The year 2023 was 20th year in the history of the Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Poland. 2023 has begun with KSW 78. For 2023, besides its own channels KSW announced official distribution partnerships with Viaplay and Fight Network, to broadcast the promotion's Pay-per-view events.[1][2]
XTB KSW 78: Materla vs. Grove 2 was a mixed martial arts event held by Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki on January 21, 2023 in Szczecin, Poland.
Background
The main event was set to feature a heavyweight bout between Former professional boxer Artur Szpilka and former Glory fighter Arkadiusz Wrzosek.[3][4] However, on November 16, Szpilka had to withdraw from the fight due to a back injury.[5]Bonus awards
The following fighters were awarded bonuses:
Fight of the Night: Tomasz Romanowski vs. Radosław Paczuski
A heavyweight bout between two former kickboxers, Arkadiusz Wrzosek and Tomáš Možný, was booked for the event. The pair previously fought under kickboxing rules on October 16, 2015, with Možný winning by unanimous decision.[6]Bonus awards
The following fighters were awarded bonuses:
KSW 80: Ruchała vs. Eskiev was a mixed martial arts event held by Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki on March 17, 2023, at the RCS Hall in Lubin, Poland.
Background
Robert Ruchała was expected to face Dawid Śmiełowski for the interim KSW Featherweight Championship in the main event.[7] Śmiełowski withdrew with an injury on February 25, and was replaced by Lom-Ali Eskiev.[8]Bonus awards
The following fighters were awarded bonuses:
Fight of the Night: Kacper Koziorzębski vs. Borys Borkowski, Robert Ruchała vs. Lom Ali Eskiev
A KSW Welterweight championship bout between Adrian Bartosiński and Artur Szczepaniak was scheduled to headline the event.[9]Bonus awards
The following fighters were awarded bonuses:
Submission of the Night: Maria Silva and Adrianna Kreft
Knockout of the Night:Werlleson Martins and Adrian Bartosiński
KSW 82: Hooi vs. Grzebyk was a mixed martial arts event held by Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki on May 13, 2023, at the ATM Studio in Warsaw, Poland.
Background
A welterweight bout between Brian Hooi and Andrzej Grzebyk was booked as the main event, while a light heavyweight bout between Rafał Kijańczuk and Bohdan Gdnidko served as the co-main event.[10]Bonus awards
The following fighters were awarded bonuses:
Fight of the Night: Andrzej Grzebyk and Brian Hooi
Three KWS title fights were scheduled for the event: a KSW Lightweight Championship bout between champion Marian Ziółkowski and interim champion Salahdine Parnasse;[11] a KSW Middleweight championship bout between champion Paweł Pawlak and challenger Tomasz Romanowski;[12] as well as a KSW Bantamweight Championship between champion Jakub Wikłacz and Werlleson Martins.[13] However, Martins wasn't medically cleared after issues with the weight cut and the bout was scrapped.[14] Additionally, Ziółkowski injured his knee in the locker room while warming up for the championship bout, and subsequently relinquished the title.[15]
A heavyweight bout between Arkadiusz Wrzosek and former two-time world kickboxing champion Bogdan Stoica is expected to take place at the event. Stoica will make his MMA and promotional debut.[16]Bonus awards
The following fighters were awarded bonuses:
A KSW Heavyweight Championship bout between current champion Phil De Fries and Szymon Bajor was booked as the main event,[17] while a bantamweight bout between former champion Sebastian Przybysz and newcomer Islam Djabrailov served as the co-main event.[18]Bonus awards
The following fighters were awarded bonuses:
Submission of the Night: Bartosz Leśko and Damian Stasiak
Knockout of the Night:Darko Stošić and Gustavo Oliveira
XTB KSW 85: Parnasse vs. Ruchała was a mixed martial arts event held by Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki on August 19, 2023, at the Strzelecki Park Amphitheater in Nowy Sącz, Poland.
Background
An unification KSW Featherweight Championship bout between current two-division champion Salahdine Parnasse and interim champion Robert Ruchała was booked as the event headliner,[19] while a KSW Light Heavyweight Championship bout between current champion Ibragim Chuzhigaev and #3 ranked Bohdan Gdnidko served as the co-main event.[20]Bonus awards
The following fighters were awarded bonuses:
Fight of the Night: Kamil Szkaradek and Patryk Surdyn
A tetralogy bout for KSW Bantamweight Championship between current champion Jakub Wikłacz and former champion Sebastian Przybysz was booked as the event headliner. The pairing first met at ACB 63 on July 1, 2017, which ended in a unanimous decision in favor of Wikłacz. Their second meeting took place at KSW 53: Reborn on July 11, 2020, where Przybysz won by TKO in the third round. Their third meeting took place at KSW 77 on December 17, 2022, where Wikłacz captured the title by split decision.[21]Bonus awards
The following fighters were awarded bonuses:
Fight of the Night: Michał Michalski and Dominik Humburger
A heavyweight bout between former title challenger Darko Stošić and former Heavyweight Oktagon MMA champion Michal Martínek was booked as the main event.[22]Bonus awards
The following fighters were awarded bonuses:
Fight of the Night: Leo Brichta and Roman Szymański
Submission of the Night: Oleksii Polischuck
Knockout of the Night:Darko Stošić and Sahil Siraj
XTB KSW 88: Rutkowski vs. Kaczmarczyk was a mixed martial arts event held by Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki on November 11, 2023, at the Radom Sports Center in Radom, Poland.
Background
A featherweight bout between former title challenger Daniel Rutkowski and Patryk Kaczmarczyk was booked as the main event.[23]Bonus awards
The following fighters were awarded bonuses:
Fight of the Night: Patryk Kaczmarczyk vs. Daniel Rutkowski
A super fight for KSW Welterweight Championship between current undefeated champion Adrian Bartosiński and two-division (feather/Light weight classes) champion Salahdine Parnasse headlined the event. [24]
If successful, Parnasse could become the first man to become champion of three divisions simultaneously in a major MMA organization. [25]Bonus awards
The following fighters were awarded bonuses: