According to the UFC, it is targeting a debut appearance in Poland next year. That means the country’s athletes will have a greater chance of successfully marketing themselves to the world’s top promotion.
Next month, Poland’s top MMA organization is hosting KSW 29 at the Krakow Arena. And while Mariusz Pudzianowski will come lumbering out to the familiar cheers of local fans, the most promising prospect on the card is a young man named Borys Mańkowski. He is mostly unknown in America.
After a bad series of losses in 2010, Mańkowski apparently changed something significant and won six of his next eight fights. His single loss was the result of a leg injury, and a draw resulted when the promoter overturned a decision. In May 2014, Mańkowski defeated Aslambek Saidov via R2 triangle choke to become the KSW Welterweight Champion. (gif courtesy of Caposa) Before that, Borys ended Ben Lagman via strikes in Round 2. But despite his recent trend of finishing fights, almost half of Mańkowski’s victories have come by way of decision.
That statistic is potentially concerning. But before you rush to judgment, it’s worth engaging in an old-fashioned eye test. I have, and it’s convinced me that he’s the man to sign (besides Mamed Khalidov, but he laughed at the UFC’s offer) when the UFC gets its kielbasa on next year. We should know for sure when he defends against David Zawada on December 6th.
Highlight 1:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gi-nlYfeWQ
Highlight 2:
Then watch Mańkowski v. Saidov and Mańkowski v. Moks.