Mamed Khalidov Forces Mariusz Pudzianowski to Tap to Strikes in KSW 77 Headliner

Size didn’t matter to Mamed Khalidov.

Billed as the biggest fight in Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki history, former KSW two-division champion Khalidov faced five-time “World’s Strongest Man” titleholder Mariusz Pudzianowski in the KSW 77 main event on Saturday at a fully-packed Arena Gliwice in Gliwice, Poland. Khalidov (36-8-2, 20-4-2 KSW), who weighed 53 pounds less than his foe on the scale, was lighter on the feet as he wisely opted to move around Pudzianowski (17-8, 1NC, 17-7, 1NC KSW) rather than directly attacking him. “Pudzian” shortened the distance and clinched with his foe, allowing Khalidov to showcase a remarkable judo throw that grounded the 259-pound colossus. On the mat, Khalidov quickly captured Pudzianowski’s back and poured a barrage of strikes on his flattened adversary. Pudzianowski absorbed a significant amount of shots before tapping to punches at the 1:54 mark of Round 1.

Elsewhere, Ibragim Chuzhigaev (17-5, 2-0 KSW) notched his first light heavyweight title defense after outstriking Ivan Erslan (12-2-1, 3-2 KSW) en route to a unanimous decision; in front of a partisan crowd, former 145-pound title contender Daniel Rutkowski (15-3, 1 NC; 3-1 KSW) edged Lom-Ali Eskiev (20-6, 1 NC; 2-1 KSW) thanks to a narrow split decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29); Andrzej Grzebyk (19-6, 3-3 KSW) stopped Oton Jasse (21-9, 0-1 KSW) with a nasty liver punch at the 4:21 mark of Round 1; up-and-comer Patryk Kaczmarczyk (9-2, 3-2 KSW) folded Pascal Hintzen (8-2, 1-2 KSW) with knees to the body 63 seconds into their featherweight affair; 205-pounder Bogdan Gnidko (9-0, 2-0 KSW) scored the ninth first-round finish of his career as he smashed Madalin Pirvulescu (5-1, 1-1 KSW) with a head kick followed by punches 38 seconds into their bout; in a featherweight clash, Michal Domin (5-3, 2-2 KSW) submitted Patryk Likus (2-2, 2-2 KSW) via triangle choke at the 4:33 mark of Round 3; 155-pounder Yann Liasse (9-1, 1 NC; 3-0, 1 NC KSW) submitted Adrian Gralak (5-1, 1 NC; 0-1, 1 NC KSW) via rear-naked choke 2:37 into Round 2; bantamweight Shamad Erzanukaev (2-0, 2-0 KSW) forced Carl McNally (2-1, 1-1 KSW) to tap due to a rear-naked choke at the 2:48 mark of the first period; and 18-year-old Wiktoria Czyzewska (2-0, 1-0 KSW) crushed Aleksandra Karaseva (1-1, 1-1 KSW) with punches 72 seconds into their 135-pound battle.