Fight Facts is a breakdown of all of the interesting information
and cage curiosities on every card, with some puns, references and
portmanteaus to keep things fun. These deep stat dives delve into
the numbers, providing historical context and telling the stories
behind those numbers.
* * *
TOTAL NUMBER OF KSW FIGHTS: 732
TOTAL NUMBER OF KSW EVENTS: 85
KSW planted its flag in the Czech Republic for the first time
as part of its gradual international expansion campaign, pushing
just past its own southwestern border into the city of Liberec. The
promotion treated these new fans to plenty of heavyweight violence,
with no match more significant than that division’s title on
display.
KSW
79 featured the continuation of an unequaled run, a smelling
salts-requiring head kick and a slow roll for a longtime vet.
Welcome to Czechia: Before Feb. 25, KSW had never hosted an event
in the Czech Republic. In fact, it had only left Poland on four
occasions: twice to London, once to Dublin and another time to
Zagreb, Croatia.
Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Fried: In the KSW 79 main event,
Philip De
Fries exacted revenge on
Todd Duffee
by pounding him out in the first round. In his 30-fight career, the
Brit has still never lost a rematch, finishing
Darren
Towler,
Thomas
Denham,
Tomasz
Narkun and Duffee when facing them a second time.
Give Him Tong Po: The major organization heavyweight championship
defense record went up to eight when De Fries beat Duffee for the
KSW strap. No heavyweight king in a major league has ever
accomplished this feat.
A Seemingly Unending Run: De Fries became the first champion in KSW
history to notch eight straight title defenses by wiping out
Duffee. Before De Fries came around, the previous record was former
foe Narkun’s five.
Titletacular: Since saddling up with the promotion in 2018, De
Fries has won nine straight fights, all with championship stakes.
This latest win breaks a tie with Narkun for the most wins in KSW
title fights.
For the Queen: In his nine appearances with the organization, seven
of the Britain native’s victories have come inside the distance.
While that remains far behind the leading tally of 17 set by
Mamed
Khalidov, only seven fighters in company history have scored
more finishes than De Fries.
The Duffman Cometh: Beyond his eye poke resulting in a no contest
in 2019, every single one of Duffee’s pro outings has ended by
knockout, win or lose. Just two of his 14 fights have gone beyond
the first round.
Bah Humburger: After three rounds of action,
Dominik
Humburger collected a unanimous decision win over
Jorge Luiz
Bueno Jr. The Liberec native had never fought beyond 7:30 in any of
his past pro fights.
Old on Old: In the third round,
Michal Kita
punched out
Daniel
Omielanczuk to spring the upset. The 42-year-old that made his
KSW debut back at KSW 33 in 2015 successfully achieved his fourth
win on the roster. It took him longer (10 appearances) than any
active fighter to earn four victories.
Doesn’t Count Semi-Pro Trickery: It took
Brian Hooi
less than four minutes to wreck
Jivko
Stoimenov. Bulgaria’s Stoimenov, in his 19 professional
matches, has still only fought out of the first round three times,
and all three of those occasions he has lost.
Now Is Not the Time for Fear:
Andreas
“Bane” Gustafsson blew through
David Hosek
around the midpoint of Round 1 to earn his first win on the KSW
roster. The Swede celebrates a finish rate of 87% after this win,
which clocked in as his fastest.
Call the Truck: Across 732 professional fights under the KSW
banner, an even dozen have ended by head kick. The latest came
courtesy of
Ramzan
Jembiev, who starched
Murilo
Delfino early into the second frame.
Catch as Catchweight:
Natalia
Baczynska-Krawiec topped Petro Castkova on the scorecards to
break a two-fight skid. Their matchup was scheduled at 130 pounds,
making their encounter the fourth to take place outside of a
standard women’s division, and the second-heaviest in KSW women’s
divisional history.
Never Say Never Again: Coming into KSW 79, Humburger had never gone
the distance (five fights), Hosek had never been knocked out (12
fights) and Delfino had never fought beyond the first round (three
fights).