amazing !!! Mamed Khaldov!!!
He does it again!!! xtb
#KSWColosseum2 pic.twitter.com/IIAZGTfZ8i– KSW (KSW_MMA)
June 3, 2023
In front of the lively PGE Narodowy Arena in Krakow, Poland, KSW 83 presented “Colosseum 2” contenders for the “Card of the Year” award with entertaining fights, engagements, knockouts, and last minute drama.
The card stacked on top was the much-anticipated rubber bout between former 2nd Division title holder Muhammad Khalidov and former middleweight champion Scott Assham. Khalidov dropped a unanimous decision in his first encounter with Askim, but bounced back with back-to-back knockout wins over his opponent — including Saturday — to win the treble. Khalidov (37-8-2, 21-4-2 KSW) dominated the first clip thanks to a well-timed takedown and ground position. Askham (19-6, 4-2 KSW) looked to scramble but never seemed to control the direction of the fight.
The contestants spent much of the second round in a 50-50 situation, as Askham attempted a heel hook to the inside and a smiling Khalidov retaliated with sporadic hammer blows. Khalidov ended the round with an upset elimination. Askham hit an involuntary low blow at the start of frame three, forcing Khalidov to take a break. After recovering from the shot, Khalidov dropped Ascham Besaheb. When Askim shot the takedown after getting back to his feet, Khalidov fired a flying corkscrew kick that flattened his opponent. Khalidov scored with two more strikes before referee Thomas Broner mercifully stopped the bout at the 1:03 mark of the third round.
A last-minute problem prevented a scheduled lightweight championship unification bout between Marian Ziolkowski and Salahuddin Parnas after Ziolkowski injured his knee during the warm-up. The “Golden Boy” came out to the cage to vacate his 155-pound championship, with Parnas promoted from interim champion to undisputed lightweight champion.
SZPILKA PUDZIAN FINISHES!!! 🤯
xtb
#KSWColosseum2 @employee
pic.twitter.com/djjUq4HBM9– KSW (KSW_MMA)
June 3, 2023
On the short notice promoted, Artur Szpilka swung Mariusz Pudzianowski into a heavyweight tie. At first, it looked like fans were about to see a classic “Pudzian” performance, as Pudzianowski (17-9, 1N C, 17-8, 1 NC KSW) landed a successful landing before unloading heavy picks from the ground and pound. Szpilka (3-0, 2-0 KSW) looked to limit the damage as much as possible, but there were times when referee Mark Goddard took a hard look at the former boxer’s reactions. However, Szpilka managed to survive the opening frame. With Pudzianowski visibly short on the oxygen tank, Szpilka finally showed off his boxing background and knocked down Pudzianowski with a powerful two-piece combination. Szpilka then followed up with more punches, forcing the referee to call the fight 31 seconds into the second round.
Matterla!!!! 💣 XTB
#KSWColosseum2Legend turns back the clock!! Stop !!! pic.twitter.com/iM2rA8wCHS
– KSW (KSW_MMA)
June 3, 2023
Elsewhere, Paul Pawlak (22-4-1, 4-0 KSW) stopped Tomasz Romanowski (18-9, 1 NC, 6-2 KSW) with his elbows in the fifth round after dominating his opponent throughout the bout, taking possession. On KSW vacancy. Title at 185 pounds; Arkadiusz Wrzosek (3-0, 3-0 KSW) forced Bogdan Stoica (0-1, 0-1 KSW) to tap a forearm choke in the opening frame of the heavyweight tilt; And KSW veteran Michal Matterella (33-9, 22-7 & KSW) scored an impressive comeback by eliminating Radoslaw Paczewski (5-2, 2-2 & KSW) at 1:37 of round 1 at middleweight.
Expelled from a whole mountain! 🤯
Former WBO Cruiserweight Champion 🇵🇱 Krzysztof Głowacki is dangerous from anywhere!!
xtb
#KSWColosseum2 pic.twitter.com/7pZI71yaPX– KSW (KSW_MMA)
June 3, 2023
In the preliminary card, Valerio Mircia (29-8-1, 3-1 KSW) recovered a tight split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) over Roman Szymanski (17-7, 9-4 KSW). ) in their hard-fought lightweight rematch; Daniil Rutkowski (16-3, 1 NC, 4-1 KSW) beats Adam Soldaev (8-1, 3-0 KSW) on all scorecards (30-27, 30-27, 29-28) at featherweight; 145-pounder Leo Beryshta (11-3, 1 NC, 1-0 & KSW) beat Maciej Kazichko (9-3, 8-3 & KSW) thanks to a tight split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28 -29); Former WBO cruiserweight title holder Krzysztof Glowacki (1-0, 1-0 KSW) scored a knockdown for contender of the year after finishing Patryk Tolkaczewski (0-1, 0-1 KSW) from the bottom in the full pinning position at 1:33 into the round 1 heavyweight; Mariusz Juniak (11-4, 1-0 KSW) beat Sebastian Romanowski (14-11-1, 0-1 KSW) by majority decision (29-28, 29-27, 28-28) at 163 lbs. weight bout.