Michał Materla (born April 10, 1984) is a

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

. He currently competes for the

Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki (English: ''Martial Arts Confrontation'') better known by its initials KSW, is widely considered to be the premiere mixed martial arts organization in Poland and one of the leading in Europe. History Martin Lewandowsk ...

(KSW), where he is former KSW Middleweight Champion. , he was ranked #5 in KSW Middleweight rankings.

Background

Materla has been passionate about sports from a young age, starting with swimming for seven years and becoming the Polish Junior Champion. At the age of 14, he transitioned into triathlon training, where he enjoyed challenging workouts and excelled in swimming as a part of their cardio routine. Materla have fond memories of competing in regional triathlon competitions, even once finishing in fourth place despite losing his bike saddle during the race. Eventually, he moved on to combat sports, attending a camp in Brazil to learn mixed martial arts and

Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...

. Materla have found success in mixed martial arts, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and

submission wrestling Submission wrestling, also known as Submission grappling, Submission fighting a form of competition and a general term for martial arts and combat sports that focus on clinch and ground fighting with the aim of obtaining a submission through the ...

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

Materla began his career in mixed martial arts in 2003, in his debut match at the MMA Polska 2 Materla defeated Tomasz Janiszewski by guillotine. After defeating Andrzej Kulik via kimura, Materla went and amassed with 6-2 score in Europe promotions before joining

(KSW).

Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki

Materla made his KSW debut against Evert Fyeet at KSW VI: Konfrontacja as part of KSW VI tournament at middleweight. He won the fight via rear-naked choke. On the same night Materla submit Valdas Pocevicius in semi-finals and Krzysztof Kułak in finals in round one to win the tournament. Materla next faced Jan Antoska at KSW VII: Konfrontacja on June 2, 2007 in Quarterfinals of VII tournament at middleweight. Materla won the bout via guillotine choke. Later at same event in semi-final of tournament Materla faced Antonio Mendes, he lost the bout via split decision. Materla returned in KSW after four years, in 2011, against Gregory Babene at KSW 15: Konfrontacja. He won the bout after submitting Babene with a guillotine choke. Materla won his next two bouts against James Zikic and

Matt Horwich Matthew Peter Horwich (born October 2, 1978) is an American mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Middleweight division. A professional competitor since 2003, Horwich has fought in BAMMA, Strikeforce, Bellator, the UFC, and for t ...

, which earned him title shot for the vacant KSW Middleweight Championship. Materla faced

Jay Silva Jay Silva (born May 25, 1981) is an Angolan-born American mixed martial artist currently competing in the Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2008, Silva has also formerly competed for the UFC, Bellator, the MFC, KSW, and Tac ...

at KSW 19 on May 12, 2012. He won the bout and title via majority decision. Materla successfully defended his title against Rodney Wallace and

Kendall Grove Kendall Grove (born November 12, 1982) is an American mixed martial artist who is currently signed to Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2003, he has also competed for the Bellator MMA, UFC, KSW, ProElite, King o ...

. In a rematch, Materla faced Jay Silva in a non-title bout at KSW 24: Clash of the Giants on September 28, 2013. Materla lost the bout via KO in round two. Materla faced Jay Silva in a trilogy at KSW 26: Materla vs. Silva III. Materla won the bout via unanimous decision. In his next two bouts Materla knocked out Jorge Bezzer in non-title bout and defend his title against

Tomasz Drwal Tomasz is a Polish given name, the equivalent of Thomas in English. Notable people with the given name include: *Tomasz Adamek (born 1976), Polish heavyweight boxer *Tomasz Arciszewski (1877–1955), Polish socialist politician and Prime Minist ...

. Materla faced

Mamed Khalidov Mamed Khalidov ( rus, Мамед Магомедович Халидов, Mamied Magomedowicz Chalidow, mɐˈmʲɛt maɣɔmʲɛdɔvʲit͡ʂ xɐˈlʲidəf; pl, Mamed Chalidow ; born 17 July 1980 in Grozny) is a Polish mixed martial artist of Chech ...

at KSW 33: Materla vs. Khalidov. Materla lost the bout and title in first round after Khalidov stunned Materla with right hook and finished him with flying knee. After losing his title, Materla faced Antoni Chmielewski at KSW 35: Khalidov vs. Karaoglu, where he knocked out Antoni in first round. Materla faced

Rousimar Palhares Rousimar Christian Palhares (;, born February 20, 1980) is a Brazilian mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 2006, he has competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC, World Series of Fighting, and ...

at KSW 36: Materla vs. Palhares on October 10, 2016. Materla won the bout via KO in round two. In August 29, 2017 it was reported that Materla signed contract with

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

(UFC) and was expected to face

Thiago Santos Thiago Santos de Lima (born January 7, 1984) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently signed to the Professional Fighters League (PFL), competing in the light heavyweight division. Prior to signing with the PFL, Santos competed for the Ult ...

UFC Fight Night 118 ''UFC Fight Night: Cowboy vs. Till'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 118'') was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship held on October 21, 2017 at Ergo Arena in Gdańsk, Poland. Background This event was the fi ...

on October 21, 2017. However on September 1 it was revealed that Materla choose to re-sign with KSW and bout was scrapped. Materla next faced

Paulo Thiago Paulo Thiago Alencar Antunes (; born January 25, 1981) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Middleweight (MMA), Middleweight division of Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki, KSW. A professional competitor since 2005, he ha ...

at KSW 40: Dublin on October 22, 2017. He won the bout via TKO in second round. Materla faced

Scott Askham Scott may refer to: Places Canada * Scott, Quebec, municipality in the Nouvelle-Beauce regional municipality in Quebec * Scott, Saskatchewan, a town in the Rural Municipality of Tramping Lake No. 380 * Rural Municipality of Scott No. 98, Saska ...

on March 2018 at KSW 42: Khalidov vs. Narkun. He lost the bout via TKO in round one. After a win over Martin Zawada, Materla entered KSW Middleweight tournament and faced

Damian Janikowski Damian Janikowski (born June 27, 1989 in Wrocław) is a Polish mixed martial artist and former wrestler who won the Bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics in the Greco-Roman 84 kg category. He is currently ranked #8 in the KSW Middleweight ra ...

at KSW 45: The Return to Wembley. He won the bout via technical knockout. Martela rematched with Scott Askham in KSW Middleweight Tournament Final at KSW 49: Materla vs. Askham 2 on May 18, 2019 for vacant KSW Middleweight Championship. Materla lost the bout via KO in round three.

EFM and return to KSW

On June 20, 2020, Materla fought at the EFM 3 against Wilhelm Ott for EFM Middleweight Championship, he defeated Ott in the 1st round and won the title in process. On October 10, 2020, Materla returned to the KSW against Aleksandar Ilić at KSW 55: Askham vs. Khalidov 2. He won the fight via technical knockout in the second round. Three days later, he was awarded a bonus in the fight of the night category of that bout. On November 14, 2020, at KSW 56: Materla vs. Soldić, Materla fought against the KSW Welterweight Champion,

Roberto Soldić Roberto Soldić (; born 25 January 1995) is a Croatian Mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and professional Boxer (boxing), boxer, competing in ONE Championship. Before turning 26, Soldić won five belts in five different European MMA promo ...

, fight took place at middleweight. He lost the bout via technically knockout in first round. On June 5, 2021, at EFM Show 2 in Bulgaria was to take place, Materla was supposed to defend the EFM Middleweight Championship, but the bout was moved to September 11. The opponent of the popular Cipao in the new date of the bout was revealed to be Moise Rimbon whom he faced before in 2006. Materla won the bout via unanimous decision. In December 2021 he announced that he was returning to the KSW. Materla returned to the cage of the Polish giant on January 15, 2022 at KSW 66: Ziółkowski vs. Mańkowski against Jason Radcliffe. He won the bout in the first round by TKO. On May 28, 2022, at KSW 70: Pudzianowski vs. Materla, Materla faced the former strongest man in the world,

Mariusz Pudzianowski Mariusz Zbigniew Pudzianowski (; born 7 February 1977), also known as "Pudzian" and "Dominator", is a Polish entrepreneur, mixed martial artist and former strongman competitor. With 43 international victories at a record 70% winning percentage ...

, the clash took place at heavyweight. He lost the bout in the first round, after Pudzian hit him with uppercut, knocking Materla out cold. During the first XTB KSW 78, which took place on January 21, 2023, Materla faced

in rematch. Materla won the fight via technical knockout in the second round, after he took down Kendall and smashed him in the ground position with strong elbows. Materla faced Radoslaw Paczuski at XTB KSW 83: Colosseum 2 on June 3, 2023. He won the bout via knockout in the first round.

Personal life

In 2012, he played a feature role in the music video for the song "Wolves Two" from the album Robaki of the Luxtorpeda music group. In December 2016, he was detained in his home in Szczecin as part of a mass action by officers of the Central Police Investigation Bureau against people suspected of collaborating as part of an organized criminal group. Due to this incident, Materla was in pre-trial detention for seven months. On December 23, 2022, the District Prosecutor in Poznań discontinued the criminal case against Materla in its entirety.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

** KSW Middleweight Championship (One time) ***Four successful title defenses **KSW 2006 Middleweight Tournament Winner **Fight of the Night (Five times) **Knockout of the Night (Three times) *European Fight Masters **EFM Middleweight Championship (One time)

Grappling

*2006: Polish Champion in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (-91 kg) *2006: ADCC Polish runner-up in middleweight (-87.9 kg) *2007: Round of 16 of the ADCC World Middleweight Championship (-87.9 kg) *2007: Polish champion in submission fighting (-99 kg) and runner-up in the open class *2008: ADCC European Middleweight Vice Champion (-87.9 kg)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 33–9 , Radosław Paczuski , KO (punches) , KSW 83: Colosseum 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:37 ,

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

, Poland , , - , Win , align=center, 32–9 ,

, TKO (punches) , KSW 78: Materla vs. Grove 2 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:27 ,

Szczecin Szczecin (, , german: Stettin ; sv, Stettin ; Latin: ''Sedinum'' or ''Stetinum'') is the capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the German border, it is a major s ...

, Poland , , - , Loss , align=center, 31–9 ,

, KO (punch) , KSW 70: Pudzianowski vs. Materla , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:47 ,

Łódź Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of canti ...

, Poland , , - , Win , align=center, 31–8 , Jason Radcliffe , TKO (punches) , KSW 66:Ziolkowski vs. Mankowski , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:07 ,

, Poland , , - , Win , align=center, 30–8 , Moise Rimbon , Decision (unanimous) , EFM Show 2 - Materla vs. Rimbon , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

, Bulgary , , - , Loss , align=center, 29–8 ,

, TKO (punches) , KSW 56: Materla vs. Soldic , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:40 ,

, Poland , , - , Win , align=center, 29–7 , Aleksandar Ilić , TKO (elbows and punches) , KSW 55: Askham vs. Khalidov 2 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:33 ,

, Poland , , - , Win , align=center, 28–7 , Wilhelm Ott , Submission (guillotine choke) , EFM 3 - European Fight Masters 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:04 ,

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, Germany , , - , Loss , align=center, 27–7 ,

, KO (flying knee) , KSW 49: Materla vs. Askham 2 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:23 , Gdansk, Poland , , - , Win , align=center, 27–6 ,

, TKO (punches) , KSW 45: The Return to Wembley , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:10 ,

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 26–6 , Martin Zawada , TKO (punches) , KSW 44: The Game , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:59 , Gdansk, Poland , , - , Loss , align=center, 25–6 ,

, TKO (kick to the body) , KSW 42: Khalidov vs. Narkun , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:09 ,

, Poland , , - , Win , align=center, 25–5 ,

, TKO (punches) , KSW 40: Dublin , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:50 ,

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, Ireland , , - , Win , align=center, 24–5 ,

, KO (punch) , KSW 36: Materla vs. Palhares , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:27 ,

Zielona Góra Zielona Góra is the largest city in Lubusz Voivodeship, located in western Poland, with 140,403 inhabitants (2021). Zielona Góra has a favourable geographical position, being close to the Polish-German border and on several international road ...

, Poland , , - , Win , align=center, 23–5 , Antoni Chmielewski , TKO (punches) , KSW 33: Khalidov vs. Karaoglu , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:12 , Gdansk, Poland , , - , Loss , align=center, 22–5 ,

, KO (flying knee and punches) , KSW 33: Materla vs. Khalidov , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:31 , Krakow, Poland , , - , Win , align=center, 22–4 ,

, TKO (punches) , KSW 31: Materla vs. Drwal , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:56 ,

Pomeranian Voivodeship Pomeranian Voivodeship, Pomorskie Region, or Pomerania Province (Polish: ''Województwo pomorskie'' ; ( Kashubian: ''Pòmòrsczé wòjewództwò'' ), is a voivodeship, or province, in northwestern Poland. The provincial capital is Gdańsk. The ...

, Poland , , - , Win , align=center, 21–4 , Jorge Luis Bezerra , TKO (punches) , KSW 28: Fighters Den , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:46 ,

, Poland , , - , Win , align=center, 20–4 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , KSW 26: Materla vs. Silva 3 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Poland , , - , Loss , align=center, 19–4 ,

, KO (punches) , KSW 24: Clash of the Giants , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:50 ,

, Poland , , - , Win , align=center, 19–3 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , KSW 23: Khalidov vs. Manhoef , , align=center, 4 , align=center, 5:00 , Gdansk, Poland , , - , Win , align=center, 18–3 , Rodney Wallace , KO (punch) , KSW 21: Final Resolution , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:21 ,

, Poland , , - , Win , align=center, 17–3 ,

, Decision (majority) , KSW 19: Pudzianowski vs. Sapp , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Poland , , - , Win , align=center, 16–3 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , KSW 17: Revenge , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:00 ,

, Poland , , - , Win , align=center, 15–3 , James Zikic , Decision (unanimous) , KSW 16: Konfrontacja , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 , Gdansk, Poland , , - , Win , align=center, 14–3 , Gregory Babene , Submission (guillotine choke) , KSW 15: Modern Gladiators , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:30 ,

, Poland , , - , Win , align=center, 13–3 , Bohumil Lungrik , Submission (guillotine choke) , Pro Fight 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:20 , Warmian–Masurian Voivodeship, Poland , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–3 , Antonio Mendes , Decision (split) , rowspan=2, KSW VII , rowspan=2, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 , rowspan=2,

, Poland , , - , Win , align=center, 12–2 , Jan Antoska , Submission (guillotine choke) , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:52 , , - , Won , align=center, 11–2 , Krzysztof Kulak , Submission (guillotine choke) , rowspan=3, KSW VI: Konfrontacja , rowspan=3, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:41 , rowspan=3,

, Poland , , - , Win , align=center, 10–2 , Valdas Pocevicius , Technical Submission (rear-naked choke) , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:28 , , - , Win , align=center, 9–2 , Evert Fyeet , Submission (rear-naked choke) , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:13 , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–2 , Moise Rimbon , Decision (unanimous) , WFC: Europe vs. Brazil , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Koper Koper (; it, Capodistria, hr, Kopar) is the fifth largest city in Slovenia. Located in the Istrian region in the southwestern part of the country, approximately five kilometres () south of the border with Italy and 20 kilometres () from Triest ...

, Slovenia , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–1 ,

Evangelista Santos Evangelista Santos ( born December 12, 1977) is a Brazilian retired mixed martial artist. A professional from 1997 until 2016, Santos competed for Strikeforce, Bellator MMA, the PRIDE Fighting Championships, Cage Rage, International Vale Tudo Cha ...

, KO (punches) , Jungle Fight 5 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:23 , Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 , Andrzej Kulik , Decision (unanimous) , Colosseum 5 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Silesian Voivodeship Silesian Voivodeship, or Silesia Province ( pl, województwo śląskie ) is a voivodeship, or province, in southern Poland, centered on the historic region known as Upper Silesia ('), with Katowice serving as its capital. Despite the Silesian ...

, Poland , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Wojciech Golaszewski , Submission (kimura) , MMA Poland 7 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:18 ,

Masovian Voivodeship The Masovian Voivodeship, also known as the Mazovia Province ( pl, województwo mazowieckie ) is a voivodeship (province) in east-central Poland, with its capital located in the city of Warsaw, which also serves as the capital of the country. The ...

, Poland , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Miika Mehmet , Submission (rear-naked choke) , The Cage Vol. 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:08 ,

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

, Finland , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Giedrius Pranckevicius , Submission (armbar) , Colosseum 2 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:36 , Chorzow, Poland , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Christoph Meyer , Submission , Fight Club Berlin 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A ,

, Germany , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Jaroslaw Stachera , KO (punch) , MMA Poland 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:22 ,

, Poland , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Andrzej Kulik , Technical Submission (kimura) , rowspan=2, MMA Poland 2 , rowspan=2, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:12 , rowspan=2,

, Poland , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Tomasz Janiszewski , Submission (guillotine choke) , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:21 , , -

Notes

{{reflist 1984 births Living people Polish male mixed martial artists Middleweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Polish practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu