KSW crowns a new middleweight king this weekend, and a group of veterans some shine.
KSW’s middleweight championship has been vacant for almost a year, and the new top dog in that division has some mighty big gloves to fill. After Mamed Khalidov relinquished the belt, it remained on the shelf while a new tournament would determine the person to wear the crown.
Former BAMMA champion and UFC talent Scott Askham (17-4) will once again fight former champion Michal Materla (27-6), with the pair first facing off in March of last year. Askham demolished Materla’s midsection with kicks and got the win, but Materla is now primed to avenge that loss and have that title again in one fell swoop. Materla’s been focused and hopes to not repeat mistakes made in the first fight, but Askham is even more confident this time around.
The second title fight on this card features welterweight champion Roberto Soldi? (15-3) running on the steam of back to back finishes to welcome Krystian Kazubowski (7-0), a young prospect that’s got a well-rounded game.
Also on the card will be Martin Zawada (28-15-1), brother of UFC fighter David Zawada has had a full fight camp, but faces a tough challenge against former UFC light heavyweight Thiago Silva (21-9) in a 209 lb catchweight.
Former UFC fighter Damian Grabowski (21-5) hopes to make an impression against hard-hitting Karol Bedorf (15-5). Fitness big boys Akop Szostak (3-2) and Erko Jun (2-0) will fill in the spot for the beefcake division, and Croatian wrestler Antun Ra?i? (22-8, 1 draw) tangles with grappler Pawel Politylo (4-1).
Former UFC fighter Norman Parke (26-6-1) returns to KSW yet again, this time against Artur Sowinski (19-10) in a 74kg/163lb catchweight fight. Finally “Frankenstein“ Luis Henrique (11-5) is in heavyweight action against Michal Andryszak (20-7).
Here’s the weighins for the event:
Full fight card is as follows:
Micha? Materla (83.9kg/185lb) vs Scott Askham (83.3kg/184lb) – Middleweight title fight
Roberto Soldi? (76.8kg/169lb) vs Krystian Kaszubowski (76.7kg/169lb) – Welterweight title fight
Karol Bedorf (117.9kg/260lb) vs. Damian Grabowski (120.1kg/265lb) – Heavyweight
Artur Sowi?ski (73.7kg/162lb) vs. Norman Parke (73.9kg/163lb) – Catchweight bout
Akop Szostak (101.4kg/224lb) vs. Erko Jun (95.2kg/210lb) – Heavyweight
Martin Zawada (93.3kg/208lb) vs. Thiago Silva (94.2kg/208lb) – Catchweight
Antun Ra?i? (61.3kg/135lb) vs. Pawe? Polity?o (61.7kg/136lb) – Bantamweight
Micha? Andryszak (116.4kg/257lb) vs. Luis Henrique (115.4kg/254lb) – Heavyweight
Leszek Krakowski (70.8kg/156lb) vs. Michael Dubois (70.5kg/155lb) – Lightweight
And as usual, there’s trailers for a few of these. Ra?i? vs Politylo:
Muscledude 1 vs More Handsomer Muscledude:
Zawada vs Thiago Silva:
And the main event, for all the marbles:
KSW 49 takes place this Saturday, starting at 2:00pm EST. This event will be available for purchase via KSW’s site at KSWtv.com for $11.00, and also for sale at FITE.tv for $11.99. You can also watch the event over at DAZN with a membership.