Photo by Karol Serewis/Gallo Images Poland/Getty Images
‘The Race’ theme for the promotion’s final show of the year came about following allegations the Polish MMA icon forged documents on luxury cars.
KSW’s final show of the year takes place on Saturday, December 7, in Gliwice, Poland, and features the return of one of the biggest stars the company has ever had in Mamed Khalidov. The leading European promotion is breaking new ground by having six shows during one calendar year for the first time in their history. As has become expected with many of the company’s events, KSW 52 is based around a theme, this time entitled ‘The Race’.
Back in June, a report emerged from the Associated Press which said Khalidov had been detained in Poland on suspicion of altering the origins of luxury cars stolen in the Czech Republic. Fast forward a couple of months and it was confirmed that he would be returning to the cage for one of KSW’s biggest fights of the year. The promotional video for the event, which can be viewed above, features the most notable names on the card in high-end vehicles gearing up for their clashes. In the final moments of the trailer, Khalidov is shown sitting in a car being surrounded by armed men with his arms up. The former middleweight champion then knowingly winks at the camera making light of the situation he recently found himself in.
Khalidov comes back from retirement for the main event of KSW 52 against middleweight champion, Scott Askham. It will be in a non-title, catchweight bout. Two Polish Olympic medalists square off in the co-headliner as Greco-Roman wrestler Damian Janikowski, faces weightlifter Szymon Kolecki. Also on the card, the undefeated Salahdine Parnasse defends his interim featherweight title for the first time against European veteran Ivan Buchinger.
The latest KSW 52 card is:
Catchweight (187lbs) – Mamed Khalidov v Scott Askham
Catchweight (202lbs) – Damian Janikowski v Szymon Kolecki
Interim Featherweight Title – Salahdine Parnasse (c) v Ivan Buchinger
Women’s Flyweight – Karolina Owczarz v Aleksandra Rola
Welterweight – Michal Michalski v Albert Odzimkowski