The biggest star in KSW history will be on hand when the promotion returns to the PGE Narodowy in Warsaw, Poland for a stadium show later this year.
Former strongman and longtime heavyweight Mariusz Pudzianowski (17-8) will take on former WBC title contender Artur Szpilka (2-0) at the event, set for June 3, 2023.
The show sees the promotion return to the site of KSW 39: Colosseum, held in 2017 in the same venue, which set a European attendance record for a mixed martial arts event. Overall, KSW 39 stands as the second highest-attended MMA event in the sport’s history, with 57,766 spectators on hand.
Pudzianowski (17-8, 1NC) had a five-fight win streak snapped in his last outing, when he lost to former KSW middleweight champion (and before that, light heavyweight champion) Mamed Khalidov. Khalidov made his heavyweight debut in the fight.
“Pudzian,” a former World’s Strongest Man winner, has been with the promotion almost from the start, making his debut at KSW 12 in 2009. All but one of his fights have come under the promotion’s banner.
Fellow Pole Artur Szpilka may lack experience in MMA, but posted a 24-5 record as a professional boxer. He faced Deontay Wilder for the WBC heavyweight championship in 2016, and has also shared the ring with Derek Chisora.
At 33, Szpilka will enter the much younger fighter in comparison to Mariusz Pudzianowski, who turned 46 in February.
