KSW 118 Preview: Kuberski v Michalski, Czyżewska v Smajić

KSW enters new ground this Sunday with a trip to Kalisz in central Poland. KSW 118 will host nine bouts under KSW mixed martial arts rules in the Arena Kalisz, including two for international KSW championships.

The interim KSW Middleweight Championship is on the line in the main event, with Piotr Kuberski (17-1) defending the title for the second time after winning it against Tommy Romanowski and beating Radek Paczuski last time out. The 37-year-old is also a former FEN champion and has won his fourteen bouts. The Poznań man is a destroyer of worlds and his matchups descend into damaging violence from the get go. Fifteen wins have come via knockout, turning even the toughest opponents into dust. The Ankos MMA man has punching power that could spark out a bull, and his head kick stops clocks dead. On the defence, his chin is hard to find both through evasion and through a deceptive beard, durability is a huge advantage for him. Michał Michalski (14-5) has been wowing KSW fans since 2018 and holds a victory over UFC title challenger Nassourdine Imavov. The Złotoryja man is always in contention when the fight of the night bonuses are handed out, and he’s not afraid to compete on the feet in this one. The 36-year-old likes to get in close and rip off his bludgeoning elbows. He’s won his last five matches and his volume overwhelms opponents and his powerful punches knock them stiff. Eight wins have come via knockout.

KSW will crown their inaugural women’s KSW Bantamweight Championship on Saturday night. Wiktoria Czyżewska (7-1) is “THE” prospect on the women’s side of the sport and is on the trajectory of a rocket currently. The 22-year-old has been practising karate since she was able to stand, and has grown into a fierce and dangerous competitor. The Końskie native’s game is hard to stop once she picks up momentum, upping the volume and running through opponents. The Pole’s kicking is very accurate, and she consistently rips to the body and has a splendid head kick. Five of her wins have come via knockout and she’s trained a lot with high level BJJ black belt Klaudia Mitko to sharpen her grappling credentials. Sara Luzar Smajić (6-3) returns to KSW for the first time since 2022, and she picked up a big scalp last time out in December with a decision victory over ex-UFC fighter and fellow Balkan Ivana Petrović. The Croatian trains with Trojan Free Fighters in picturesque Pula and she’s genuinely somebody that loves to fight. The 31-year-old has won her last two fights, and she employs a dogged kickboxing style. She will try to make this messy and be in your face for the duration, using her toughness and high volume to keep her up on the cards.

Marian Ziółkowski (25-11-1) is a former KSW Lightweight champion and can often be heard on the Polish language commentary. The 35-year-old trains out of the Nemesis fight team in Warsaw with the likes of Damian Janikowski and Albert Odzimkowski. “Golden Boy” is a very well rounded individual and he’s more than capable of out striking you over the course of a bout, and he has six knockouts to his name. In the grappling exchanges, he’s got long legs that he uses very well in the triangle choke spots, and he’s also got a great arm triangle. Thirteen wins have come via tap out. Cardio isn’t an issue, he’s built for twenty-five minutes and he’s a man with a huge level of experience in the sport. Aymard Guih (19-14-1) will begin this bout with a point deduction after failing to make weight, along with losing 40% of his purse. The Frenchman has won three of his last four and has very credible promotional wins against Dawid Smiełkowski and Francisco Barrio. The Marseille man grew up in MMA when it was still banned in France and he’s an old school type of competitor. The 38-year-old likes to get down and dirty, using his big physical strength to dominate ground exchanges and use his big ground and pound. He’s got submission credentials, solid at the staples such as the RNC and has a wonderful guillotine choke in his arsenal. Ten of his wins have come inside the distance.

An old rivalry must be settled on Saturday and we will see a trilogy bout. Valeriu Mircea (31-9-1) once held an interim KSW Featherweight championship and a win here puts him right into the sights of Patryk Kaczmarczyk’s crown. The “Solitary Wolf” is another whose name always pops up when discussing bonuses and he’s always looking to finish fights. The Moldovan can erupt into violence instantly and his punches and kicks have earned him twelve knockout wins already. The 32-year-old is also a slick BJJ practitioner, with thirteen tap out wins. He won the last bout between the two in the stadium at Colosseum 2, a very tight contest. Roman Szymański (18-9) had an impressive victory in his last outing with a knockout victory over Kacper Formela. The 33-year-old is hard nosed and has huge bravery, willing to stand and trade with anyone. The Poznań based fighter was a champion in FEN, and will throw lots of volume, make it a bit messy on the fence and can also wrestle quite well. Nine of his wins have come via stoppage. He can also bed in for the duration and use his experience to manage a decision. He overwhelmed Mircea in their first bout, leaving the Moldovan unable to answer the bell at the end of the first round. The rivalry is tied at one apiece.

Dawid Kasperski (2-1) lost a close split the last time we saw him back in August. The Pole comes from a kickboxing background and has competed for Glory in the past. The 35-year-old bested two striking specialists so far, decision wins against ex-WBC boxing champion Krzysztof Głowacki and Czech knockout artist Vasil Ducár. Training out of Wrocław, he usually employs a points kickboxing style and likes to manage to a decision. We haven’t seen him score a knockout in MMA competition yet, however he’s only faced tough experts so far. Aleksander Winiarski (3-1) steps in for Jordan Nandor at short notice here. The Pole comes from a pro boxing and kickboxing background and is generally the more powerful of the two. He comes in from Hybrid MMA and after a false start in his pro debut, he’s since laid waste to the three opponents put in front of him, knocking them all out in minutes. When he straps on the small gloves, lights generally go out.

Konrad Rusiński (7-3) comes in hot after a win over Henry Fadipe in January. The Pole had a long amateur record prior to turning pro, winning all twelve contests. The 28-year-old is a good submission player with many ways of making you tap. The jewel in his crown is his guillotine, however his rear naked choke and arm triangle are extremely dangerous weapons. He has one knockout win to round out his skills. Tagir Machmudov (3-0) is a European junior gold medalist at IMMAF level, and a silver medalist in the Worlds. The 22-year-old has a lot of hype behind him and this is his promotional debut. The Dagestani has shown a high level of wrestling and submissions in his fledgling career, and the highlight of his game is his D’arce choke. He’s also shown his punches can sting and has a sub-thirty second knockout win on his record.

Michał Dreczkowski (6-1) is one of KSW’s most promising up-and-comers and he already has three wins in the promotion. The 25-year-old learned his lessons as an amateur, taking on tough opponents and coming up short frequently, and that really stood to him as a pro. The Ankos MMA Poznań is a damaging striker, bloodying up opponents and keeping the cut people in a job. His threat is from the opening bell, sprinting out of the blocks throwing big shots and he’s recorded four knockouts in the first round. Cedric Lushima (7-1) notched up his first KSW win last November, a split decision win over Wojciech Janusz. The IMMAF veteran prefers to do his work in the grappling exchanges and has some great takedowns in his locker. The Belgian likes to utilise big ground and pound to soften you up, and then take the back and sink in a choke. The 30-year-old also has a wicked arm triangle to be careful of. He has a couple of championship wins on the regional scene, including a credible victory over KSW veteran James Radcliffe.

Steven Krt (6-4) is a former IAF and RAF champion in his homeland and he will be desperate for a win here after losing his last two. The Czech is pretty well rounded and his wrestling game is very solid. The Sokolov man is another who uses ground and pound to make your life miserable, and his triangle choke has been his premier technique so far. He entered the promotion with a big knockout win over Borys Borkowski. Daniel Kolasiński (6-2) is a newcomer who stepped in for an injured Oskar Szczepaniak. The Pole is a Cage Warriors and ARES veteran and is another coming from the Nemesis fight team. The Warsaw man comes from a kickboxing background and he has serious, fight ending power at his disposal. On his pro debut, he hit a spectacular five-second head kick knockout. The 30-year-old is a heavy puncher and he swings with bad intent from the start. Don’t be surprised to see him use spinning attacks.

Michał Hir (5-0) was called in to replace Artur Szczepaniak at short notice. The 25-year-old has competed on the bare knuckle boxing show GROMDA, forcing the doctor to stop it after a couple of minutes in both bouts. The Pole comes in from FEN where he is known for the damage he causes to opponents. The Myślenice man causes mass devastation when he steps into the cage, obliterating opponents with both his right and left hands. If he lands clean, you’re waking up staring at the lights. All five wins were due to his fists, and he can land them in any round with the same result. Mateusz Wieczorek (3-0) steps in for Adam Masaev after an illness with only a couple of days notice. The Radom man is a training partner of Daniel Rutkowski and Piotr Kacprzak, so he’s seen a high level ground game in sparring matches. He comes in from Babilon MMA, winning his last bout in November via knockout. From a submission perspective, he’s shown a very slick arm triangle on the amateur scene. He has a lot of potential.

KSW 118 is live from Kalisz at 18:00 Dublin time this Saturday night and the PPV can be purchased at KSWTV.com. If you’re looking for a taste of what’s to come, the first two fights will air for free on Youtube, as well as the infamous KSW opening ceremony.