Inside the KSW Vault: Jakub Wiklacz
Take a dive into the series, Inside the KSW Vault. Many amazing fighters, including Jakub Wiklacz, have spent years perfecting their craft and showcasing their skills on the premier stage for European MMA, KSW. Follow along as we take a look at the many fighters, and events, past and present, whi...
Take a dive into the series, Inside the KSW Vault. Many amazing fighters, including Jakub Wiklacz, have spent years perfecting their craft and showcasing their skills on the premier stage for European MMA, KSW. Follow along as we take a look at the many fighters, and events, past and present, which have contributed to making KSW what it is today. Check out these previous installments of the series:
Jakub Wiklacz
On the heels of a very impressive showing at UFC Fight Night: Bautista vs. Oliveira where Jakub Wiklacz earned a submission with one second on the clock, Jakub Wiklacz is currently 2-0 in the UFC and showcasing solid skill. Prior to his time in the UFC though, Wiklacz served as KSW’s bantamweight champion with several title defenses. After his stunning victory, Wiklacz now sports a career 18-3-2 record.
Jakub Wiklacz’s Early Career Climb to KSW
Jakub Wiklacz’s professional career would begin in June 2014 with a first-round armbar at Fighters Arena 9 in Poland. By December 2017, Jakub Wiklacz would earn a 4-1-1 record heading into his first big organizational debut, appearing on the ACA stage (then ACB) at ACB 53. Though he would suffer a loss, Wiklacz would return to ACB and earn a decision win over future KSW bantamweight champion, Sebastian Przybysz. Over the next near three years, Wiklacz would climb to a record of 10-2-1 before seeing a familiar foe in his KSW debut.
Jakub Wiklacz: Entering KSW
Meeting for the second time in an epic five-fight series, Przybysz would get the best of Wiklacz in the latter’s KSW debut at KSW 53 in July 2020. Jakub Wiklacz would take the loss in stride in his organizational debut and go on to win his next three in a row before a scheduled third bout with Przybysz. In those three wins, Wiklacz defeated title challenger Bruno Santos and former champion Antun Racic.
Jakub Wiklacz’s body of work in the matchups since the Przybysz’s loss would earn him a title match against his biggest foe at KSW 77 in December 2022.
Tasting KSW Gold
In what would go down as one of the organization’s closest title fights, Wiklacz would defeat Przybysz in the rubber match by a split decision in the night’s co-main event behind that of main event legend, Mamed Khalidov. As if it could not get any closer than a split decision, the two would make matchup three their closest, with a draw.
Match four between Wiklacz and Przybysz would come at KSW 86, where the two would meet in the night’s main event. In a wild turn of events, Wiklacz and Przybysz would have their matchup end in a technical draw. While Przybysz was down in the fifth round, Wiklacz performed an illegal kick to a grounded opponent. Being unable to continue, the judges would rule on the contest through the four rounds of completed action.
Title defense number two would come at KSW 92, again in the main event, and Wiklacz would earn a fight of the night award defending his crown against a very dangerous Zuriko Jojua. Though Jakub Wiklacz would have a strong showing, everyone’s thoughts were on a fifth matchup between the champion and Przybysz. The wishes of all would be granted at KSW 95 in yet another main event.
In his third title defense and farewell KSW bout, Jakub Wiklacz would put an end to the rivalry once and for all. In the second round, Wiklacz would catch Przybysz in a guillotine choke to defend his crown and move to an impressive 15-3-2 in his career. Later in the next year of 2025, fans would see “Masa” make his debut under the biggest lights in all of MMA, the UFC.
Solid Beginning to UFC Run
Though Jakub Wiklacz would make his UFC debut against a fellow organizational newcomer, this was no regular newcomer. His opponent, Patchy Mix, was one of the most highly touted signees from Bellator in some time. Despite the hype of his opponent heading into the matchup, Wiklacz would pull off the surprising split-decision win. Wiklacz would out-strike Mix overall 107-75 (46-37 significant strikes) as well as landing three official submission attempts compared to Mix’s zero tries.
Looking to build off of the momentum from the Mix victory, Jakub Wiklacz would return to the Octagon four months later in February 2026, earning a literal last-second submission victory over Muin Gafurov. With one second left, Gafurov would tap to a mounted guillotine choke. The timing of the tap was so close to the bell that the video had to be reviewed to see if the tap actually beat the clock.
Fitting nicely into the theme of this series, Wiklacz continues to show the amazing talent on the surface and buried deep within the ranks of the KSW organization. Stay tuned for the next installment of the series where we continued to look at those buried gyms from KSW times.
