KSW 45 Beginning to Take Shape

(Via: KSW)

Nominated as “Best Promotion” at the 10th annual Fighters Only World MMA Awards earlier this month, KSW is continuing to live up to the hype with KSW 45 set for October 6, 2018. Today it was announced that middleweight champion Mamed Khalidov will vacate his belt; per KSW’s press release, Khalidov “does not want to hold the division up and that there is only one fight he is after at the moment.” In his last fight, the 28-year-old Khalidov lost to light heavyweight champ Tomasz Narkun by third round triangle choke. It would seem as if a rematch is looming.

As Khalidov is vacating the middleweight belt, it was also announced that a four-man middleweight tournament will begin at KSW 45 leading to the crowning of a new champion. The first two bouts will take place at Wembley in October, and the final is scheduled for early 2019. Competitors announced include: former KSW middleweight champ (26-6) Michal Materla, Polish Olympic bronze medalist (3-0) Damian Janikowski, UFC vet and former BAMMA middleweight champ (16-4) Scott Askham, and Polish star on a 9-1 streak (11-5) Marcin “The Giant” Wojcik.

It was also announced that a rematch has been scheduled for KSW 45 between welterweight champ (12-1) Dricus Du Plessis and (13-3) Roberto Soldic. 24-year-old Du Plessis, the former EFC welterweight and middleweight champion made a sudden impact with his second round TKO victory over Soldic at KSW 43 in April. All 12 of Du Plessis wins have come by way of finish (4 KO/TKO, 8 submissions). Soldic, 23, had a similar path to the title, winning the welterweight strap in his KSW debut against Borys Mankowski last December. Soldic’s other two losses have come by way of stiff competition, in 2015 to fellow countryman Marko Radakovic by unanimous decision, and to current Bellator Grand Prix contestant Yaroslav Amosov in 2016 by split decision.

(Via: KSW)

These announcements help bolster an already stacked card, which also features a heavyweight title defense between champ (15-6) Phil De Fries and Polish standout (15-3) Karol Bedorf. Expect more announcements in the coming weeks for Polish star Popek, fellow heavyweight Akop Szostak, and three more TBA bouts!