This past weekend saw Polish strong man Mariusz Pudzianowski (3-2, 1NC) earn a controversial unanimous decision victory over British heavyweight James ‘The Colossus’ Thompson (16-14, 1NC) in a rematch from their previous meeting earlier in the year.
On Monday, KSW officials announced that an error on the judges score card led to an incorrect announcement on Saturday night, awarding the bout to Pudzianowski. The promotion stated that they would have the result changed to a “No Contest”. Judge Piotr Baginski had in fact scored both rounds for Thompson but due to an error in the scoring procedure, the scores were awarded to the wrong fighter.
The Polish based Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki (KSW) promotion runs their fights with two rounds, followed by a third “overtime” round if the match is scored a draw at that point. With the bout having only gone two rounds, the promotion was left with no other choice than to declare it a “No Contest”.
After the bout on Saturday, Thompson launched a verbal assault at the promotion and it’s owner ranting “F**king joke. Give Mariusz a big round of applause. Come on. What a f***ing joke. I thought KSW was really trying to be serious. If you can watch that back and call that serious, then (looking at the promoter) you’re f***ed, and KSW is going down the f***ing toilet.”
On Monday, Thompson apologized for his comments, but declined to commit to a third fight against the Polish strong man.
“I appreciate KSW acknowledging the issues with the judging and taking quick steps to remedy the situation,” Thompson wrote today in an exclusive statement to MMAjunkie.com.
“As for whether I will fight Mariusz again, the no-contest goes some way in the right direction to address the issues I have with KSW in this fight, but there are things I need to sort out with them,” he wrote. “If talks work out well, then I am sure possibilities of another fight with [Mariusz] will be discussed, but if not, then I will look to take other fights and continue on with my career elsewhere.”
“The support for me about this whole situation has been amazing, from fans – especially the Polish ones – (and) other fighters, even people who aren’t fans but simply love MMA and don’t want the sport to go down the same route as boxing did,” he stated. “It’s all been a bit overwhelming, but is very much appreciated.”