Poland’s KSW has their first event of 2022 set, and the card will feature two title fights.
KSW 66 will take place on Saturday, January 15, 2022 in Szczecin, Poland. KSW officials announced the news over the holidays, with several fights already added to the event. Among them will be a lightweight championship bout, with Marian Ziolkowski (23-8-1, 1NC) putting his belt on the line against former KSW welterweight champion Borys Mankowski (22-8-1).
Ziolkowski has won both his fights since losing a title shot against current UFC star Mateusz Gamrot in August 2020. After Gamrot vacated the KSW lightweight championship, Ziolkowski won the strap by stopping Roman Szymański with a body kick later that year. He made his first title defense back in April, submitting Maciej Kazieczko.
Mankowski is well known for his battles with former UFC fighter Norman Parke, middleweight champ Mamed Khalidov, current welterweight champ Roberto Soldic, and UFC/TUF veteran Jesse Taylor, among others. He’s won his past three fights, though his only action in 2021 came in a boxing match with rival Parke, which Mankowski won via unanimous decision.
The other title fight expected for the KSW 66 card will see Tomasz Narkun put his light heavyweight title on the line against Ibragim Chuzhigaev. While KSW has yet to officially announce the match-up, they had previously advertised Narkun as part of the card. Sherdog was first to report news of his opponent.
Narkun (18-4) will enter the fight off a failed bid to capture a second title at heavyweight. He fell short against Phil De Fries, ending up knocked out in the second round of their fight at KSW 60. Prior to that defeat, Narkun had won two straight.
Ibragim Chuzhigaev (15-5) previously competed for ACA/ACB, and will be making his promotional debut in the fight. He’s won his past six bouts.
Also announced for KSW 66 on January 15 is a welterweight showdown between Tomasz Romanowski (14-8) and Krystian Kaszubowski (9-2). Both veterans of the KSW cage, Romanowski is 5-1 dating back to March of 2020, with his lone loss coming to recent title challenger Patrik Kincl. Kaszubowski, is 1-1 since 2020, will be looking to bounce back from a loss to Michal Pietrzak.
