On April 6, we will witness the first, historic KSW gala in France. The most awaited fight by fans and the main event of the event will be the fight between the local double champion of the federation – Salahdine Parnasse – with the Moldovan sensation – Valeriu Mircea. After a long break, former KSW lightweight champion Marian Ziółkowski will also return to the cage. His rival will be Wilson Varela, a Frenchman who has not been defeated since he joined the federation.
Sandra Succar (3-0-0)- 1.45 vs. Flore Hani (6-3-0)- 2.55
The gala will be opened by a women’s fight in the flyweight category (up to 56.7 kg), in which Sandra Succar, representing Lebanon, will enter the octagon for the fourth time in her career. The competitor from the Middle East will want to add another victory to her record in a duel with the new KSW acquisition – Flore Hani. This task may turn out to be difficult because the Tahitian woman of French origin is much more experienced. The age difference between the two ladies is as much as 13 years, but Succar makes up for it with a 12-centimeter height advantage. In the bookmakers’ eyes, the favorite of this fight is the Lebanese woman, who won her first and only fight for the federation against Wiktoria Czyżewska.
El Hadji Ndiaye (5-2-0)- 1.60 vs. El Hadji Ndiaye (5-2-0) Nicolae Bivol (3-0-0) – 2.20
The second fight is billed as a clash that could steal the show. Two debutants will fight at the KSW gala in catchweight weight up to 72 kg. Senegalese El Hadji Ndiaye will cross gloves with the previously undefeated Nicolae Bivol. The Moldovan accepted the fight at the last minute because Ndiaye’s would-be rival, Ramzan Jembiev, suffered an injury just a week before the gala. Bivol, who comes from Hexagone MMA, fought only 3 fights in his career, but won all of them, while the Senegalese fought his last fights for the Cage Warriors federation, where he recorded a record of 1-2. This fight is a great unknown, as shown by the equal bookmaker odds. Fans are counting on an exciting clash that will be worthy of being called the surprise of the gala.
Alfan Rocher-Labes (10-3-0)- 1.72 vs. Kenji Bortoluzzi (11-5-1)- 2.00
In the last fight on the XTB KSW 93 preliminary card, the representative of the hosts of the event, French bantamweight fighter Alfan Rocher-Labes, will enter the octagon. He will face the experienced Swiss Kenji Bortoluzzi. Alfan will want to erase his memory of the January defeat at the KSW 90 gala against Islam Djabrailov and show himself as best as he can in front of his home audience. Bortoluzzi, seen as a slight underdog, will enter the cage of the Polish federation for the first time. In his career, he fought as many as 17 battles, of which he won 11. However, he will face a difficult challenge, as the French audience will enthusiastically support their representative, which was confirmed by the reaction of the stands during today’s weigh-in.
Francisco Barrio (12-3-0)- 1.68; Aymard Guih (17-13-1) –
The main card of the gala will open with the Francisco Barrio-Aymard Guih fight. A Croatian well known to KSW fans, also representing Argentina, entered this fight in place of the injured Sebastian Rajewski. “Croata” has won against such players as: Bartłomiej Kopera, Łukasz Rajewski, and Vaso Bakocević. Guih, however, has no intention of being a whipping boy. He is already 35 years old and has fought over 30 fights, but as he says, his physical condition will allow him to fight for a long time. Barrio is a year younger than his rival and even the smaller number of fights allowed him to become a slight favorite in the fight, based on the bookmakers’ votes. The fight will be fought in Catchweight up to 73 kg.
Laid Zerhouni (12-8-0)- 1.38 vs. Boubacar Niakate (9-5-0)- 2.80
In the next fight at the gala in Paris, we will see the first of eight players seeded in the official KSW ranking. Laid Zerhouni, because we are talking about him, will enter the cage of the Polish organization for the second time. After a spectacular knockout in the first fight against the favored Bartosz Fabiński, the Frenchman of Algerian origin takes 8th place in the middleweight rankings, in which the fight with Boubacar Niakate will take place. Zerhouni’s compatriot makes his debut in the KSW cage and comes from the French organization 100% Fight. However, his impressive height of 188 cm and 9 wins in the record do not make him the favorite in the fight. The thirty-nine-year-old is one of the biggest underdogs of the gala, so he will want to show as much as possible to his audience. Taking this into account, as well as Zerhouni’s skills and size, we can expect some proverbial fireworks.
Michal Martinek (10-5-0)- 1.65 vs. Prince Aounallah (18-11-0) – 2.10
After the fratricidal French duel, it will be time for the only heavyweight fight at Saturday’s gala. Two big names will appear in the octagon, as Michal Martinek, the fourth fighter in the KSW heavyweight rankings, will take on “His Majesty” Prince Aounallah. The experienced Frenchman will make his debut in KSW, awaited by the fans. He has a record 29 professional fights and is on a four-fight winning streak. Opposite him will be “Blackbeard”, a Czech who became known to the organization’s fans thanks to his fights with: Daniel Omielańczuk, Darko Stosic, and Filip Stawowy. The last fight did not go as he expected and in the country he represents he lost by quick KO to the previously mentioned Stosic. Tomorrow, however, he will stand on the other side of the barricade and try to humiliate Prince in front of his own audience, just like the Serb did to him earlier.
Artur Szczepaniak (10-2-0)- 1.35 vs. Madars Fleminas (12-5-0)- 2.90
The eighth fight of the XTB KSW 93 gala is a fight between one of the two Poles fighting at the gala (also representing Belgium) – Artur Szczepaniak and Madars Fleminas. What is most noticeable in this fight is the height difference between both players, as it is 8 cm in favor of the Latvian. However, “King Arthur” is hungry for victories and after winning ahead of time against Henry Fadipe at the September gala, he is in second place in the welterweight category. His potential is proven by the fact that he won half of his fights by knockout. Fleminas, known from the Cage Warriors federation, where he fought as many as 10 fights, will enter the cage after losing to the current contender for the KSW title – Andrzej Grzebyk. The Latvian is doomed to failure by bookmakers and experts, but his record 12 wins make him a dangerous opponent.
Marian Ziółkowski (25-8-1 1 NC)- 1.45 vs. Wilson Varela (11-5-0)- 2.55
The co-main event that every fan is looking forward to – this is how the penultimate fight on the card can be described in one sentence. Marian Ziółkowski, returning to the octagon after almost a two-year break, will face the hosts’ representative, Wilson Varela. “Golden Boy” boasts a streak of 4 wins in a row; the last time he lost was to Mateusz Gamrot, who at that time still joined the ranks of the KSW federation. After two unsuccessful confrontations with Salahdin Parnass, specifically during KSW 83: Colloseum 2, the Pole vacated his championship title due to an injury he suffered during the warm-up just before the fight. Ziółkowski ended all controversies regarding his return to the cage and thanks to Saturday’s fight he will be able to re-enter the fight for the lightweight gold. Varela is also on a roll; won his last 5 fights, and he starts the fight with the Pole after an incredible, knockout kick to the liver, which he delivered to Sebastian Rajewski just 16 seconds after the starting bell, at the December KSW 89 gala. Both fighters have almost identical physical conditions, but the experience is on Marian’s side. As many as 25 wins in 35 fights make an impression, not only on outside viewers, but also on bookmakers who predict the victory of “Golden Boy” in this fight.
Salahdine Parnasse (18-2-0)- 1.18 vs. Valeriu Mircea (30-8-1)- 4.25
The culmination and at the same time the only fight for the championship belt at the XTB KSW 93 gala will be a clash of two, currently best, lightweight fighters: Salahdine Parnasse and Valeriu Mircei. The Frenchman, appearing for the first time under the KSW banner in his country, will face the first defense of the belt he won when Marian Ziółkowski vacated it. Despite the recent loss to Adrian Bartosiński, Salahdine proves his dominance in the federation with every fight. He holds the lightweight and featherweight belts, and the previous, previously mentioned fight could have also added the welterweight belt to his collection. The twenty-six-year-old has a record of 18 wins in 20 fights, which bodes for a bright future for him, especially since this will be his last fight in the contract with KSW. Now, however, he will enter the octagon with an equally talented Moldovan. Mircea won his last 4 fights and deservedly became a contender for the belt. Despite only a 2-month break since his last win against Leo Brichta, he decided that it was the right time to attack the “gold” of his weight class. On Saturday night, he will enter the octagon for the 40th time in his career, but despite his experience, impressive record and training with Conor McGregor himself, experts consider him the biggest underdog of the gala. Parnasse has already shown many times in KSW that he is able to annihilate and dominate his opponent, but the answers to the questions: will he recover after the last defeat?; and also, will he be able to handle the pressure of the main event on home soil?; We’ll find out on Saturday.
You can bet on the KSW 93 gala HERE
Weighing results:
56.7 kg: S.Succar- 57.2 kg vs. F.Hani- 56.4 kg
72 kg: E. Ndiaye- 72 kg vs. N.Bivol-71.7 kg
61.2 kg: A.Rocher-Labes- 61.7 kg vs. K.Bortoluzzi- 61.7 kg
73 kg: F.Barrio- 73 kg vs. F.Barrio- 73 kg. A.Guih- 72.7 kg
83.9 kg: B. Niakate- 83.8 kg vs. L. Zerhouni- 84.4 kg
120.2 kg: M.Martinek- 108.1 kg vs. P.Aounallah- 109.7 kg
77.1 kg: A.Szczepaniak – 77.6 kg vs. M.Fleminas- 77.2 kg
70.3 kg: M.Ziółkowski – 70.8 kg vs. W.Varela- 70.8 kg
70.3 kg: V. Mircea- 70.1 kg vs. S.Parnasse- 70.3 kg
Source of bookmaker odds: Betclic.pl (as of April 6, 2024 at 2:00 p.m.)
The analysis of the fights was conducted by Łukasz Ostrowski
