Tomasz Narkun wins rematch against Mamed Khalidov in close three-round affair

Tomasz Narkun now has two wins over fellow KSW mainstay Mamed Khalidov.

Narkun handed Khalidov his first loss in eight years – his first defeat in KSW – back in March with a triangle choke submission, and on Saturday evening he edged a close unanimous decision in the immediate rematch.

https://twitter.com/KSW_MMA/status/1068996985347284992

Khalidov knocked Narkun down in the opening round and seemingly edged the first stanza. Narkun grew into the fight and was the near-frantic aggressor in the second round after suffering an accidental eye poke.

By the third round, it appeared the fight was anyone’s to win. Narkun took the fight to the floor to utilise his world-class grappling skills, but Khalidov managed to reverse position.

To sum up how close the fight was the decisive third round saw Khalidov in the dominant position landing ground and pound, but Narkun throwing multiple submission attempts.

The fight went to the judges, and their scorecards were in favour of Narkun.

 

Mamed Khalidov announces retirement from MMA following Tomasz Narkun rematch defeat

Following his rematch defeat to rival Tomasz Narkun, KSW legend Mamed Khalidov announced his retirement from MMA in his post-fight interview.

According to Polish MMA journalist Bartek Stachura, Khalidov claimed he had already made the decision to retire should he lose the rematch, and that he hadn’t informed anyone of his plans to do so.

Respect to Mamed Khalidov, one of the best ever fighters to flourish outside of the UFC.

 

Mateusz Gamrot dominates Kleber Koike Erbst, wins KSW featherweight title to become two-weight champion

https://twitter.com/KSW_MMA/status/1068988526400815105

Mateusz Gamrot made a statement on Saturday evening.

Gamrot won the vacant KSW featherweight championship against Kleber Koike Erbst, adding to his lightweight belt to become the promotion’s first ever two-weight champion, and in dominant fashion.

From start to finish, Gamrot out-struck and out-grappled the wily Erbst, dictating where the fight went throughout.

Erbst’s chin somehow stood up to a lot of undefended punishment, but he valiantly pursued his opponent regardless.

But Gamrot’s quality across all facets of MMA was the difference maker, and the Pole rightfully won a unanimous decision which was more than deserved over five rounds.

 

Late call-up Roberto Soldic starches Vinicius Bohrer with big first-round knockout

Roberto Soldic is one of KSW’s hottest prospects for a reason.

The current (two-time) KSW welterweight champion took on Brazilian veteran Vinicius Bohrer on around a fortnight’s notice but looked the sharper, cage-savvy fighter on Saturday evening.

Soldic’s striking prowess and power told early and Bohrer found himself on the backfoot as a result.

Bohrer’s chin somehow held up for a lot longer than many of his fellow fighters and hung in there long enough to make you think Soldic may have made a mistake in not finishing him off, questioning the Croatian’s gas tank after taking such a short-notice bout.

However, Soldic dug into his reserves and uncorked a hellacious left hook which rendered Bohrer totally unconscious inside the first round.

Watch the knockout replay in the above tweet.

It’s worth remembering Soldic is only 23 years old. His potential as a top-tier mixed martial artist is beyond scary.

 

KSW 46: Tomasz Narkun vs. Mamed Khalidov 2 full results

Catchweight: Tomasz Narkun defeats Mamed Khalidov by unanimous decision after three rounds.

Featherweight Championship: Mateusz Gamrot – Kleber Koike Erbst

Featherweight: Salahdine Parnasse defeats Marcin Wrzosek by unanimous decision after three rounds.

Catchweight: Roberto Soldić defeats Vinicius Bohrer by KO (punch) at 4:33 of round one.

Featherweight: Roman Szymański defeats Daniel Torres by unanimous decision after three rounds.

Lightweight: Marian Ziółkowski defeats Grzegorz Szulakowski by unanimous decision after three rounds.

Lightweight: Artur Sowinski defeats Kamil Szymuszowski by unanimous decision after three rounds.

Bantamweight: Antun Račić defeats Sebastian Przybysz by unanimous decision after three rounds.

Welterweight: Krystian Kaszubowski defeats Michal Michalski by KO (punches) at 2:14 of round one.