Safe MMA was very late with their medical clearance, all three fighters were present during weigh-in ceremony. Needles to say, that this was awkward.
Speaking about KSW 40, this reminds me about another crazy story from Poland.
#3 They banned a Polish journalist for writing a news story about Jay Silva being a replacement.
Mmanews.pl is polish web portal owned by Wojciech Mrozowski. On the 14th of October 2017, 7 days before KSW 40, he reported that James McSweeney will not be medically cleared to face Mariusz Pudzianowski in the main event of the Dublin card and that he will be replaced by Jay Silva. The KSW owners denied this news until the weigh-in ceremony, where they introduced Silva as potential opponent for Pudzianowski. So Mrozowski was right and it was just fair journalism, right?
Oh dear, you are so incorrect.
Just hours before KSWs next event in Katowice, Poland, Mrozowski accreditation was canceled. The Polish journalist was later informed, that he would be receiving a lifetime ban for all KSW events. The decision was based on Mrozowski reporting the news about Jay Silva being a replacement for the Dublin main event. According to Mrozowski himself, Lewandowski told him that this “hurt their business”. Lewandowski himself claimed it was indeed because of Mrozowski leak for Pudzianowski-Silva main event. But, according to KSW CO-owner, the Polish journalist lied about McSweeney being medically unfit to fight because this was a KSW decision to take him down from the card.
Even when the other co-owner – Maciej Kawulski – claming otherwise:
#2 A drunk fan decided to do a striptease when a fight was boring
We all know that every now and then, there’s going to be a few fights which aren’t entertaining. These will make you boo, rile you up and you may even leave the area due to disappointment and boredom. Well, on KSW you could stay, as fans can provide some really entertaining moments.
The fight between Goran Rejlic and Atilla Vegh was… well, not attractive to say the least. The two European fighters spent the majority of the time in the clinch. The people in attendance were booing, they were tired and drunk and one of fans decide to entertain the bored crowd, by showing her impressive breasts. She probably received performance of the night bonus.
#1 Brawls – many brawls
Watching KSW live is a great deal – you are watching 9 fights in the cage and there’s always a hell of a lot of fights outside the cage. These fights are massive, and can sometimes involve around 20 people. You feel like watching polish version of Double Dragon: The movie.
One of the greatest crazy crowd brawls happened on KSW 35 – with the help of KSW fighter Rafał Moks who beat Robert Radomski the same evening. The fighter was arguing with his opponents team and, in a split second, it turned into total mayhem. Me and my friend were in the arena this time and we heard security guy screaming “No, hell no, I’m not going there”.
KSW is an amazingly awesome promotion. They can bring a lot of entertainment and crazy brawls can happen. Lets hope KSW 47 will be an enjoyable event for all MMA Fans !
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