KSW’s two featherweight champions will face off to determine the one true 145-pound king in the main event of KSW 85 this weekend in Nowy Sacz, Poland.
Reigning featherweight champion Salahdine Parnasse and current interim champion Robert Ruchala will go head to head at the Amfiteatr Parku Strzeleckiego in Ruchala’s home town, with the winner set to leave the KSW cage as the unified, undisputed champion at 145 pounds.
As title fights go, the matchup is just about the best KSW could book in 2023, with France’s two-division champion Parnasse looking to extend his win streak to five by handing 9-0 Ruchala the first defeat of his professional MMA career. That task will be easier said than done, however, with the Pole proving in his past outings that he has both the grit to go the full distance, and the finishing ability to get the job done inside the distance.
The KSW light heavyweight title will also be up for grabs on August 19, with reigning 205-pound champion Ibragim Chuzhigaev and undefeated contender Bogdan Gnidko set to battle it out for the belt.
Chuzhigaev captured the title with a stellar display against former champion Tomasz Narkun, then defended his crowd with a hard-earned decision win over Ivan Erslan. He’ll look to drag Gnidko into deep waters in Nowy Sacz, with the challenger having finished each and every one of his 10 pro fights inside the first round.
Kiev native Gnidko made a spectacular promotional debut at KSW 73 in August 2022 as he finished Damian Piwowarczyk in just five seconds, then he followed up that display with another rapid-fire finish as he dispatched Madalin Pirvulesco with a head-kick and follow-up strikes in just 38 seconds. His most recent KSW outing came against Rafal Kljanczuk a KSW 82. But, despite going past the one-minute mark for the first time in his KSW career, he still claimed a quickfire finish as he armbarred his opponent to secure a submission win in just 99 seconds.
With seven of champion Chuzhigaev’s 17 career wins coming on the scorecards, we could be set for a real clash of styles, as the Russian-born Turkish champion looks to avoid the fast-starting Ukrainian in the early moments of the fight. However it plays out, we’ll learn a lot more about both men as they face off for championship gold at 205 pounds.
KSW 85: Confirmed fight card
- Salahdine Parnasse vs. Robert Ruchala – for unified featherweight title
- Ibragim Chuzhigaev vs. Bogdan Gnidko – for light heavyweight title
- Patryk Kaczmarczyk vs. Danu Tarchila
- Patryk Surdyn vs. Kamil Szkaradek
- Kleber Silva vs. Rafal Kijanczuk
- Michal Pietrzak vs. Marcin Krakowiak
- Adrianna Kreft vs. Yasmin Guimaraes
- Lukasz Rajewski vs. Wilson Varela
- Wiktoria Czyzewska vs. Sandra Succar