The long wait for KSW fans is nearly over as KSW 46 will take place Saturday, December 1st, live from Gliwice, Poland. This marks the fifth and final event of KSW for 2018. The main event is a re-match from KSW 42, which took place in March 2018 with promotion legend Mamed Khalidov looking for revenge against KSW light heavyweight champion Tomasz Narkun. These two began 2018 as the first main event of the year and will end 2018 as the last main event of the year.
The Main Event: Exact Revenge or Cement a Legacy?
In one corner you have the greatest man to ever compete in the KSW cage, Khalidov, looking to exact revenge on his first loss in 20 fights inside the KSW ring. The other corner will house the reigning, defending KSW light heavyweight champion of the world. He looks to show the world the first victory was not a fluke and he is the new face of KSW, Narkun.
Khalidov is a former light heavyweight and middleweight champion for the promotion. He vacated the light heavyweight title to pursue the middleweight crown which he won at KSW 33 in November 2015. This is an absolutely critical matchup in both fighters careers. Look for both to go for the finish to prove their victory is legit. Not to mention, it’s also a chance for Khalidov to regain his light heavyweight title as he vacated his middleweight title earlier in the year. The chips are all in for Khalidov.
Co-Main Event: Vacant Featherweight Title on the Line
This co-main event could very easily headline just about any other KSW card. The vacant featherweight title is on the line between former champion Kleber Koike Erbst and current lightweight champion Mateusz Gamrot. Erbst was the last featherweight champion. But was forced to vacate due to missing weight in his last bout against Marian Ziolkowski at KSW 44 in June 2018. Erbst was still victorious by first round armbar submission.
The Former Champion Looking to Regain What he Lost
Erbst is extremely dangerous on the ground as 20 of his 24 victories are by way of submission as well as seven of his last eight. He will want to get the battle to the ground as quickly as possible. Considering how very few featherweights in the world have the ground game of Erbst. He will look to finish as he normally does, having only one decision in the last eight years. The lone decision victory was over “The Polish Zombie” who is very rarely finished.
Potential “Champ Champ” Status on the Line
Gamrot has a chance at becoming the “champ champ” of the KSW, a title he would share with UFC champion Daniel Cormier as multi-weight class champion at simultaneous times. Gamrot is 14-0 to begin his professional career and a 12-time veteran of KSW. His victories come in a variety of ways covering the board with knockouts, submissions, and decisions. He is very adaptable and can finish the fight where need-be. Gamrot earned his KSW gold at KSW 35 in May 2016. Khalidov headlined the card and defended his middleweight crown. Gamrot would love nothing more than for lightning to strike twice.
Potential Title Eliminator in the Featherweight Division
Undefeated French phenom Salahdine Parnasse has a huge hurdle in front of him if he wants the next title shot at the featherweight crown. That hurdle is one of the toughest to ever fight in the KSW cage, “The Polish Zombie” Marcin Wrzosek. This fight has all the makings of taking the fight of the night award.
Parnasse made a name for himself with KSW fans earning a victory over former champion, Artur Sowinski, at KSW 43 in April 2018. It has been Parnasse’s dream since entering KSW to win the title and he could arguably be one step away with a solid performance against an extremely tough foe.
After a stint on The Ultimate Fighter 22, where he fought on Team McGregor, The Polish Zombie stole the hearts of die-hard MMA fans with his performances in KSW. After his stint on TUF in 2016, The Polish Zombie is 3-1 in KSW also with a win over Sowinski. His only loss is to Erbst, who as previously mentioned, will be fighting on this same card for the vacant featherweight title. With a win here, The Polish Zombie may get a second chance at Erbst, assuming he can re-claim his own vacated title.
A Champion on Late Notice
You will be hard-pressed to find any champion to take a late-notice fight in a non-title matchup and not even be the main or co-main event. Look no further than Roberto Soldic. “Robocop” will place his welterweight crown to the side as he takes on Vinicius Bohrer in a catchweight bout. The matchup boils down to which guy can implement their gameplan the best. Bohrer, with 13 of his 16 wins by submission, would prefer a ground matchup while the welterweight king, Soldic, has 12 of his 14 victories by KO/TKO, would rather a standup exchange. Both fighters wanted to be a part of this amazing, stacked card and have all the abilities in the world to put on a top-tier match.
The Bout Lineup
Tomasz Narkun(C) vs. Mamed Khalidov (LHW title match)
Mateusz Gamrot vs. Kleber Koike Erbst (FW vacant title match)
Marcin Wrzosek vs. Salahdine Parnasse
Artur Sowinski vs. Kamil Szymuszowski
Roman Szymanski vs. Daniel Torres
Grzegorz Szulakowski vs. Marian Ziolkowski
Roberto Soldic vs. Vinicius Bohrer
Michal Michalski vs. Krystian Kaszubowski
Sebastian Przybysz vs. Antun Racic
Make sure to catch the event this Saturday, December 01, 2018 on KSWTV. Follow MMA Sucka for live bout results and a full fight-by-fight review after the event.
