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Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki
MMA promoter based in Poland From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki (English: Martial Arts Confrontation), better known by its initials KSW, is widely considered to be the premier mixed martial arts organization in Poland[1] and one of the leading in Europe.
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Awards
- Violent Money TV
- VMTV European Promotion of the Year 2022[2]
History
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Martin Lewandowski had been the manager of the Hotel Marriott in Warsaw when he met Maciej Kawulski in 2002. Kawulski was organizing one of the biggest sports expos in Poland at that time, and as both businessmen come from martial arts backgrounds, they quickly found a common subject. Eighteen months later the first KSW show was born.[3]
The promotion is famed for its four and eight-man tournaments, which until KSW X - Dekalog took place over the period of one night,[4] but since KSW XI they are split, with the tournament final taking place on the next event. KSW XV is the first event without a new tournament, only with extra fights and finals from previous tournaments.
Different from other bigger promotions such as the UFC, KSW adopted the strategy of having events that are less frequent but bigger, focusing on creating big shows with stacked cards and with great spectacle.[5] In 2017, KSW 39: Colosseum beat the record for the largest live attendance to a MMA event in Europe, and second-largest in history with 57,776 fans, only after the Pride Shockwave in 2002 and ahead of UFC 193.[6][7]
Several fighters who have been successful in KSW have signed on to more well known promotions such as the UFC. KSW has its own fight team, the KSW Team, which consists of some of the promotion's elite fighters, such as Mamed Khalidov, Jan Błachowicz, Krzysztof Kulak, Łukasz Jurkowski or Antoni Chmielewski. KSW co-operates with many other promotions in Europe by exchanging fighters, for example WFC and The Cage. KSW runs the majority of its shows live on a variety of TV networks (Polsat Sport, Polsat Sport Extra) throughout Europe. Since KSW XI, the promotion runs its shows live on nationally available at private free-to-air television network Polsat.
Viaplay era
On November 22, 2021, KSW announced a long-term partnership with streaming platform Viaplay. Contract includes increasing number of KSW events to 12 per year and exclusive rights to Viaplay to broadcast KSW events on its platform for the Polish, Nordic, Scandinavian, Dutch and English markets.[8]
Cooperation with XTB
In October 2022, it was announced that as part of the extension of cooperation with XTB - one of the largest Polish fintechs offering its own investment platform, a new agreement was concluded, in which XTB will become the title sponsor of the KSW gala in 2023. The agreement is concluded for the entire year 2023 and will be valid for ten out of twelve planned galas, of which six of these events will be called XTB KSW. In other cases, XTB will be a strategic sponsor, just like in 2022 - at galas in Łódź, Toruń, Radom and Warsaw.[9]
Hall of Fame
On May 10, 2023, the KSW federation announced the introduction of the Hall of Fame, intended to recognize players every year, as well as other people who have made a unique contribution to the history of the organization.[10] The first honored player inducted into the Hall of Fame was former KSW commentator and the first KSW tournament champion, Łukasz "Juras" Jurkowski [33] . The official ceremony of Jurkowski's introduction to the Hall of Fame took place during the XTB KSW 83: Colosseum 2 gala.[11]
Special XTB KSW Epic gala
On February 24, 2024, a special XTB KSW Epic gala took place, focusing on organizing fights in formulas other than just MMA.[12] During the fight of the evening of this event, Mamed Chalidow and Tomasz Adamek crossed gloves in the boxing formula.[13]
The KSW ring announcer is Waldemar Kasta, a former rapper born in Wrocław.
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Roster
Rankings
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The rankings for the KSW's fighters are both recorded and updated when information has been obtained from the KSW's website.[14]
- Updated as of August 4, 2025.
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List of KSW events
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Upcoming events
Past events
List of KSW events:
- 2004 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki - 2005 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki - 2006 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki - 2007 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki - 2008 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki - 2009 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki - 2010 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki - 2011 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki - 2012 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki - 2013 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki - 2014 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki - 2015 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki - 2016 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki - 2017 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki - 2018 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki - 2019 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki - 2020 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki - 2021 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki - 2022 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki - 2023 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki - 2024 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki - 2025 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki
Event locations
- The following cities have hosted a total of 116 KSW events as of XTB KSW 109: Kuberski vs. Paczuski (8.9.2025.)
Poland (total: 99)
- Masovian Voivodeship, (36)
- Warsaw, Hala Torwar (14)
- Warsaw, ATM Studio (6)
- Warsaw, Hotel Marriott (5)
- Radom, Radom Sports Center (3)
- Warsaw, Stadion Narodowy (2)
- Warsaw, Global EXPO (2)
- Warsaw, CWKS Legia Boxing Club (1)
- Plock, Orlen Arena (1)
- Grodzisk Mazowiecki, Sports and Entertainment Hall (1)
- Sękocin Nowy, Studio Apricor (1)
- Łódź Voivodeship, (15)
- Łódź, Atlas Arena (8)
- Łódź, Wytwórnia Club (5)
- Tomaszów Mazowiecki, Ice Arena Tomaszów Mazowiecki (1)
- Łódź, Łódź Sport Arena (1)
- Silesian Voivodeship, (12)
- Gliwice, Gliwice Arena (9)
- Katowice, Spodek (2)
- Dąbrowa Górnicza, Hala Centrum (1)
- Pomeranian Voivodeship, (11)
- Gdańsk, Ergo Arena (10)
- Gdynia, Gdynia Arena (1)
- Lower Silesian Voivodeship, (7)
- Wrocław, Hala Stulecia (3)
- Wrocław, Hala Orbita (2)
- Lubin, Hala RCS Sport (2)
- Lesser Poland Voivodeship, (6)
- Kraków, Kraków Arena (3)
- Nowy Sacz, Amfiteatr Parku Strzeleckiego (2)
- Tarnów, Arena Jaskółka Tarnów (1)
- Lubusz Voivodeship, (4)
- Gorzów Wielkopolski, Arena Gorzów (3)
- Zielona Góra, CRS Hall (1)
- Warmian–Masurian Voivodeship, (4)
- Olsztyn, Hala Urania (2)
- Ełk, Hala MOSiR (1)
- Ryn, Ryn Castle (1)
- West Pomeranian Voivodeship, (3)
- Szczecin, Netto Arena (3)
- Greater Poland Voivodeship, (2)
- Poznań, HWS Arena (1)
- Ostrów Wielkopolski, Arena Ostrów (1)
- Lublin Voivodeship, (1)
- Lublin, Globus Hall (1)
- Kuyavian–Pomeranian Voivodeship, (1)
- Toruń, Arena Toruń (1)
- Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, (1)
- Kielce, Kadzielnia Amphitheater (1)
Czech Republic (total: 4)
- Liberec, Home Credit Arena (3)
- Třinec, Werk Arena (1)
United Kingdom (total: 3)
- London, Wembley Arena (3)
France (total: 3)
- Paris, Adidas Arena (1)
- Nanterre, Paris La Défense Arena (1)
- Lyon, LDLC Arena (1)
Ireland (total: 1)
Croatia (total: 1)
- Zagreb, Arena Zagreb (1)
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Current champions
Men's divisions
Women's divisions
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Championship history
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Heavyweight championship
- 120 kg (264.6 lb; 18.9 st)
Light heavyweight championship
- 93 kg (205.0 lb; 14.6 st)
Middleweight championship
- 84 kg (185.2 lb; 13.2 st)
Welterweight championship
- 77 kg (169.8 lb; 12.1 st)
Lightweight championship
- 70 kg (154.3 lb; 11.0 st)
Featherweight championship
- 66 kg (145.5 lb; 10.4 st)
Bantamweight championship
- 61 kg (134.5 lb; 9.6 st)
Women's flyweight championship
- 57 kg (125.7 lb; 9.0 st)
Women's strawweight championship
- 52 kg (114.6 lb; 8.2 st)
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KSW fighters
Notable fighters
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Tomasz Adamek
Adrian Bartosiński
Karol Bedorf
Jan Błachowicz
Tomasz Drwal
Bartosz Fabiński
Mateusz Gamrot
Krzysztof Głowacki
Damian Grabowski
Marcin Held
Rafal Jackiewicz
Damian Janikowski
Maciej Jewtuszko
Lukasz Jurkowski
Dawid Kasperski
Mamed Khalidov
Karolina Kowalkiewicz
Szymon Kołecki
Borys Mankowski
Michał Materla
Paweł "Popek" Mikołajuw
Tomasz Narkun
Pawel Nastula
Daniel Omielańczuk
Wojciech Orłowski
Paweł Pawlak
Mariusz Pudzianowski
Marcin Różalski
Robert Ruchała
Aslambek Saidov
Przemysław Saleta
Peter Sobotta
Damian Stasiak
Artur Szpilka
Jakub Wikłacz
Arkadiusz Wrzosek
Houston Alexander
Josh Barnett
Brett Cooper
Todd Duffee
Eric Esch
Kendall Grove
Jason Guida
Mike Hayes
Matt Horwich
James Irvin
Matt Lindland
Sean McCorkle
Bob Sapp
Jesse Taylor
Rodney Wallace
Virgil Zwicker
Daniel Acácio
Maiquel Falcao
Kalindra Faria
Rolles Gracie Jr.
Luis Henrique
Ariane Lipski
Mario Miranda
Julio Cesar Neves
Vitor Nobrega
Rousimar Palhares
Wagner Prado
Fernando Rodriguez Jr
Augusto Sakai
Henrique da Silva
Thiago Silva
Paulo Thiago
Daniel Torres
Scott Askham
Tom Breese
Phil De Fries
Eddie Hall
John Maguire
James McSweeney
James Thompson
Oli Thompson
Jim Wallhead
Curt Warburton
Andre Winner
Ivan Erslan
Igor Pokrajac
Goran Reljic
Roberto Soldić
Leo Brichta
Patrik Kincl
Viktor Pešta
Simona Soukupova
Mansour Barnaoui
Francis Carmont
Salahdine Parnasse
Oumar Sy
Rodney Glunder
Brian Hooi
Valentijn Overeem
Errol Zimmerman
Ivan Buchinger
Attila Végh
Štefan Vojčák
Aleksandar Ilić
Darko Stošić
Ibragim Chuzhigaev
Aziz Karaoglu
Other
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References
External links
Wikiwand - on
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