It’s time for a HUGE REMATCH!
#KSW55 has a main event!@scottaskham1
and Mamed Khalidov will meet again but this time in the
championship bout pic.twitter.com/qkwNc15xLi— KSW (@KSW_MMA)
September 14, 2020
Two of Europe’s best fighters will meet again, with a title on the
line.
On Monday, KSW announced that the title rematch between
Scott
Askham and Mamed
Khalidov will headline the upcoming KSW 55 card.
After an unsuccessful Ultimate Fighting Championship stint that ended
with back-to-back defeats, Askham (19-4) found his way back to
success in Europe. After upending Luke
Barnatt via decision in a back-and-forth battle at ACB 70,
Askham landed a fast knockout victory at the expense of Michal
Materla at KSW 42. He then went on to join the KSW Middleweight
Tournament, scoring a first-round TKO victory against Marcin
Wojcik at KSW 45 and another highlight-reel knockout of
Materla—with a flying knee this time—in the tournament final at KSW
49. Most recently, he defeated Khalidov in a catchweight non-title
scrap last December.
Former KSW middleweight champion Khalidov (34-7-2) will get the
chance both to reconquer the belt he vacated in July 2018 and to
vindicate that recent defeat. The European MMA veteran is riding a
three-fight skid for the first time in his long career. His slide
started at KSW 42, where he got submitted by current KSW light
heavyweight champion Tomasz
Narkun in the third stanza of their champion vs. champion
showdown. In their rematch at KSW 46, Khalidov dropped a decision
to “Giraffe” and then announced his retirement from the sport.
However, he returned to face Askham at KSW 52.
KSW 55 will go down in Warsaw, Poland on Oct. 10. The card will
also feature a heavyweight clash between Szymon
Kolecki (8-1) and Lukasz
Jurkowski (17-11).