Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki

Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki
Private
Industry Mixed martial arts promotion
Founded 2004
Founder Martin Lewandowski, Maciej Kawulski
Headquarters Warsaw, Poland
Key people
 Martin Lewandowski, Maciej Kawulski
Parent KSW Federation[1]
Website Konfrontacja.com/

Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki, better known by its acronym, KSW, is widely considered to be the premiere mixed martial arts organization in Poland[2] and one of the leading promotions in Europe. To date, most events have been hosted in Warsaw, Poland.[3]

History

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.[4]

The promotion is famed for its four and eight-man tournaments, which until KSW X - Dekalog took place over the period of one night,[5] 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.

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 private television Polsat.

List of KSW events

Scheduled events

Event Date Venue Location
KSW 35: Khalidov vs. Karaoglu May 27, 2016 Ergo Arena Gdansk / Sopot, Poland

Past events

# Event Date Venue Location
40 KSW 34: New Order March 5, 2016 Hala Torwar Warsaw, Poland
39 KSW 33: Khalidov vs. Materla November 28, 2015 Tauron Arena Krakow, Poland
38 KSW 32: Road to Wembley October 31, 2015 Wembley Arena London, England
37 KSW 31: Materla vs. Drwal May 23, 2015 Ergo Arena Gdańsk, Poland
36 KSW 30: Genesis February 21, 2015 Arena Poznań, Poland
35 KSW 29: Reload December 6, 2014 Kraków Arena Kraków, Poland
34 KSW 28: Fighters Den October 4, 2014 Hala Widowiskowo-Sportowa Szczecin, Poland
33 KSW 27: Cage Time May 17, 2014 Ergo Arena Gdansk, Poland
32 KSW 26: Materla vs. Silva III March 22, 2014 Hala Torwar Warsaw, Poland
31 KSW 25: Kahlidov vs. Sakurai December 8, 2013 Wroclaw Centennial Hall Wroclaw, Poland
30 KSW 24: Clash of the Giants September 28, 2013 Atlas Arena Lódz, Poland
29 KSW 23: Khalidov vs Manhoef June 8, 2013 Ergo Arena Gdansk/Sopot, Poland
28 KSW 22: Pride Time March 16, 2013 Hala Torwar Warsaw, Poland
27 KSW 21: Ultimate Explanation December 1, 2012 Hala Torwar Warsaw, Poland
26 KSW 20: Fighting Symphonies September 15, 2012 Ergo Arena Gdansk/Sopot, Poland
25 KSW 19: Pudzianowski vs. Sapp May 12, 2012 Atlas Arena Lódz, Poland
24 KSW 18: Unfinished Sympathy February 25, 2012 Orlen Arena Plock, Poland
23 KSW 17: Revenge November 26, 2011 Atlas Arena Lódz, Poland
22 KSW 16: Khalidov vs. Lindland May 21, 2011 Ergo Arena Gdansk/Sopot, Poland
21 KSW 15: Contemporary Gladiators March 19, 2011 Hala Torwar Warsaw, Poland
20 KSW Extra 2 January 29, 2011 Hala MOSiR Elk, Poland
19 KSW Fight Club October 9, 2010 Ryn Castle Ryn, Poland
18 KSW 14: Judgment Day September 18, 2010 Atlas Arena Lódz, Poland
17 KSW 13: Kumite May 7, 2010 Spodek Katowice, Poland
16 KSW: KSW Elimination April 1, 2010 CWKS Legia Boxing Club Warsaw, Masovian Voivodeship, Poland
15 KSW 12: Pudzianowski vs. Najman December 2009 Hala Torwar Warsaw, Poland
14 KSW 11: Khalidov vs. Acacio May 15, 2009 Hala Torwar Warsaw, Poland
13 KSW 10: Dekalog December 12, 2008 Hala Torwar Warsaw, Poland
12 KSW Extra September 13, 2008 Hala Centrum Dabrowa Górnicza, Poland
11 KSW IX: Konfrontacja May 9, 2008 Hala Torwar Warsaw, Poland
10 KSW Elimination II March 29, 2008 Hala Stulecia Wroclaw, Poland
9 KSW VIII: Konfrontacja November 10, 2007 Hala Torwar Warsaw, Poland
8 KSW Elimination September 15, 2007 Hala Orbita Wroclaw, Poland
7 KSW VII: Konfrontacja June 2, 2007 Hala Torwar Warsaw, Poland
6 KSW VI: Konfrontacja October 14, 2006 Hala Torwar Warsaw, Poland
5 KSW V: Konfrontacja June 3, 2006 Hotel Marriott Warsaw, Poland
4 KSW IV: Konfrontacja September 10, 2005 Hotel Marriott Warsaw, Poland
3 KSW III: Konfrontacja January 15, 2005 Hotel Marriott Warsaw, Poland
2 KSW II: Konfrontacja October 7, 2004 Hotel Marriott Warsaw, Poland
1 KSW I: Konfrontacja February 27, 2004 Hotel Marriott Warsaw, Poland

List of KSW Events:

Current Champions

Men's Divisions

Division Upper weight limit Champion Since Title Defenses
Heavyweight 265 lb (120 kg; 18.9 st) Poland Karol Bedorf September 28, 2013 (KSW 24) 3
Light Heavyweight 205 lb (93 kg; 14.6 st) Poland Tomasz Narkun October 31, 2015 (KSW 32) 1
Middleweight 185 lb (84 kg; 13.2 st) Poland Mamed Khalidov November 28, 2015 (KSW 33) 0
Welterweight 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st) Poland Borys Mankowski May 17, 2014 (KSW 27) 2
Lightweight 155 lb (70 kg; 11.1 st) Vacant February 20, 2015
Featherweight 145 lb (66 kg; 10.4 st) Poland Artur Sowinski November 28, 2015 (KSW 33) 1

Women's Divisions

Division Upper weight limit Champion Since Title Defenses
Strawweight 115 lb (52 kg; 8.2 st) Vacant September 21, 2015

Title history

Heavyweight Championship

120 kg (265 lb)
No. Name Event Date Defenses
1 Poland Karol Bedorf
def. Pawel Nastula		 KSW 24
Łódź, Poland		 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 Krakow, Poland
3. def. James McSweeney at KSW 34 on March 5, 2016 in Warsaw, Poland

Light Heavyweight Championship

93 kg (205 lb)
No. Name Event Date Defenses
1 Poland Mamed Khalidov
def. Daniel Acacio		 KSW 11: Khalidov vs. Acacio
Warsaw, Poland		 May 15, 2009

1. drew with Ryuta Sakurai at KSW 13 on May 7, 2010 in Katowice, Poland

Title vacated after Khalidov moved down to middleweight.
2 Cameroon Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
def. Jan Błachowicz		 KSW 15
Warsaw, Poland		 March 19, 2011
3 Poland Jan Błachowicz KSW 17
Łódź, Poland		 November 26, 2011

1. def. Houston Alexander at KSW 20 on Sep 15, 2012 in Gdansk, Poland
2. def. Goran Reljic at KSW 22 on March 16, 2013 in Warsaw, Poland

Title vacated after Błachowicz left KSW for UFC.
4 Croatia Goran Reljić
def. Attila Vegh		 KSW 31
Gdańsk, Poland		 May 23, 2015
5 Poland Tomasz Narkun KSW 32
London, England		 October 31, 2015 1. def. Cassio Barbosa de Oliveira at KSW 34 on March 5, 2016 in Warsaw, Poland

Middleweight Championship

84 kg (185 lb)
No. Name Event Date Defenses
1 Poland Krzysztof Kułak
def. Vitor Nobrega		 KSW 13
Katowice, Poland		 May 7, 2010
Title vacated after Kułak was unable to defend the title due to injury.
2 Poland Michał Materla
def. Jay Silva		 KSW 19
Łódź, Poland		 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 Gdansk, 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 Gdansk, Poland

3 Poland Mamed Khalidov
KSW 33
Krakow, Poland		 November 28, 2015

Welterweight Championship

77 kg (170 lb)
No. Name Event Date Defenses
1 Russia Aslambek Saidov
def. Borys Mańkowski		 KSW 21
Warsaw, Poland		 December 1, 2012 1. def. Daniel Acacio at KSW 25 on Dec 8, 2013 in Wroclaw, Poland
2 Poland Borys Mańkowski KSW 27
Gdansk, Poland		 May 17, 2014 1. def. David Zawada at KSW 29 on Dec 6, 2014 in Krakow, Poland

2. def. Jesse Taylor at KSW 32 on Oct. 31, 2015 in London, England

Lightweight Championship

70 kg (155 lb)
No. Name Event Date Defenses
1 Poland Maciej Jewtuszko
def. Artur Sowiński		 KSW 21
Warsaw, Poland		 December 1, 2012
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.

Featherweight Championship

66 kg (145 lb)
No. Name Event Date Defenses
1 Poland Artur Sowiński
def. Kleber Koike Erbst		 KSW 33
Krakow, Poland		 November 28, 2015 1. def. Fabiano Silva da Conceicao at KSW 34 on March 5, 2016 in Warsaw, Poland

Women's Strawweight Championship

52 kg (115 lb); division was formerly 55 kg (121 lb) until 2014
No. Name Event Date Defenses
1 Poland Karolina Kowalkiewicz
def. Marta Chojnoska		 KSW 23
Gdansk, Poland		 June 8, 2013 1. def. Jasminka Cive at KSW 27 on May 17, 2014 in Gdansk, Poland
Kowalkiewicz vacated the title when she signed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.kswmma.com/en/index.php?s=kontakt
  2. ↑ Leidecker, Tim (2008-09-14). "Euro Light Heavyweight Showdown Ends in Draw". Sherdog.com. Retrieved 2015-04-10.
  3. ↑ Wyman, Patrick. "Sherdog’s Top 10: Regional MMA Promotions - No. 2". Sherdog.com. Retrieved 2015-04-10.
  4. ↑ Leidecker, Tim (2008-09-12). "The Polish Pride". Sherdog.com. Retrieved 2015-04-10.
  5. ↑ Leidecker, Tim (2008-09-12). "The Polish Pride". Sherdog.com. Retrieved 2015-04-10.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, April 23, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.