Ishii Signing Adds to KSW’s Growing Global Brand

On Monday KSW announced they had signed former Olympic judo gold medallist Satoshi Ishii (19-8-1) to a multi-fight deal following a successful heavyweight title defense this past weekend at Serbian Battle Challenge 20. With the addition of Ishii, the promotion bolsters an already stacked heavyweight division headed by Phil De Fries (16-6, 1 NC) but also comprised of top talents as Karol Bedorf (15-4), Michal Andryszak (20-7, 1 NC) and fun fighters like former 5-time World’s Strongest Man Mariusz Pudzianowski (12-6, 1 NC) and Instagram star Erko Jun (2-0).

It should be noted that the Japanese grappling star does have a fight scheduled on March 3 at HEAT 44 against that promotion’s champ Cally Gibrainn de Oliveira (3-0), and has also announced as recently as late December that he had signed on to join the latest season of the PFL, but the addition of Ishii only continues to help to grow Poland’s premier MMA organization.

Dear supporters and fans,
I just signed with PFL. Match coming soon.
I really appreciate everyday support from my Balkan, Slavic and worldwide fans!
I’ll inform you about my fighting schedule as soon as I can. Love, Satoshi! pic.twitter.com/2YzMsO02ni

— Satoshi Ishii | 石井 慧 (@SatoshiIshii) December 30, 2018

The KSW brand has continued to grow internationally, filling London’s Wembley Stadium in October at KSW 45 and returning home to Gliwice, Poland in December headlined by the company’s biggest star Mamed Khalidov (34-6-2) taking on light heavyweight champ Tomasz Narkun (15-2). The brand also boasts a steady following on YouTube with close to 210,000 subscribers and videos topping 10 million views.

The promotion’s next event, KSW 47: The X-Warriors, is scheduled for March 23 from Łódź, Poland. Champs meet in the main event with Narkun going up to heavyweight to challenge De Fries for his title. Former welterweight champs Dricus Du Plessis (12-2) and Borys Mańkowski (19-7-1) look to square off with the winner hoping to challenge current champ Roberto Soldić (15-3).

Be sure to tune-in to Fight Night Picks on YouTube and SportsBooth for our KSW 47 Fight Companion on March 23!