Mamed Khalidov Vacates KSW Middleweight Belt; Four-Man Tourney to Crown New Champion

KSW middleweight king Mamed Khalidov is vacating his title, setting the stage for a four-man bracket to determine a new 185-pound champion.

The Polish promotion announced the news on Monday. According to a release, Khalidov is vacating the belt because he “does not want to hold the division up and that there is only one fight he is after at the moment.”

As a result, the tournament will began at KSW 45 “The Return to Wembley” on Oct. 6, as Michal Materla will square off against Damian Janikowski, while Scott Askham will lock horns with Marcin Wojcik. The final of the middleweight tournament will take place at an as-yet-to-be announced date in 2019.

Materla, a former KSW 185-pound champ, has won four of five fights since relinquishing the belt to Khalidov in November 2015. An Olympic bronze medalist in wrestling for Poland in 2012, Janikowski has kicked off his MMA career with three straight TKO triumphs under the KSW banner.

A six-time UFC veteran, Askham has posted back-to-back victories over Materla and Luke Barnatt since leaving the Las Vegas-based promotion. A former light heavyweight contender, Wojcik has been victorious in nine of his past 10 bouts, with his only defeat during that time coming at the hands of 205-pound titlist Tomasz Narkun.