Fight Facts: KSW 66 ‘Ziolkowski vs. Mankowski’

OVERHAND RIGHT!!!

Michal Materla finishes Jason Radcliffe!! #KSW66

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WELCOME HOME MICHAL!! pic.twitter.com/8ena2Dwa8m

— KSW (@KSW_MMA) January 15, 2022

Fight Facts is a breakdown of all of the interesting information and cage curiosities on every card, with some puns, references and portmanteaus to keep things fun. These deep stat dives delve into the numbers, providing historical context and telling the stories behind those numbers.

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TOTAL NUMBER OF KSW FIGHTS: 618
TOTAL NUMBER OF KSW EVENTS: 72

KSW circled back less than a month after its last offering with a doubleheader of championship fights. While one champ retained, the other longtime beltholder surrendered it in a shocker. The finishes were fewer than usual, but the ramifications were still high at night’s end. KSW 66 featured one of the bigger betting favorites in company history living up to his odds, a record-setting knockout from a homecoming magician and the end of the “Giraffe” era.

Cruising For Bruisings: At night’s end, just four of the 10 matchups on the card ended by stoppage. As a result, KSW 66 concluded with the lowest finish rate of any KSW gala since KSW 47 in 2019, which ended with an even lower rate of 33.3%.

Going Deeper: The same number as KSW 65 to end 2021, KSW 66 brought with it 10 bouts. This two-card stretch of back-to-back shows with at least 10 fights is the first since KSWs 13 and 14 in 2021 each staged 10 matches.

No Belt Rush: Both championship bouts atop KSW 66 went the distance, making this event the first since KSW 50 in 2019 where multiple title fights went to decision. That fight card had three different matchups with gold on the line, compared to KSW 66’s two.

A Golden Belt for a Golden Boy: Marian Ziolkowski held on to his lightweight strap by staving off Borys Mankowski in the headliner. “Golden Boy” is now the ninth fighter in company history to successfully defend his belt twice, and only the second lightweight to do so (Mateusz Gamrot).

From Gold to Lead: Suffering his sixth defeat in the promotion by coming up short against Ziolkowski, Mankowski is now tied for the fifth-most defeats in KSW history. The current record holder is Artur Sowinski, who has lost nine times under the KSW banner.

Surprise, Mister Falcon: Over the course of five rounds, Ibragim Chuzhigaev dethroned longtime light heavyweight king Tomasz Narkun in his first fight with the league. Chuzhigaev is the first competitor since Philip De Fries at KSW 43 in 2018 to win a belt in their organizational debut.

Taming the Giraffe: Chuzhigaev put an end to the longest consecutive title defense streak in KSW history by beating Narkun. “Giraffe” had beaten five contenders as the 205-pound king before Chuzhigaev came along, and now De Fries is the only active champ with at least that many defenses.

He Loves It, Fans Love Him : Returning to the promotion after 14 months away, Michal Materla made quick work of Jason Radcliffe, knocking the Brit out in the first round. Materla set the new record for the most fights in KSW history with 26 simply by setting foot in the cage.

The Materla Chronicles: By beating Radcliffe, Materla cemented himself in the KSW record books as the first fighter to ever amass 20 wins under its banner. His victory broke a tie with Mamed Khalidov for the most in company history.

The “K” in KSW Stands For Knockout: Across his 20 KSW wins, Materla is responsible for 10 knockouts. No other fighter in KSW history has more than eight, with that being heavyweight strongman Mariusz Pudzianowski.

Twin Towers of Materla and Khalidov: Fifteen of Materla’s 20 KSW triumphs have come by stoppage. The ex-middleweight king is one shy of Khalidov’s record of 16 finishes.

Magic in His Hands: Each of Materla’s last nine KSW appearances has ended by knockout for the man known as “Magic.” He has not gone the distance inside the KSW cage since a three-round verdict over Jay Silva for the middleweight belt at KSW 26 in 2014.

Methodical and Deliberate: Taking a three-round decision over Robert Maciejowski, Krystian Kaszubowski lowered his career finish rate to 30% in the process. Each of his last three wins dating back the last three years have come on the scorecards.

Odds Were Right: Coming in as a substantial -800 favorite against Damian Skarzynski, Wojciech Janusz elicited the tap by rear-naked choke in 64 seconds. Janusz closed as the eighth-highest betting favorite in recorded KSW history ahead of his dominant win.

Two for the Price of One: In the blink of an eye, Donovan Desmae hit a triangle armbar on Lukasz Rajewski to get the tap in the second round. His maneuver is only the second of its type in promotional history, with the first coming from Damian Piwowarczyk against Marc Doussis at KSW 65.

World’s Worst Gameplan: Gracjan Szadzinski destroyed Francesco Moricca in the second round with a mouthpiece-dislodging punch to record the win. “Terminator” posts a 78% knockout rate in victory, with each of his last four wins coming by knockout within seven minutes.

Never Say Never Again: Coming into KSW 66, Narkun had never dropped consecutive bouts (22 fights), Moricca had never been knocked out (15 fights) and Hubert Szymajda (13 fights) had never lost on the scorecards.