The biggest event in the history of European MMA went down last Saturday in Warsaw, Poland. Nearly 58 thousand people packed up the National Stadium, which has made KSW 39: Colosseum the second most attended MMA gala ever organised worldwide. And the fans got what they came for – throughout 11 fights of the night, all the greatest fighters of the KSW organisation created a show to remember for long.
KSW’s most successful fighter and one of the best ones in the world not in UFC, Mamed Kahlidov, beat Borys Mańkowski by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) in the catchweight main event.
Khalidov, the KSW middleweight champion, did not dominate his fight at all but controlled most of it. Mańkowski had his moments in the second and third round but after all it was Khalidov again, who was decided as the winner by the judges. It was the 14th win in a row of the fighter who has not lost since 2010.
In the co-main event, a former Strongmen Champion, Mariusz Pudzianowski, beat Tyberiusz Kowalczyk by submission in the middle of the second round of their super heavyweight fight.
Another highlight of KSW39, which made all the fans scream in shock, was a knockout in just 16 seconds delivered by Marcin Różalski in the heavyweight fight again Fernando Rodrigues Jr. The Brazilian’s jaw literally dropped after getting hit by Różalski’s right hand.
In the freak fight of the night, a Polish rapper with a past, Popek, vandalised his rival in just 45 seconds. A famous body builder Robert Burneika was given no chance in the fight against a much faster and flexible rival.
KSW39 had it all: exhausting fights lasting all three rounds, brutal and sudden knockouts, great comebacks and some controversial results. The whole show entertained tens of thousands at the stadium and millions in front of their tv’s and laptops for over five hours, proving once again MMA’s status as one of Poland’s most popular sports.