Longtime Polish MMA star and former KSW middleweight champion Mamed Khalidov suffered a broken orbital and multiple face fractures following his knockout loss to Roberto Soldić at KSW 65 this past weekend.
Khalidov was defending his KSW title belt against Soldić, who held the promotion’s welterweight championsip and was moving up in weight in an attempt to become just the second two-division champion in the promotion. ‘Robocop’ made good on his bid, knocking out Khalidov with a vicious left hand in the second round of their highly competitive fight. Soldić followed up with a few more shots on the ground, but the legendary Polish fighter was already out.
After being tended to by KSW officials, Khalidov would return to his feet and congratulate Soldić on his win. The 45-fight veteran had only been knocked out once before in his career, which came at the hands of Nerijus Valiukevicius in his professional debut at Shooto Lithuania: Bushido King over 17 years ago. Khalidov addressed his loss to Soldić on social media and revealed that he was expected to visit a doctor for his injuries.
Mamed Khalidov before and after surgery at the MML Medical Center. During the press conference that has just ended, we saw these photos.
The x-ray image on the right shows a metal plate.
Dr. Michalik revealed that Mamed’s eye socket collapsed by 1 cm. pic.twitter.com/cKlS9vhk2j— InTheCage.pl (@InTheCagePL) December 22, 2021
Per an initial report from Kamil Zejma of InTheCage.pl, the 41-year-old underwent successful surgery and has begun the recuperation process. One day after, the medical team who conducted it held a press conference to discuss what was done to Khalidov and share X-rays of what his skull looked like before and after the surgery.
KSW sports director Wojslaw Rysiewski also provided an update on the condition of Khalidov to Alexander K. Lee of MMA Fighting.
“The reports are true regarding the injury Mamed Khalidov suffered at KSW 65,” said Rysiewski. “He suffered a broken orbital and multiple fractures and, as a result, needed a metal plate inserted.
“Under the care of some of the best medial professionals in Poland, the surgery was a success and full recovery is expected. Mamed’s spirits are high, however, no timeframe was given for recovery and he will be monitored closely over the coming months.”
Prior to the loss to Soldić, Khalidov snapped a career-worst three-fight losing streak and won the middleweight championship at KSW 55 with a 36-second knockout of Scott Askham.
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