Brought to you by Polish correspondent Damian Teodorczak.
KSW 31 in Gdansk, Poland is just around the corner. The main event is considered to be one of the most anticipated fights on the European MMA scene, as Szczecin’s own Michal Materla squares off against Tomasz Drwal to defend his Middleweight belt. A former UFC fighter, Tomasz Drwal had to pull out of a fight against Mamed Khalidov with a spine injury, but the KSW presidents have rapidly turned the situation in their favor by setting up a fight that will certainly make history.
The departure of Jan Blachowicz left the Light Heavyweight belt up for grabs. On Saturday night a fight between Goran Reljic and former Bellator fighter Atilla Vegh will determine a new champion in the division.
In addition, there are two heavyweight bouts as Mariusz Pudzianowski takes on Rolles Gracie and Karol Bedorf goes head to head against K-1 veteran Peter Graham.
It simply can’t get better! Here’s our prediction:
MICHAL MATERLA vs TOMASZ DRWAL
The amount of media attention surrounding this contest proves the point about how important this fight actually is. There is an enormous amount of pressure on this fight as Michal Materla has already won 2 ‘Fight Of The Year’ awards. Standing on the other side of the cage will be Tomasz Drwal, considered to be the toughest challenge yet for the current champion.
Despite being known mainly for his heart and solid ground skills, Michal Materla likes to surprise and keep the fight standing. In the past Materla has shown a lack of striking defence, especially in the late rounds of the fight, and that’s where Drwal could seek his opportunity to finish the bout. It will be fascinating to see where the fight lands, as Drwal has only been submitted twice in his career, with one of them being at the hands of Rousimar Palhares. Although Tomasz “Gorilla” Drwal has 6 contest under his belt in the UFC, there’s not much difference in experience as both fighters have more than 25 fights on their record. A hard and tiring 3 round fight, where the takedowns of Materla will have an edge over Drwal.
Materla by split decision.
MARIUSZ PUDZIANOWKSKI vs ROLLES GRACIE
A win over Oli Thompson and Pawel Nastula put a stop over debates as to whether Mariusz Pudzianowski is just a celebrity or an MMA fighter. Power, along with sudden outbursts of energy versus technique and composure, this will be highly contested, especially if the fight ends up where Rolles Gracie feels comfortable, on the ground.
It’s obvious that Pudzianowski wants to keep the fight standing and make every effort not to land on his back. In his last two fights, we’ve seen a major improvement in the conditioning of ‘Pudzian’ and his technical boxing skills.
Rolles Gracie has submitted all of the opponents he’s defeated, which is not a surprise, but he certainly has never faced an opponent with such strength and power. The trouble Gracie had in the striking game against Karol Bedorf could be ‘light in the tunnel’ for Pudzianowski, as he’s focus will be on landing a punch through the guard of the Brazilian.
Pudzianowski by decision
KAROL BEDORF vs PETER GRAHAM
Fighting out of Ankos Zapasy Poznan/Berserkers Team Karol Bedorf is making a name for himself in the Heavyweight division. Bedorf’s striking skills looked sharp and neat as he demolished Rolles Gracie with vicious body shots in his last fight, although this time he’s facing Peter Graham, a different calibre of striking, and this could force Bedorf back to his roots of Jiu-Jitsu.
There’s no doubt about the fact Graham possesses some insane skills in his stand up game, but the fight against Maciej Rozalski showed there is a difference between kickboxing and MMA. During any time of the fight, Graham surely has the skills to threaten Bedorf in the striking game, although a slick submission from the top by Bedorf will either make Graham tap or put him to sleep.
Bedorf by submission
GORAN RELJIC vs ATTILA VEGH
Coming off a split decision loss against Emanuel Newton, a loss that brought an end to an impressive 10 fight undefeated streak, Attila Vegh seems to be the likely favourite to become Light Heavyweight Champion of KSW. Defeating 21 out of 29 opponents either by KO/TKO or submission is absolutely what you would call an ‘all-rounded’ fighter. All of Goran Reljic’s defeats came by the hands of current or former UFC fighters, with the last being against Jan Blachowicz at KSW 22.
This certainly should have been a co-main event of the evening, make sure to watch as this for sure will be a close fight.
Attila Vegh by split decision
Here’s the full fightcard of ‘KSW 31: Face to Face’:
TITLEFIGHT (-84KG): MICHAŁ MATERLA vs TOMASZ DRWAL
EXTRAFIGHT: MARIUSZ PUDZIANOWSKI vs ROLLES GRACIE
EXTRAFIGHT (-120KG): KAROL BEDORF vs PETER GRAHAM
TITLEFIGHT (-93KG): GORAN RELJIC vs ATTILA VEGH
EXTRAFIGHT (-77KG): MACIEJ JEWTUSZKO vs KAMIL SZYMUSZOWSKI
EXTRAFIGHT (-84KG): JAY SILVA vs AZIS KARAOGLU
EXTRAFIGHT (-93KG): TOMASZ NARKUN vs KAROL CELIŃSKI
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UNDERCARD (-70KG): PATRYK GRUDNIEWSKI VS GRZEGORZ SZULAKOWSKI
UNDERCARD (-120KG): JĘDRZEJ MAĆKOWIAK VS MARCIN GUŁAŚ
