Polish promotion Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki will return for the first time since the COVID-19 shutdown with an event on July 11.
KSW 53 will be held in a closed studio and is headlined by a lightweight championship unfication bout between Norman Parke and Mateusz Gamrot. In the co-main event, Borys Mankowski will square off against Marcin Wrzosek in another lightweight encounter. KSW 53 will stream via pay-per-view at a reduced price on KSWTV.com.
Parke, the promotion’s interim lightweight champion, is currently on a five-bout winning streak that includes four triumphs under the KSW banner. His last loss came to Gamrot via unanimous decision at KSW 39 in May 2017. Their rematch at KSW 40 was declared a no contest due to an accidental eye poke.
Gamrot, meanwhile, is the undisputed 155-pound king and is unbeaten in 16 professional outings, with the aforementioned no contest the only blemish currently on his ledger. After the second meeting with Parke, Gamrot defended his crown with a submission win over Grzegorz Szulakowski at KSW 42 and a five-round verdict against Kleber Koike Ernst at KSW 46. Gamrot has not competed since besting Ernst on Dec. 1, 2018.
Mankowski snapped a three-fight skid in his most recent appearance, as he submitted Vaso Bakocevic in the opening stanza at KSW 51 on Nov. 9. Wrzosek has lost two of his last three under the KSW banner, including a split-decision setback against Parke in an interim title bout this past September.
We're back #KSW53 -> July 11th
— KSW (@KSW_MMA) May 27, 2020
@gamer_mma @norman_parke @BorysMankowski @PolishZombieMMA pic.twitter.com/jCq4xt0gtr