KSW 87: Heavyweight contenders collide in Czech Republic

Who can topple KSW heavyweight champion Phil De Fries? That’s the question the two men in the main event of KSW 87 hope to be able to answer after this weekend’s showdown.

Croatian Darko Stosic and Czech Republic’s Michal Martinek will go head to head in the headline bout in Trinec in a bid to earn a shot at De Fries, who has reigned over the promotion’s heavyweight division in dominant fashion.

Since joining KSW in 2018, De Fries has gone undefeated, winning 10 in a row for the Polish promotion. He captured the championship on his promotional debut at KSW 43, and has defended it nine times since, with his most recent defense coming in July, when he Szymon Bajor at KSW 84.

One of the men on his list of title defenses is Stosic, who is determined to force his way back into title contention and earn a shot at revenge against De Fries in a championship rematch. Since his defeat to De Fries at KSW 67, he has finished fellow title challenger Michal Kita and undefeated prospect Stefan Vojcak under the KSW banner to put himself back in the mix again.

He’ll take on local hero Martinek, who is looking to bounce back after his split-decision loss to Polish UFC veteran Daniel Omielanczuk at KSW 75 one year ago.

The Czech heavyweight has alternated wins and losses through his last eight outings, with his form guide suggesting he’s due a victory next time out. Success over Stosic could put him within touching distance of a shot at De Fries, who is fast running out of fresh contenders to face as he continues to clean out the promotion’s heavyweight division.

The co-main event will feature lightweight action, as former title contender Roman Szymanski takes on Czech star Leo Brichta.

Szymanski was riding a four-fight win streak heading into his most recent outing at KSW 83, but the 30-year-old Pole fell to a split-decision defeat against Valeriu Mircea. Now looking to bounce back to improve his run of form to five wins from his last six, Szymanski takes on Czech finisher Brichta, who hasn’t lost a professional fight in four years.

Since an armbar defeat to Ronald Paradeiser at Oktagon 14 in September 2019, Brichta has gone on a tear, winning seven MMA bouts, two kickboxing bouts, and one Muay Thai bout in a remarkable run of results. His most recent performance saw Brichta make his KSW debut at KSW 83, where he earned a split-decision win over Maciej Kazieczko in June. Now he’ll look to make inroads toward a title shot by defeating Szymanski on home soil.