Fighters Only : Champions collide at KSW 89 as Salahdine Parnasse goes for three-division glory

Simon Head

Dec 15, 2023

One of the hottest talents in European MMA will attempt to become a three-division champion as KSW hosts its final event of the year in Gliwice, Poland.

The event features a 10-fight card, with two title fights topping the bill at the PreZero Arena on Saturday night, with the promotion's welterweight and middleweight titles on the line.

Headlining the event is a champion-versus-champion clash for the welterweight title, as defending 170-pound champion Adrian Bartosinski puts his title on the line against two-division champion Salahdine Parnasse.

France's Parnasse captured his first KSW title back in December 2021 with a unanimous decision victory over Daniel Torres at KSW 65. He then defended his title in style with a fourth-round rear-naked choke finish of Daniel Rutkowski three months later at KSW 68.

A planned tilt at Marian Ziolkowski's lightweight crown at KSW 76 fell through after the Pole was forced out of the bout through injury, and instead Parnasse faced, and submitted, Sebastian Rajewski to claim the interim 155-pound title.

That teed things up perfectly or a lightweight unification bout with Ziolkowski at KSW 83: Colosseum 2. But a significant injury to Ziolkowski again forced him out of the matchup, and he relinquished the belt, with Parnasse being promoted to full champion status.

Now holding the undisputed crown at 145 and 155 pounds, Parnasse is bidding for history as he goes for a third undisputed title, this time at 170 pounds.

Standing in his way is Bartosinski, an unbeaten Polish powerhouse with a 14-0 record and 11 knockouts to his name. "Bartos" claimed back-to-back decision wins in the first two fights of his professional career, but since then it's been all finishes as he has blasted his way through the Polish regional scene and all the way to the top of the KSW welterweight division.

Currently 5-0 under the KSW banner, with four knockouts and one kneebar submission, Bartosinski will provide the sternest, most dangerous test for Parnasse in what should be a fascinating clash of fighting styles in Gliwice.

The co-main event also features championship action, as middleweight champion Pawel Pawlak puts his newly-won title on the line against one of the biggest legends in KSW history, Michal Materla.

Pawlak hasn't lost a fight since 2018, with eight wins and one draw forming his current undefeated streak. His last outing saw him capture the vacant KSW middleweight title with a fifth-round TKO stoppage of Tomasz Romanowski at KSW 83: Colosseum 2. Now he'll be looking to cement his status as the promotion's premier 185-pounder by defeating arguably the promotion's most beloved middleweight champion ever.

Materla will make the walk to the KSW cage for the 30th time on Saturday as he bids to capture the promotion's 185-pound crown for the third time. The 39-year-old is 33-9 overall, and heads into Saturday night's title clash riding a two-fight, two-knockout win streak, with finishes of Kendall Grove and Radoslaw Paczuski putting him back in line for a remarkable third stint as middleweight champion.