The KSW Epic took place on Saturday, February 24, 2024 at the Gliwice Arena in Poland, and as always, it was an exciting match. Even more wild than usual, given the night's unusual format. Instead of a typical card featuring only MMA fights, KSW Epic featured a wide range of different match types.
There was boxing, there was grappling, there was Muay Thai. A one-night tournament was held between four people. There was even a classic No Holds Barred/Pride Rules fight that ended in suitably violent fashion. For those too young to remember, Japan's PRIDE FC allowed stomps and soccer kicks on downed opponents, ending more than a night for wrestlers who felt a little too safe on the ground. I did.
We once again saw effective finishing power with stomps and kicks in the KSW Epic matchup between Muslim Turshaev and Konrad Rusynski. Early in the third round, Turshaev knocked Rusinski down and took advantage of the modified ruleset (or lack thereof) to stop Rusinski with a stomp and a soccer kick. Rushinsky basically finished with the first stomp, but the referee seemed more interested in Turshaev holding onto the cage than kicking his opponent in the face.
Here's a new angle of the finish provided by KSW:
Check out how it turned out when it first aired on KSW Epic pay-per-view.
KSW has earned a reputation as one of the most entertaining and successful fighting leagues in Europe. All events are worth checking out, but these epic shows are something else. I hope to see more of them in the future.
KSW Epic full results
Tomasz Adamek defeats Mamed Khalidov by TKO – Hand Injury (Round 3, 3:00) – Boxing Match
Rafal Halatik defeats Damian Pilawalczyk by split decision (Round 3, 5:00)
Haratik becomes KSW light heavyweight world champion
Josh Barnett vs. Phil de Vries ends in a draw – Judges’ Decision (Round 1, 10:00) – Grappling Match
Vaclav Sivak defeats Michael Krolik by decision – unanimous decision (Round 3, 3:00) – Muay Thai match
Darko Stosic defeats Mateusz Scheffel by TKO – Punches (Round 1, 1:12) – PRIDE Rules
Rafael Halatik defeats Marcin Wojcik by TKO – Punches (Round 1, 4:05)
Damien Piławalczyk defeats Kleber Raimundo Silva by KO with a body punch (Round 1, 2 minutes 34 seconds)
Ivan Erslan defeats Bodan Gudnidko by punch KO (Round 1, 0:54)
Muslim Turshaev defeats Konrad Rusinski by TKO – Soccer Kick (Round 3, 0:32) – No Holds Bird Match
Piotr Kapczak defeats Adam Brisz by TKO – Punches (Round 1, 1:16) – Gi MMA Bout