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 * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting sport based on striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-stylistic contests took place t ...

. 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 premier mixed martial arts organization in Poland and one of the leading in Europe. Awards *Violent Money TV ** ...

(KSW), where he is former KSW Middleweight Champion. , He is currently ranked #6 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. Materla have found success in mixed martial arts, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and

submission wrestling Submission wrestling, also known as submission grappling, submission fighting, or simply grappling, is a martial art and combat sport that focuses on ground fighting and submission techniques. It is a hybrid discipline that incorporates elem ...

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) was 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 ...

, 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 T ...

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 ...

. 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 Witold Drwal (; born January 22, 1982) is a Polish professional mixed martial artist and boxer who most recently competed in the Middleweight division of KSW. A professional competitor since 2004, Drwal has also competed for the UFC. Mi ...

. Materla faced

Mamed Khalidov Mamed Khalidov ( rus, Мамед Магомедович Халидов, Mamed Magomedovich Khalidov, mɐˈmʲɛt maɣɔmʲɛdɔvʲit͡ʂ xɐˈlʲidəf; ; born 17 July 1980) is a Polish mixed martial artist. He is best known for competing in the ...

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 Palhares (;, born February 20, 1980) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 2006, he has competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), World Series of Fighting (WSOF), Fight Nights Global (FN ...

at KSW 36: Materla vs. Palhares on October 10, 2016. Materla won the bout via KO in round two. On 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) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...

(UFC) and was expected to face

Thiago Santos Thiago de Lima Santos (born January 7, 1984) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division. Santos competed in the Professional Fighters League (PFL) and in the Ultimate Fighting Champ ...

at UFC Fight Night 118 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 division of KSW. A professional competitor since 2005, he has also competed for the UFC and Jungle Fight ...

at KSW 40: Dublin on October 22, 2017. He won the bout via TKO in second round. Materla faced Scott Askham in 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 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, 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 people, Polish mixed martial arts, mixed martial artist and former Strongman (strength athlete), strongman competitor. With Strongman#In ...

, 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. Materla fought for the KSW Middleweight Championship against reigning champion

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), where he is the current KSW Middleweight Champion. A professional since 2010, he has also ...

on December 16, 2023 at KSW 89: Bartosiński vs. Parnasse, losing the bout via unanimous decision. Exactly three months later, in the comain of KSW 92, Materla faced Piotr Kuberski, losing the bout 5 seconds before the end of the first round when he was knocked out by Kuberski.

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

, - , Loss , align=center, 33–11 , Piotr Kuberski , TKO (punches) , KSW 92 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:55 ,

Gorzów Wielkopolski Gorzów Wielkopolski (), often abbreviated to Gorzów Wlkp. or simply Gorzów (formerly ), is a city in Geography of Poland, western Poland, located on the Warta, Warta River. It is one of the two principal cities and seats of the Lubusz Voivodes ...

, Poland , , - , Loss , align=center, 33–10 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , KSW 89 , , align=center, 5 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Gliwice Gliwice (; , ) is a city in Upper Silesia, in southern Poland. The city is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Kłodnica river (a tributary of the Oder River, Oder). It lies approximately 25 km west from Katowice, the regional capital ...

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

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

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

, TKO (punches) , KSW 78 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:27 ,

Szczecin Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Poland-Germany border, German border, it is a major port, seaport, the la ...

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

, KO (punch) , KSW 70 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:47 ,

Łódź Łódź is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located south-west of Warsaw. Łódź has a population of 655,279, making it the country's List of cities and towns in Polan ...

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

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

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

, Bulgaria , , - , Loss , align=center, 29–8 , Roberto Soldić , TKO (punches) , KSW 56 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:40 ,

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

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

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, Germany , , - , Loss , align=center, 27–7 , Scott Askham , KO (flying knee) , KSW 49 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:23 ,

Gdańsk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...

, Poland , , - , Win , align=center, 27–6 , Damian Janikowski , TKO (punches) , KSW 45 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:10 ,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England , , - , Win , align=center, 26–6 , Martin Zawada , TKO (punches) , KSW 44 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:59 ,

, Poland , , - , Loss , align=center, 25–6 , Scott Askham , TKO (kick to the body) , KSW 42 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:09 ,

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

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

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

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

, KO (punch) , KSW 36 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:27 ,

Zielona Góra Zielona Góra (; ''Green Mountain''; ) is the largest city in Lubusz Voivodeship, located in western Poland, with 140,403 inhabitants (). The region is closely associated with vineyards and holds an annual Zielona Góra Wine Fest, Wine Fest. Zie ...

, Poland , , - , Win , align=center, 23–5 , Antoni Chmielewski , TKO (punches) , KSW 35 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:12 ,

, Poland , , - , Loss , align=center, 22–5 ,

, KO (flying knee and punches) , KSW 33 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:31 ,

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

, Poland , , - , Win , align=center, 22–4 ,

, TKO (punches) , KSW 31 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 4:56 ,

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

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

, Decision (unanimous) , KSW 26 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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

, KO (punches) , KSW 24 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:50 ,

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

, Decision (unanimous) , KSW 23 , , align=center, 4 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Poland , , - , Win , align=center, 18–3 , Rodney Wallace , KO (punch) , KSW 21 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:21 ,

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

, Decision (majority) , KSW 19 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

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

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

, Poland , , - , Win , align=center, 15–3 , James Zikic , Decision (unanimous) , KSW 16 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Poland , , - , Win , align=center, 14–3 , Gregory Babene , Submission (guillotine choke) , KSW 15 , , 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 ,

Olsztyn Olsztyn ( , ) is a city on the Łyna River in northern Poland. It is the capital of the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, and is a city with powiat rights, city with county rights. The population of the city was estimated at 169,793 residents Olsz ...

, Poland , , - , Loss , align=center, 12–3 , Antonio Mendes , Decision (split) , rowspan=2, KSW 7 , 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 6 , 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) , World Freefight Challenge: Europe vs. Brazil , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Koper Koper (; ) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, fifth-largest city in Slovenia. Located in the Slovenian Istria, Istrian region in the southwestern part of the country, Koper is the main urban center of the Slovene coast. Port of Koper i ...

, 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 Ch ...

, KO (punches) , Jungle Fight 5 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:23 ,

Manaus Manaus () is the List of capitals of subdivisions of Brazil, capital and largest city of the States of Brazil, Brazilian state of Amazonas (Brazilian state), Amazonas. It is the List of largest cities in Brazil, seventh-largest city in Brazil, w ...

, Brazil , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 , Andrzej Kulik , Decision (unanimous) , Colosseum 5 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Bielsko-Biała Bielsko-Biała (; ; , ; ) is a city in southern Poland, with a population of approximately 166,765 as of December 2022, making it the List of cities and towns in Poland#Largest cities and towns by population, 22nd largest city in Poland, and an a ...

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

, 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 () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

, Finland , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Giedrius Pranckevicius , Submission (armbar) , Colosseum 2 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:36 ,

Chorzów Chorzów ( ; ; ) is a city in the Silesia region of southern Poland, near Katowice. Chorzów is one of the central cities of the Metropolis GZM – a metropolis with a population of 2 million. It is located in the Silesian Highlands, on the Rawa ...

, 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 21st-century Polish sportsmen