We are just a couple of days away from the first KSW event of 2021!

KSW 58 takes place this Saturday, January 30^th, from Lodz, Poland, and is available to watch for fight fans worldwide on www.KSWTV.com & KSW App starting at 8pm CET/7pm GMT/2pm EST/11 am PST.

Here are five reasons why you should watch on Saturday:

1. New School Main Event!

For just the second time in KSW history two non-Polish fighters will compete in the headline slot. The undefeated French sensation Salahdine Parnasse (14-0-1) will put his KSW featherweight title on the line against exciting Brazilian Daniel Torres (11-4) in what promises to be an exciting new school MMA clash.

Parnasse debuted in KSW in 2017 days after his 19^th birthday and immediately impressed with a decision win over local favourite Lukasz Rajewski. The youngster came into the promotion with a 9-0-1 record that included wins in around Europe, China, and even a victory over Morgan Charriere.

Although he came into KSW as “unproven” to many critics, he soon dispelled these thoughts with masterful wins over former champions Artur Sowinski and Marcin Wrzosek, respectfully. In his next fight we would capture the interim title with a one-sided stoppage win over Roman Szymanski and, most recently, would defend it against long-time European standout Ivan Buchinger.

Parnasse would then be promoted to full KSW champion following the departure of Mateusz Gamrot. Now 23-years-old, and over three years into his KSW debut, the French sensation crosses paths with another standout from the next generation of MMA fighters in Daniel Torres.

Despite being only 26-years-old Torres has been competing professionally for almost a decade now. His career started with more turmoil than his French counterpart, however, posting a 4-3 run between 2012 and 2016. The following year is when everything began clicking for Torres and coincidently this was the same year Parnasse made his KSW debut.

Moving to Austria and aligning himself with KSW veteran Jasminka Cive has helped Torres in his career. Now he is 7-1 and earned this title shot after back-to-back wins over Croatia’s Filip Pejic and Germany’s Max Coga, two highly ranked veteran fighters in Europe.

Parnasse and Torres’ paths have led them to this fight at KSW 58.

2. One Will Fall

While the main event features two ‘new school’ fighters, the co-main event features two veteran athletes representing the ‘old school’ as Polish sporting hero Szymon Kolecki (8-1) faces Martin ‘King Kong’ Zawada (29-15-1).

Kolecki came into MMA late in his life, in fact he came into MMA around the same age as a lot of sports stars retire – 35. But Szymon Kolecki is not a normal human. We are talking about a man who was won gold and Silver medals at the Olympics at weightlifting.

In addition to his Gold at Beijing, 2008, and Silver at Sydney, 2000, he managed to squeeze in four medals at the World Championships (two x silver and two x bronze) and no less than five gold medals at the European championships.

He left weightlifting in 2008 and assumed a behind the scenes role in the sport in Poland. But then emerged from the shadows in 2017 to declare interest at competing in MMA. His explosiveness from weightlifting and his athletic ability, despite his advancing years, transitioned to MMA and wracked-up a surprising 6-1 record, all first round TKO’s, on the local scene in Poland.

Kolecki then defeated five-time world’s strongest man Mariusz Pudzianowski in his promotional debut and followed this up with a tremendous TKO win over Damian Janikowski, an Olympic bronze medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling. Now though he feels he will face the toughest test of his MMA career when he steps in the cage this Saturday opposite Martin Zawada.

The older of the Zawada brothers (young bro is KSW vet and current UFC fighter David Zawada), Martin has been competing professionally since 2003 and faces a long list of European greats like Mamed Kahlidov, Jan Blachowicz, Lukasz Jurkowski, Michal Materla, Dave Dalgliesh, and more over the years.

With forty-five professional fights, eighteen knockout wins, and five submission victories to his name, Zawada rounded out a great and very noble career at KSW 49 with a three-round war with Brazilian veteran Thiago Silva. It was arguably the biggest win of his career and it looked like we saw the last of him in the cage.

Never say never though. The 37-year-old is back after signalling that he will only return for ‘big fights’ and the Polish-German certainly has that in Szymon Kolecki!

Godzilla vs. King Kong comes out in a few months, but at KSW 58 we have Kolecki vs. Zawada. One will fall.

3. Someone’s ‘O’ has got to go!

A clash between two undefeated fighters is always something to take note of but even more so when both athletes are at the top of the game. That is what we have on Saturday when Shamil Musaev (14-0) clashes with Uros Jurisic (11-0).

Musaev quietly came into KSW in 2019 and sniped out two prospective Polish stars, dispatching of them with ease and pure dominance. And thus, earning the moniker of ‘The Silent Assassin’.

The first to fall was Hubert Szymajda, a fearsome and imposing looking fighter with an 8-2 record. Musaev glided into a cross-mounted crucifix and punished Szymajda until the referee saved him from any more damage. The second was Grzegorz Szulakowski, a wild and unpredictable fighter who was a former title challenger. Musaev ended this fight in less than ninety seconds with his own assault of precise and calculated strikes. The final blow being a devastating spinning backfist.

A title challenge at lightweight seemed the logical next step for Musaev, however, after a year away from the cage and a quiet 2020 due to the Covid pandemic the Russian is back but this time at welterweight.

Meeting the challenge of Musaev head-on is Uros Jurisic, a fighter who comes into KSW with a lot of hype and someone who many regarded as one of the hottest free agents on the market.

The Slovenian fighter is a former Titan FC champ and comes into KSW straight off the back of a first-round submission win at Bellator 247.

Taking over the KSW welterweight division is his goal. Although respecting Musaev and his abilities, Jurisic has his sights set on winning the belt and dethroning Roberto Soldic, a fighter with whom he has history with.

Despite being from the Balkans, Jursic has had years of experience training with a murderer’s row of top talent at American Top Team. So, it comes as no surprise there is no fear facing an assassin this weekend at KSW.

4. Heavyweight Collision Course!

Two well-skilled and experienced heavyweights will collide in the centre of the cage on Saturday as Poland’s Michal Andryszak (21-9) meets Brazil’s Guto Inocente (8-5).

Andryszak has a reputation like no other. This monstrous heavyweight, standing 6’5” and weighing 250+ lbs, is a soul taker. Of his twenty-one professional wins, twenty were in the first round, and twelve were within the first ninety seconds.

The 28-year-old is a former title contender in KSW and has ambitions to get back to title contention again. A win is badly needed for Andryszak, however, he won’t have an easy time with Inocente.

The Brazilian is a UFC and Strikeforce veteran, but arguably more impressive is that he is a former GLORY heavyweight title contender and a multiple W.A.K.O. K-1 champion.

This fight has the right recipe for a highlight reel finish!

5. Wild Men and Crazy Finishes

Michal Michalski (8-4), for those who know him, is a fighter who brings pure chaos. In Poland he is regarded as one of the top welterweights and respected right across the country for his skill and power. However, when he steps into the cage the only thing that can be expected is carnage, which sometimes is detrimental to him. 

The 31-year-old is 2-2 in KSW, with all four fights ending in stoppages. And it should come as no surprise, he has earned 'Fight of the Night' in three of those outings. 

Winning his past two fights straight has focused this wild man somewhat and he has his sights set on the top of the division but first he must get past Aleksandar Rakas (16-7), a protege of the great Mirko Cro Cop.

When you hear that a fighter comes for the Team Cro Cop gym you get a certain expectation of fighters and Rakas does not disappoint. The 30-year-old possesses an 88% finishing ratio, is on a 12-2 run, and, much like Cro Cop, he has fight ending power in his legs!

The Croatian was originally scheduled to make his KSW debut in his hometown of Zagreb at KSW 51, however, a late injury scuppered those plans, and he has not been in action since. Now he is chomping at the bit to get back to competing and make up for lost time.

KSW 58 Fight Card
Live on www.KSWTV.com 

Main Event
Featherweight Title
Champion Salahdine Parnasse (14-0-1) vs. Daniel Torres (11-4)

Co-Main Event 
Light Heavyweight
Szymon Kolecki (8-1) vs. Martin Zawada (29-15-1)

Welterweight
Michal Michalski (8-4) vs. Aleksandar Rakas (16-7)

Welterweight 
Shamil Musaev (14-0) vs. Uroš Jurišič (11-0)

Heavyweight 
Michal Andryszak (21-9) vs. Guto Inocente (8-5)

Bantamweight
Pawel Politylo (5-2) vs. David Martinik (4-1)

Catchweight 150lb/68kg
Robert Ruchała (4-0) vs. Daniel Bazant (4-1)

Lightweight
Bartłomiej Kopera (9-6) vs. Francisco Barrio (7-2)