Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki rules the Polish mixed martial arts scene and will kick off its 2024 campaign with KSW 90 this Saturday at Arena COS Torwar in Warsaw, Poland. The show features 10 bouts across various weight classes, as the company attempts to cast a wider global net with its penchant for entertaining events. Among the highlights: a world-class kickboxer looking to accelerate his crossover to mixed martial arts and a pair of Ultimate Fighting Championship veterans trying to establish footholds closer to home.
1. Killer Crossover
Arkadiusz Wrzosek ’s move from kickboxing to mixed martial arts can only be described as seamless thus far. The towering 6-foot-7 Polish heavyweight puts his 3-0 record on the line against Ivan Vitasovic in his second headlining assignment with KSW. Wrzosek—who put himself on the combat sports map with a stunning head kick knockout of Badr Hari under the Glory banner in 2021—last competed at KSW 83, where he tapped Bogdan Stoica with a forearm choke a little more than two minutes into their June 3 confrontation. Vitasovic, meanwhile, has notched six wins in a row, his tear buoyed by a June 2022 stoppage of former Road Fighting Championship titleholder Oli Thompson. The 31-year-old Croatian has nailed down 11 of his 12 professional victories by knockout, technical knockout or submission.
2. Fresh Start
After a six-fight run in the UFC saw him break even prior to his release in 2021, Bartosz Fabinski set out to re-establish his identity. The Pawel Nastula protégé makes his long-overdue organizational debut in the co-main event, where a middleweight showdown with Laid Zerhouni awaits. Fabinski, who turns 38 in April, has lost three of his past five bouts. He last fought on Oct. 7, when he took a unanimous decision from Kacper Karski inside the Strife MMA promotion. Fabinski operates out of the same WCA Fight Team camp that Jan Blachowicz and Daniel Omielanczuk call home. On the other side of the equation, Zerhouni has been a model of inconsistency throughout his 20-fight career. The 28-year-old Frenchman carries some momentum ahead of his first KSW assignment, as he enters the cage on the heels of back-to-back submission victories over Chresus Mokima and Alessandro Macedo. Zerhouni has eight first-round finishes to his credit.
3. Settling Down
Damian Stasiak appears to have found a post-UFC home. The United Gym product now turns his attention to a featherweight showcase with Adam Soldaev, as he seeks his second victory in a little more than six months. Stasiak has gone 4-3 in seven outings since being jettisoned by the UFC following a July 2018 decision defeat to Pingyuan Liu. The 33-year-old karate black belt and Brazilian jiu-jitsu brown belt last suited up at KSW 84, where he put away Pascal Hintzen with a triangle choke in the first round of their July 15 encounter. Stasiak has delivered 11 of his 14 professional victories via submission. Soldaev, meanwhile, was forced back to the drawing board in June, when he wound up on the wrong side of a unanimous decision against Daniel Rutkowski at KSW 83. The setback was his first in 3,046 days and closed the book on his seven-fight winning streak.