Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki (English: ''Martial Arts Confrontation'') better known by its initials KSW, is widely considered to be the premier

mixed martial arts 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, inc ...

organization in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

and one of the leading in Europe.

Awards

*Violent Money TV **VMTV European Promotion of the Year 2022

History

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. The promotion is famed for its four and eight-man tournaments, which until KSW X - Dekalog took place over the period of one night, 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 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 ...

, 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. 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 ''Pride Shockwave Dynamite!'' is the international PPV broadcast name for the mixed martial arts and kickboxing event co-promoted by the PRIDE Fighting Championships and K-1 on August 28, 2002. It was held at the Tokyo National Stadium in Tokyo, ...

in 2002 and ahead of UFC 193. Several fighters who have been successful in KSW have signed on to more well known promotions such as the

. 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 Jan Maciej Błachowicz (; born 24 February 1983) is a Polish professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champ ...

, 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 Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the FTA Receiver, appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring ...

television network Polsat.

Viaplay era

On November 22, 2021, KSW announced a long-term partnership with streaming platfrom 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.

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 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 ...

Toruń )'' , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_flag = POL Toruń flag.svg , image_shield = POL Toruń COA.svg , nickname = City of Angels, Gingerbread city, Copernicus Town , pushpin_map = Kuyavian-Pom ...

, Radom and

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 ...

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. The first honored player inducted into the Hall of Fame was former KSW commentator and the first KSW tournament champion, Łukasz "Juras" Jurkowski 3. The official ceremony of Jurkowski's introduction to the Hall of Fame took place during the XTB KSW 83: Colosseum 2 gala.

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. During the fight of the evening of this event , Mamed Chalidow and Tomasz Adamek crossed gloves in the boxing formula. The KSW

ring announcer A ring announcer is an in-ring (and sometimes on-camera) employee or contractor for a boxing, professional wrestling or mixed martial arts event or promotion, who introduces the competitors to the audience. In boxing and mixed martial arts bouts, ...

is Waldemar Kasta, a former rapper born in

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...

Roster

Rankings

The rankings for the KSW's fighters are both recorded and updated when information has been obtained from the KSW's website. * ''Updated as of July 23, 2024.''

List of KSW events

Scheduled events

Past events

List of KSW events: *

2004 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki The year 2004 was the first year in the history of the Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Poland. In 2004 Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki held 2 events beginning with, ''KSW I: Konfrontacja''. List of events KSW I: K ...

2005 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki The year 2005 is the second year in the history of the Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Poland. In 2005 Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki held 2 events beginning with, ''KSW III: Konfrontacja''. List of events KSW II ...

2006 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki The year 2006 is the third year in the history of the Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Poland. In 2006 Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki held 2 events beginning with, ''KSW V: Konfrontacja''. List of events KSW V: Ko ...

2007 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki The year 2007 was the fourth year in the history of the Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Poland. In 2007 Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki held 3 events beginning with, ''KSW VII: Konfrontacja''. List of events KSW VII ...

2008 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki The year 2008 is the fifth year in the history of the Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Poland. In 2008, Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki held 4 events beginning with, ''KSW Elimination II''. List of events KSW Elimi ...

2009 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki The year 2009 is the sixth year in the history of the Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Poland. In 2009 Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki held 2 events beginning with, ''KSW 11: Khalidov vs. Acacio''. List of events K ...

2010 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki The year 2010 is the seventh year in the history of the Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Poland. In 2010 Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki held 4 events beginning with, ''KSW: KSW Elimination''. List of events KSW El ...

2011 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki The year 2011 is the eighth year in the history of the Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Poland. In 2011 Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki held 4 events beginning with, ''KSW Extra 2''. List of events KSW Extra 2 KS ...

- 2012 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki -

2013 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki The year 2013 is the tenth year in the history of the Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Poland. In 2014 Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki held 4 events beginning with, KSW 22: Pride Time . List of events KSW 22: Pride ...

2014 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki The year 2014 is the 11th year in the history of the Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Poland. In 2014 Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki held 4 events beginning with, KSW 26: Materla vs. Silva III. List of events KSW 2 ...

2015 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki The year 2015 is the 12th year in the history of the Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Poland. In 2015 Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki held 4 events beginning with, KSW 30. List of events KSW 30: Genesis ''KSW 30'' ...

2016 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki The year 2016 is the 13th year in the history of the Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Poland. In 2016 Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki held 4 events beginning with, KSW 34: New Order . List of events KSW 34: New Order ...

2017 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki The year 2017 is the 14th year in the history of the Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Poland. 2017 began with KSW 38. List of events KSW 38: Live in Studio KSW 38: Live in Studio was a mixed martial arts ...

2018 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki The year 2018 will be the 15th year in the history of the Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Poland. 2018 began with KSW 42. List of events Title fights KSW 42: Khalidov vs. Narkun KSW 42: Khalidov vs. Nark ...

2019 in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki The year 2019 was the 16th year in the history of the Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Poland. 2019 began with KSW 47. List of events Title fights KSW Middleweight Championship Tournament bracket KSW 47: T ...

Event locations

*The following cities have hosted a total of 100 KSW events as of XTB KSW 93: Parnasse vs Mircea (6.4.2024.)

Current champions

Men's divisions

Women's divisions

Championship history

Heavyweight championship

Light heavyweight championship

Middleweight championship

Welterweight championship

Lightweight championship

Featherweight championship

Bantamweight championship

Women's flyweight championship

Women's strawweight championship

KSW fighters

List of current KSW fighters 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. This list is an up-to-date roster ...

Notable fighters

Poland * Mamed Khalidov *

Michał Materla Michał Materla (born April 10, 1984) is a Polish mixed martial artist. He currently competes for the Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki (KSW), where he is former KSW Middleweight Champion. , he was ranked #5 in KSW Middleweight rankings. Background M ...

* Mariusz Pudzianowski *

* Mateusz Gamrot *

Karolina Kowalkiewicz Karolina Kowalkiewicz (born 15 October 1985) is a Polish mixed martial artist. She currently fights for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). She is the former Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki#Women's Strawweight Championship, KSW Women's Flyweight ...

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 ...

Artur Szpilka Artur Szpilka (; born 12 April 1989) is a Polish professional boxer and mixed martial artist. He has challenged once for the WBC heavyweight title in 2016. He holds a notable win over former two-weight world champion Tomasz Adamek. Profession ...

Arkadiusz Wrzosek Arkadiusz Wrzosek (born 3 June 1992) is a Polish kickboxer. He is currently competing for Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki, having previously competed in Glory. Wrzosek knocked out Badr Hari at Glory 78. Kickboxing career He started martial arts trai ...

* Damian Stasiak *

Rafal Jackiewicz Rafal may refer to: People * Rafal E. Dunin-Borkowski (born 1969), British experimental physicist * Rafal Kiernicki (1912–1995), Roman Catholic prelate from Ukraine * Rafal Korc (born 1982), Polish Paralympic athlete Places *Rafal, Alicant ...

* Damian Janikowski *

Maciej Jewtuszko Maciej Jewtuszko (born January 31, 1981) is a Polish mixed martial artist who most recently competed in 2019. A professional since 2005, he has fought in the UFC, WEC, and KSW. He is the former KSW Lightweight Champion. Background Jewtuszko com ...

Szymon Kołecki Szymon Piotr Kołecki (; born 12 October 1981) is a Polish former Olympic Champion weightlifter and current mixed martial artist. He was the silver medalist at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney and a gold medalist at the 2008 Olympic Games in B ...

* Tomasz Narkun * Pawel Nastula *

Daniel Omielańczuk Daniel Omielańczuk (born August 31, 1982) is a Polish professional mixed martial artist and kickboxer currently competing in the Heavyweight division of Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki (KSW). A professional MMA competitor since 2009, he has competed f ...

Wojciech Orłowski Wojciech Orłowski (born October 14, 1981, in Racibórz) is Polish wrestler and mixed martial artist. Mixed martial arts record , - , Loss , align=center, 7-9 (1) , Adam Kowalski , TKO (head kick and punches) , Granda Pro 7: Lucky 7 , , ...

* Paweł "Popek" Rak *

Przemysław Saleta Przemysław Saleta (born 7 March 1968) is a Polish professional boxer, as well as a former kickboxer and mixed martial artist. Achievements Kickboxing: *1990 W.A.K.O. World Championships in Madrid, Spain -91 kg (Full-Contact) *1990 W. ...

Peter Sobotta Peter Sobotta (born January 11, 1987) is a retired Polish-born German professional mixed martial artist, who fought in the Welterweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2004, Sobotta has also f ...

Paweł Pawlak Paweł Pawlak (born February 8, 1989) is a Polish mixed martial artist currently competing in the Middleweight division of Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki (KSW). He is currently ranked #1 in the KSW Middleweight rankings. A professional since 2010, he ...

Marcin Held Marcin Held (born January 18, 1992) is a Polish mixed martial artist who competes in the Lightweight division. He formerly competed in the Lightweight division of the Absolute Championship Berkut, Professional Fighters League, a ...

Damian Grabowski Damian Grabowski (born May 12, 1980) is a Polish mixed martial artist who last competed in 2019. A professional since 2007, he has fought in the UFC, Bellator, Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki (KSW), and M-1 Global. Biography Grabowski is a multiple Bra ...

* Tomasz Adamek * Aslambek Saidov * Karol Bedorf * Marcin Różalski * Lukasz Jurkowski * Borys Mankowski United States * Josh Barnett * Houston Alexander *

Eric Esch Eric Scott Esch (born August 3, 1966), better known by his nickname "Butterbean", is an American retired professional boxer, kickboxer, mixed martial artist, and professional wrestler who competed in the heavyweight division. He is also a televis ...

* Brett Cooper * Kendall Grove * Jason Guida * Mike Hayes * Matt Horwich * James Irvin *

Bob Sapp Robert Malcolm Sapp (born September 22, 1973) is an American mixed martial artist, kickboxer, professional wrestler, actor, and former American football player. He is currently under contract with Rizin Fighting Federation. Sapp has a combine ...

* Jesse Taylor * Rodney Wallace * Matt Lindland *

Sean McCorkle Sean McCorkle (born July 17, 1976) is a retired Americans, American professional mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist who last competed in the Super Heavyweight (MMA), Super Heavyweight division. A professional from 2005 until 2014, he compe ...

* Virgil Zwicker Brazil * Daniel Acácio * Ariane Lipski * Maiquel Falcao * Kalindra Faria *

Rolles Gracie Jr. Rolles Gracie (born July 14, 1978) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner, and professional wrestler. As the son of Rolls Gracie, he is a third generation martial arts member of the Gracie family, an ...

Wagner Prado Wagner Prado (born December 30, 1987) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently competing in the light heavyweight division of Absolute Championship Akhmat (ACA). A professional competitor since 2009, he has formerly competed for the UFC an ...

* Thiago Silva *

Mario Miranda Mário João Carlos do Rosário de Brito Miranda (2 May 1926 – 11 December 2011), popularly known as Mario Miranda or Mario de Miranda, was an Indian cartoonist and painter based in Loutolim in the Indian state of Goa. Miranda had been a ...

* Rousimar Palhares *

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 ...

* Fernando Rodriguez Jr * Vitor Nobrega England *

Phil De Fries Philip De Fries (born 21 April 1986) is a British mixed martial artist currently competing in the Heavyweight division of Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki. A professional competitor since 2009, De Fries has formerly competed for the UFC, Bellator, an ...

* Scott Askham * John Maguire * James McSweeney *

Jim Wallhead Jim Wallhead (born 14 March 1984) is an English professional mixed martial artist who competes in the Welterweight division. He has competed for BAMMA, Bellator, and M-1 Challenge and the UFC . Wallhead is a member of Team Rough House and Lei ...

* Curt Warburton *

Andre Winner Andre Badi Winner (born 9 November 1981) is a Grenadian-born English mixed martial artist. He was a cast member of Spike TV's '' The Ultimate Fighter: United States vs. United Kingdom'', reaching the final. Winner is also a member of Team Rough ...

* James Thompson * Oli Thompson Japan *

Kleber Koike Erbst Kleber Koike Erbst (born October 16, 1989; ) is a Japanese mixed martial artist who competes in the Featherweight division of Rizin Fighting Federation, where he is the former Rizin Featherweight Champion. He has also competed in Konfrontacja ...

* Satoshi Ishii *

Yusuke Kawaguchi (born August 14, 1980) is a Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler, who fights in the heavyweight division. He is the former DEEP Megaton Champion, and has also fought in DREAM, M-1 Global and KSW. Judo Yusuke Kawaguchi came ...

* Ryuta Sakurai *

Kazuki Tokudome is a Japanese professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Lightweight division of ONE Championship. A professional competitor since 2007, he has also competed in Pancrase, Sengoku Raiden Championships and the Ultimate Fighting ...

Croatia * Roberto Soldić * Igor Pokrajac *

Goran Reljic Goran may refer to: Ethnic groups * Gorane, or Goran, an ethnic group of northern Africa * Goran (Kurdish tribe), an ethnic group of the Middle East * Gorani (ethnic group), an ethnic group of the southeastern Europe Other uses * Göran, a Sw ...

Czech Republic *

Simona Soukupova Simona Soukupova is a Czech mixed martial artist who competes at Invicta FC in the Atomweight division and has fought 3 times for the organization. Mixed martial arts record , - , Loss , align=center, 6–6–1 , Svetlana Gotsyk , Decision (sp ...

* Patrik Kincl * Leo Brichta Australia * Peter Graham *

Paul Slowinski Paul "The Sting" Slowinski (born 24 September 1980) is a Polish kickboxer, a four-time World Muay Thai Council (WMC) Muay Thai World champion and two-time K-1 World GP 2006 in Auckland and K-1 World GP 2007 in Amsterdam champion. After two y ...

Netherlands * Valentijn Overeem *

Rodney Glunder Rodney Glunder (born as ''Rodney Faverus'', March 1, 1975) is a retired Dutch professional kickboxer, mixed martial artist, professional wrestler and boxer, current actor, entrepreneur and bodybuilder. He has fought for M-1 Global, Cage Rage, K- ...

France * Francis Carmont * Mansour Barnaoui * Salahdine Parnasse Germany * Sheila Gaff Slovakia *

Attila Végh Attila Végh (born August 9, 1985) is a Slovak mixed martial artist who competed in the Light Heavyweight divisions of Bellator Fighting Championships and Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki (KSW). He won the Bellator 2012 Summer Series Light Heavyweight ...

* Ivan Buchinger Serbia * Darko Stošić Other *

Dricus du Plessis Dricus du Plessis (born 14 January 1994) is a South African professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He previously competed in the Middleweight division of E ...

Jasminka Cive Jasminka Cive (born ) is an Austrian female kickboxer and mixed martial artist, based in Austria. She competes professionally since 2005 and is the current ISKA Flyweight champion and mixed martial artist. Biography Born in Serbia, Jasminka C ...

* Yasubey Enomoto *

Andrey Gerasimchuk Andrey Gerasimchuk (born February 7, 1987) is a Belarusian Muay Thai kickboxer who competes in the heavyweight division. He is a three time Kunlun Fight Tournament winner. He was ranked as a top ten heavyweight by Combat Press from October 20 ...

Konstantin Gluhov Konstantin Gluhov (russian: Константин Игоревич Глухов, lv, Konstantīns Gluhovs; born January 17, 1980) is a Latvian heavyweight kickboxer and mixed martial artist of Russian descent. He is a former WPKA World Muaythai ...

Sergej Grecicho Sergej Grecicho, or in Lithuanian Sergejus Grečicho, is a Lithuanian Combat Sambo practitioner, and mixed martial artist who has won six medals, three of them gold, in Combat Sambo divisions at the Sambo World Championships. He also ...

Marius Žaromskis Marius Žaromskis (born July 30, 1980) is a Lithuanian professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Welterweight division. A professional competitor since 2000, Zaromskis has formerly competed for Strikeforce, Cage Rage, Bellato ...

Alexander Gustafsson Alexander Gustafsson (born 15 January 1987) is a Swedish professional mixed martial artist. Gustafsson currently competes in the light heavyweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Gustafsson spent a major part of his MMA ...

* Melvin Manhoef * Christian M'Pumbu *

Oleksiy Oliynyk Aleksei Alexeyevich Oleinik (born June 25, 1977, as Oleksíy Oleksíyovych Olíynyk) is a Russian mixed martial artist and combat sambo fighter who fought for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, competing in their heavyweight division. He be ...

* Norman Parke * Jay Silva *

Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou Nkamhoua (; born April 18, 1984), mostly billed simply as Sokoudjou, is a Cameroonian professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 2006, Sokoudjou is the former KSW Light Heavyweight Champion, and h ...

References

External links

Konfrontacja at Sherdog

KSW Official Site

European MMA Rankings
{{MMA organizations Organizations established in 2004 Mixed martial arts organizations Sports organisations of Poland Mixed martial arts events lists 2004 establishments in Poland