For the first time in the promotion’s 11-year history, KSW will venture beyond the borders of their native Poland and host an event inside Wembley Arena in London, England. They spared no expense on the events and stacked it with notable English veterans, former UFC fighters and a slew of their own local prospects and champions. Naturally, the country’s strongman superstar Mariusz Pudzianowski will headline the evening’s proceedings.
‘Pudzian’ will be featured in the main event against Australia’s own Peter Graham. The heavyweight has compiled a four-fight win streak that dates back to 2013 and which include victories over former UFC fighters Oli Thompson and Sean McCorkle, as well as Rolles Gracie Jr. most recently. His latest opponent is coming off a title fight loss to Karol Bedorf and has lost four of his last five fights overall. His turbulent streak includes a 0-2 stint in Bellator followed by another loss to rising prospect Denis Goltsov in Russia. Despite his recent run, Graham still posses a threat for Pudzian and he is considered to be Mariusz’s final obstacle before a long-awaited title shot in 2016.
KSW 32 will also feature two title fights ahead of the heavyweight main event. The co-main event will feature welterweight champion Borys Mankowski against one of his stiffest challenges in Jesse Taylor. Mankowski is on a four-fight win streak, which included his title fight win against Asłambiek Saidow last year. This will mark the second defense of his title and is expected to be a tough competitive bout. Taylor, a one-fight UFC veteran, has journeyed around the world and fought for various organizations. He most recently defeated Bellator veteran Michail Tsarev at the annual League S-70 show in Russia. This will mark his first fight under the KSW banner.
Light-heavyweight champion Goran Reljic will also defend his title on the fight card against Tomasz Narkun. The Croatian champ is a veteran of the UFC and went 1-3 during his two-year tenure with the promotion. Since then, he has compiled a 7-1 record, which includes a recent three-fight win streak in KSW. His only loss with the promotion came against Jan Blachowicz in 2013 and he has not suffered a defeat since. At KSW 31, he beat former Bellator light-heavyweight champion Attila Vegh to claim the Polish title. He will now meet Narkun in a rematch of their 2014 contest that ended in a majority decision. He is a former M-1 Global light-heavyweight champion and has only ever lost to former champ Vyacheslav Vasilevsky and Reljic in his 12-fight career. Given how competitive their first affair was, it will be interesting to see how this second fight plays out.
One of the anticipated feature bouts of the evening will pit one of Russia’s top lightweight prospects, Marif Piraev, against his undefeated Polish counterpart Mateusz Gamrot. Both fighters are yet to taste defeat in their impressive careers and it is difficult to predict who has the advantage heading into this fight. ‘Gamer’ Gamrot is 9-0 (5-0 in KSW) and has also fought once under the Cage Warriors banner. He is one of the most well rounded prospects in Poland and collected submission, knockout, and decision wins over his three-year run in MMA. Piraev fights for Eastern Fight Nights in Russia and compiled a 6-0-1 record with the promotion in four years. Overall, he holds a 13-0-1 record, including a recent win over Grigoriy Kichigin in July.
KSW 32 will also feature a slew of British fighters matched up against Polish opposition. UFC veteran Oli Thompson will meet the undefeated Michal Wlodarek, who holds a win over Daniel Omielanczuk. This will be followed up by Jim Wallhead, who will look extend his win streak to three consecutive fights when he meets Rafal Moks. James McSweeney will also come up against Marcin Rozalski on the main card
Check out the complete fight card below.
Fight Card:
Mariusz Pudzianowski vs. Peter Graham
Borys Mańkowski vs. Jesse Taylor
Marcin Różalski vs. James McSweeny
Tomasz Narkun vs. Goran Reljic
Mateusz Gamrot vs. Marif Piraev
Rafal Moks vs. Jim Wallhead
Michal Wlodarek vs. Oli Thompson
Brett Cooper vs. Maiquel Falcao
Leszek Krakowski vs. Andre Winner
KSW 32 takes place on October 31st at the Wembley Arena in London, England. For those watching outside of Poland, the event can be purchased and viewed on KSWTV.com.
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