KSW reminded everyone that he is king in Poland.
According to KSW President Martin Lewandowski, no qualifications are needed when discussing the popularity of his promotion in his home country, as he claims it surpasses even that of the world-dominant UFC. This claim is supported by the massive KSW Colosseum 2 event that took place at PGE Narodowy in Warsaw, Poland, which was said to have an attendance of over 50,000 people.
on MMA watchLewandowski was asked if KSW was bigger than the UFC in Poland, and he stated that it is.
That’s right, Lewandowski said. “People want to train KSW here in Poland. This is what I also heard in the US, some people want to train the UFC. “I’m going to train the UFC.” That’s what happens here too after 19 years on the market. I think that’s the value of being a pioneer In the market and also pioneering because we started MMA here in Poland before KSW it was real underground.So I think that’s what makes us so special and I think Poland is very unique in the global market, to be honest.
“Of course, the biggest is the United States, but in terms of promotion, the way people treat fighters, and I have to say that thanks a lot to KSW, which we started 19 years ago.”
KSW held its first event in 2004 and has gradually emerged as one of the top promotions across Europe with its mix of homegrown stars (including former UFC champion Jan Blachowicz, and current lightweight contender Mateusz Gamrot), and Polish sporting champions (eg world legend man). the strongest are Mariusz Budzyanowski and Olympic wrestler Damian Janikowski (bronze medalist), and consistently high production values.
The key to promotion success, according to Lewandowski, will always be the fighters and what they bring to the table.
“First of all, the fighters, the champions, without them we couldn’t have had such a great event and sold so much because we’re talking about tickets sold, not gifts,” said Lewandowski. “It was a little bit, maybe a hundred less than 50k, but we’ve rounded it up to 50k, so they’re the champions first.
“The second thing, and it’s one of the most important things I think, from day one when we started KSW, it was very important to us to not only get the best fighters on the market and match up the best fights we could get at that time, but also the pack. Production value, all you can gather when you think about going to great concerts and watching great MMA fights I think that mix gives you that unique criterion, I should say, because we’ve been kind of famous for that quality of production for years and also, I think we’re paying a little bit more attention In the little details, including the promotion. Even the theme that we did in the Colosseum, of course the Colosseum originated in Rome but it’s famous because of the gladiators, so we set everything around that event. It was all about the gladiators, so we’re just kind of drifting and want to show up and bring For people this is a real Colosseum atmosphere with gladiators and mad fights.
Following the success of KSW Colosseum 2, Lewandowski’s promotion now holds the record for the two largest MMA events of all time in Europe, with the first Colosseum event in 2017 holding nearly 58,000 fans. Given that this show clearly attracted a wide audience, Lewandowski was asked if there was any interest in booking a show in North America.
Lewandowski replied, “We’re not going to grow in America or fight just for that market because it was acquired by three promotions.” “It’s a tough market, so Europe is something we feel good about, we understand, we’re all Europeans, so better communication and understanding also in that area.
“Yeah, because of Mehmed Khalidov, Mariusz Budzyanowski, these two people who are very famous and popular in the Polish community, not only in the US, but in Canada, wherever Poles live. So it definitely was on my mind. One Chicago Sears Arena as well as Madison Square one approached me Garden, and they want to host KSW, but that’s a sweet dream, we need to work on that.”
As for how he plans to continue the massive Colosseum series, Lewandowski is promising patience due to the logistical effort it takes to put together such a complex show. While he enjoys the idea of having a Colosseum event every year, he doesn’t see it as realistic at this moment.
“[KSW International Communications Manager] Alan Murphy pitched a crazy idea to me today about doing it more often, but I’m thinking because selling those 50k, or like we did earlier 57k, it takes a year of planning plus half a year of promoting the event. Lewandowski said… We just need to put everyone, all our stars involved in promoting this show. “My first thought was they come every four years, just like the Olympics, because that also makes this event unique. People are waiting, like, ‘Oh, it’s coming. Not this year, next year. When you do it every year, it might be like, “It’s average. KSW is doing Coliseum 35 for June or July.” But now they’re making it so unique you just need to wait it out.