LONDON – On the occasion of KSW’s 50th show, the Polish promotion shared a huge piece of news that its longtime fans will be very happy to hear, as one of the most popular fighters in the organization’s history prepares to make his return from retirement after a year away from the cage.
A video montage shown to the arena during KSW 50 confirmed that former KSW middleweight champion Mamed Khalidov will return to action and challenge reigning KSW middleweight champion Scott Askham for his 185-pound title at KSW 52 on December 7.
The event will take place in Gliwice, Poland, at the 13,000-seat Arena Gliwice as Khalidov (34-5 MMA, 17-2 KSW) bids to reclaim the title he once held from 2015 to 2018. Khalidov eventually suffered back-to-back losses in champion-versus-champion bouts with light heavyweight champ Tomasz Narkun in 2018, with his second coming at KSW 46 last December. Khalidov announced his retirement after that second defeat, but now, one year on, “The Cannibal” is set to come out of retirement to challenge for his old title.
The former champion will face current champ Askham (18-4 MMA, 3-0 KSW), who has looked rejuvenated since joining KSW with a hat-trick of TKO finishes propelling him to the top of KSW’s middleweight division. Now the Brit will have to prove his worth again as he faces the hugely popular former champion on enemy territory.
The promotion also confirmed its first-ever event in Croatia, with KSW 51 set to take place at Arena Zagreb on November 9 with a heavyweight battle between former World’s Strongest Man Mariusz Pudzianowski and Erko Jun at the top of the card.
