Fight Facts: KSW 83 ‘Colosseum 2’

Fight Facts is a breakdown of all of the interesting information and cage curiosities on every card, with some puns, references and portmanteaus to keep things fun. These deep stat dives delve into the numbers, providing historical context and telling the stories behind those numbers.

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TOTAL NUMBER OF KSW FIGHTS: 769
TOTAL NUMBER OF KSW EVENTS: 89

KSW blew away the competition this weekend with a massive card attended by upwards of 50,000 fans. The Colosseum-based event took a few hits before fight night by losing two of three title fights, but the remaining competitors still delivered in spades. KSW 83 featured not one but two “Knockout of the Year” contenders, a rare “big man” submission from a kickboxer and one of the latest stoppages inside of the KSW cage.

National Favorites: The three most active fighters in company history all competed on KSW 83, and two of three emerged victorious: Michal Materla (29), Mamed Khalidov (27) and Mariusz Pudzianowski (26). No other competitor has more than 22 appearances, and one of those two with 22 (Lukasz Jurkowski) was inducted into the company’s hall of fame on Saturday.

He Did It Again: In the main attraction, Khalidov met Scott Askham for the third time. Khalidov wrecked Askham with a flying switch kick and follow-up punches – the same move he used to dispatch Askham back in 2020.

He Actually Did It Again: The two flying switch kick knockouts performed by the 42-year-old serve as the only two of their kind in company history. No other fighter has dispatched a foe with any flying strike other than a knee in the past.

Main Man Mamed: Khalidov’s victory in the marquee was his 21st triumph as a KSW fighter. He only trails Materla, who is now at 22 thanks to his own knockout earlier on the card.

Destroyer in Poland: Of his 21 victories under the KSW banner, Khalidov has recorded 18 of them inside the distance. By putting Askham away again, the KSW legend set the league’s new record for finishes.

Read Below for the Two Above Him: The third-round triumph of Khalidov amounted to his eighth knockout with the organization. This accounts for the third-highest for any fighter to compete in KSW.

King Khalidov: For the 20th time, Khalidov competed in the main attraction of a KSW show. This is far and away the highest number of appearances for any headliner, with Pudzianowski’s 12 the next closest. He has served as the marquee fighter in about 22.5% of all KSW events.

Live by the Pudz, Die by the Pudz: In defeat, Pudzianowski suffered his eighth loss since joining the KSW roster in 2009. The only fighter to lose more times with KSW is Artur Sowinski (10).

Paper Unified Champ: The original co-main event was to be Marian Ziolkowski vs. Salahdine Parnasse to unify the lightweight titles. Ziolkowski suffered a major injury warming up, and the promotion opted to bestow Parnasse the unified belt, making him the fourth man to hold the 155-pound strap by himself.

KNOCKED OUT from FULL MOUNT! 🤯

Former WBO cruiserweight champ 🇵🇱 Krzysztof Głowacki is dangerous from anywhere!!

XTB #KSWColosseum2 pic.twitter.com/7pZI71yaPX

— KSW (@KSW_MMA) June 3, 2023

Boxing Beat MMA: Two former boxing champions entered into the KSW cage on Saturday, and both emerged victorious. Ex-WBC titleholder Artur Szpilka blasted Pudzianowski, while former WBO beltholder Krzysztof Glowacki wiped out Patryk Tolkaczewski.

Repping Champions Everywhere: With two championship bouts canceled within 24 hours of the show, the lone title fight at KSW 83 came at 185 pounds. Pawel Pawlak claimed the vacant throne by putting Tomasz Romanowski away in Round 5, beginning the seventh championship reign in that division. No other division has seen its title pass to this many fighters.

You Can’t Do That in K-1: In his third pro outing – all three with KSW – Arkadiusz Wrzosek wrangled Bogdan Stoica with a forearm choke. The kickboxing convert performed just the second submission of its type in promotional history, with the first Przemyslaw Saleta over Marcin Najman at KSW 14 in 2010.

Make Khalidov vs. Materla 2: As a KSW fighter, Materla has put his opponent away 17 times over the years following his knockout of Radoslaw Paczuski. This total trails only Khalidov’s 18 that was set later that night.

Mad Materla: While sporting fewer overall stoppages than rival Khalidov, Materla did notch his 12th knockout. He ties Pudzianowski for the most in KSW history.

Equal Material: By laying waste to Paczuski, the Polish fighter from Berserkers Team claimed his 13th win via strikes. He now celebrates exactly 13 wins by knockout and another 13 by submission.

Laying Bricks: Needing three full rounds to beat Maciej Kazieczko, Leo Brichta claimed a narrow split decision. It marked the second time the Czech fighter had ever heard the final bell as a pro, with him winning in both of those contests.

You Can’t Get Torque from That Angle: In his professional MMA debut, Glowacki clocked Tolkaczewski with a punch off his back while mounted to record an instant “Knockout of the Year” candidate. Such an unusual event had not occurred since Alavutdin Gadjiev decked Hikaru Sato on top of him at Pancrase Shining 2 in 2008.

Both Romanowskis Lost: On a day’s notice, Mariusz Joniak agreed to face Sebastian Romanowski to fill out the lineup at 163 pounds. Joniak claimed a rare majority decision in what ended up as only the second decision win of his pro tenure.

Never Say Never Again: Coming into KSW 83, T. Romanowski had never competed beyond Round 3 (27 fights), Paczuski had never been finished (six fights) and Kazieczko had never lost on the scorecards (11 fights).