Mateusz Gamrot outclasses Norman Parke in bloody affair at #KSW53 via @Tudor_leo https://t.co/5u6dQfBWZO
— Sherdog by Mandatory (@sherdogdotcom) July 12, 2020
* * *
TOTAL NUMBER OF KSW FIGHTS: 504
TOTAL NUMBER OF KSW EVENTS: 59
Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki on Saturday put on the 500th fight in company history at KSW 53 from an undisclosed studio in Warsaw, Poland. Almost entirely composed of finishes, the event featured the conclusive end to a grudge match trilogy, a fighter returning from a long layoff in dramatic fashion and a victor who may deserve honorable mention status on Sherdog’s Top 5 Mixed Martial Mullets list.
KAMIEN MILOWY: The 500th bout in KSW history went down at this event, between Roman Szymanski and Filip Pejic. Szymanski won by knockout in the third round.
COVID DRIVES A WEDGE: The last KSW card took place in December, with a difference of 217 days between it and KSW 53. This is the longest gap between KSW shows since KSWs 6 and 7 in 2006-2007. Those two events were 231 days apart.
WANTED TO GET HOME TO WATCH THE OTHER FIGHTS: Like the event before it, KSW 53 began the evening with six straight finishes. Beyond KSW 52, KSW 2 is the only other card in promotional history to start with this many stoppages, when every fight stayed out of the hands of the judges.
A DELIGHTFUL APPETIZER TO UFC 251: With seven finishes in eight fights, this event tied KSW 48 for the fourth-highest finish rate at a KSW event. Only KSW 44 (89 percent), KSW Elimination 1 (90 percent) and KSW 2 (100 percent) were more definitive.
NO PUDZ, NO PROBLEM: The heaviest bout on the card was a middleweight tilt between Tomasz Drwal and Lukasz Bienkowski. It is the first event since KSW 38 in 2017 to feature no bouts scheduled above the 185-pound division, and just the fourth all-time without light heavyweights or heavyweights billed (KSW Extra 2, 21 and 38).
A TRUE GAMER: Mateusz Gamrot is the only fighter currently unbeaten after over five appearances with the company – this was Gamrot’s 13th – following his stoppage of Norman Parke.
CHAMP-CHAMP THINGS: Gamrot kept his undefeated record intact at 16-0 (1 NC) with a win over Parke. The only blemish in his career came against Parke in 2017, when accidental eye pokes resulted in a no-contest.
TERROR TRILOGY: Although their second bout was the aforementioned no-contest, Gamrot joins an illustrious group of fighters that have never lost after facing an opponent three times in major competition. By finishing Parke, he joins names including Frankie Edgar (B.J. Penn), Tito Ortiz (Ken Shamrock), Mirko Filipovic (Josh Barnett), Wanderlei Silva (Kazushi Sakuraba) and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (Heath Herring).
DOCTOR, DOCTOR: Forcing the doctor to intervene to halt the headliner, Gamrot picked up the sixth doctor stoppage victory in company history. He is the first to require a doctor to stop the fight after Round 2.
NOT A WALK IN THE PARKE: Parke tipped the scales at 158.3 pounds, forfeiting his chance to win a title and losing his interim strap in the scales. He is the first fighter in organizational history to miss weight for a title fight.
ANY WEIGHT, ANY TIME: Taking a thrilling decision against Marcin Wrzosek, Borys Mankowski became the 12th KSW fighter to notch 10 wins with the promotion. The former welterweight king has competed from lightweight up to 181 pounds in his nearly 10-year stretch on the roster.
RELJIC, NOW DRWAL? WHERE’S ARONA?: Returning from a layoff of over five years, six-time Ultimate Fighting Championship competitor Drwal came out and stopped Bienkowski in the second round. In doing so, “Gorilla” lifted his finish rate to 86 percent across a career that began in 2004.
HE BREAKS GUYS: Szymanski’s knockout of Pejic now gives him the record for the latest and third-latest finishes in KSW non-title fights. His stoppage at 4:58 of R3 at KSW 37 is the latest, while Gamrot holds the second, doing so with six seconds left at KSW 30.
POWER OF THE SKULLET: Artur Sowinski battered Gracjan Szadzinski with knees and punches to earn a stoppage. In doing so, he picked up the ninth KSW finish with knee strikes, and the second in the lightweight division.
CATCH THESE HANDS: With one punch, Michal Pietrzak stopped Kamil Szymuszowski in 56 seconds. The bout a 175-pound catchweight, “The Crusher” earned the fastest stoppage of any KSW bout officially scheduled at a catchweight.
1A AND 1B: By dispatching Jakub Wiklacz in the third period with punches to the body, Sebastian Przybysz tied the top spot as the winningest bantamweight in KSW history. He joins Antun Racic with four wins in the division, although one of Racic’s victories came over Przybysz.
NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN: Coming into KSW 53, Parke had never been stopped with strikes (36 fights), Bienkowski (eight fights) and Szadzinski (11 fights) had never been finished and Pejic had never lost consecutive bouts (19 fights).
PRIDE GOETH BEFORE DESTRUCTION: Embodying his nickname-sake of “The Polish Wanderlei,” Bienkowski walked out to the Pride theme by Yasuharu Takanashi. Despite this song bolstering him, he was knocked out in the second stanza by Drwal.