Phil De Fries (22-6) has been the KSW heavyweight champion since 2018 and it is still difficult to find a rival who will really threaten him. So far, the 36-year-old Briton has managed such players as: Ricardo Prasel, Darko Stosic, Tomasz Narkun, Michał Kita, Luis Henrique, Karol Bedorf and Michał Andryszak. And since he previously also won at Bellator and M-10 galas, De Fries is on an impressive streak of ten wins.
On February 25, the KSW 79 gala will take place in Liberec, where De Fries’ rival will be Todd Duffee (9-3).
“He made his professional debut in 2007 and from the first fight he showed that a new knockout specialist was born in the MMA world. In less than two and a half years of his career, the American knocked his rivals down five times in the first round of a duel. In the entire sports history, only won only once in the second round of the fight, today Todd has nine knockout wins to his name.In 2010, he fought for the championship belt of the Japanese organization Dream, and most of his fights were fought under the wings of the American brand UFC, where he recorded one of the fastest knockouts in the history of the organization “It took him just seven seconds to knock Tim Hague down at UFC 102,” reads the KSW press release.
The 37-year-old American has defeated De Fries in the past. And it knocked him out in the 1st round. But the problem is that since that fight in 2012, he has only won one fight. Nine years ago. At UFC 181, he defeated Anthony Hamilton.
In 2015, he lost to Frank Mir, and in 2019, his fight with Jeff Hughes was declared a no-go. Will a fighter who has not fought for several years be able to beat De Fries again? Doubtful. Fans on social media weren’t thrilled with the matchup.
KSW 79. Fight card:
Fight for the KSW heavyweight belt
120.2kg/265lbs: Phil De Fries #C (22-6, 1NC, 5KOs, 13 Subs) vs. Todd Duffee (9-3, 1NCs, 9KOs)
home card:
- 120.2 kg/265 lbs: Daniel Omielańczuk #3 (26-13-1 1NC, 6 KOs, 10 Sub) vs. Viktor Pesta (18-8, 8 KOs, 6 Sub)
- 120.2 kg/265 lbs: Arkadiusz Wrzosek (1-0, 1 KO) vs Tomáš Mozny (1-1, 1 KO)
- 83.9 kg/185 lbs: Dominik Humburger (5-0, 5 KOs) vs TBA
- 56.7 kg/125 lbs: Petra Cástková (6-5, 1 KO, 1 Sub) vs TBA
- 83.9 kg/185 lbs: Frederico Komuenha (2-0, 2 KOs) vs. Matyas Viszlay (1-0, 1 KO)
Source: Sport
Tristin is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
