KSW 121 Preview: Vojčák vs Wójcik

KSW returns to Czechia this Saturday night. KSW 121 is back in the Home Credit Arena in Liberec with eight bouts in their back pocket, including one for an interim international title.

Heavyweight king Phil de Fries was due to headline the show but had to pull out due to a spinal injury. As a result of the title holder being sidelined indefinitely, a new interim KSW Heavyweight Championship will be on the line, and it’s a matchup that will be a mouthful for the commentators. Štefan Vojčák (10-2) has won four of his six bouts in the promotion, with one being a defeat to de Fries in October last year. The big Slovak got back into the win column with a submission win over Arek Wrzosek. The 36-year-old prefers the standup, however is a good game planner who isn’t shy of taking things down. The Bratislava man has hands of stone and often catches opponents flush in the first couple of rounds. On the mat, he uses his weight to his advantage to wear you down and maybe use a smother choke to get the tap. He has a 90% finish rate. Marcin Wójcik (22-11) had his own unsuccessful shot at de Fries in April, and he holds a key win against Augusto Sakai in the division. Before then he was a light heavyweight, where he had title shots against Tomasz Narkun and Rafał Haratyk during his long and storied career. The 37-year-old is a tough cookie and he’s very good at downloading the strike data and finding the gaps to use his power to get a knockout. The Piła man particularly flourishes in the second round. The Pole has a useful arm triangle and he’s a good wrestler. He has nineteen wins before the final bell.

If you want action, action is what you’re going to get in this next one. Michal Michalski (14-6) is a true fan favourite and his clock runs on seconds, not minutes. Aggression is his core game plan and he possesses lightning power in his punches and his elbows are brutally blunt. The Pole has a win over UFC title contender Nassourdine Imavov, and his only defeats since 2021 have been to champions Piotr Kuberski and Adrian Bartosiński. Eight wins have come via knockout. Radek Paczuski (8-3) was last seen a year ago in an ill fated title shot against Kuberski. The Uniq Fight Club man had won three in-a-row before then. The Pole is a training partner of the likes of Arek Wrzosek, Marek Samociuk and Damian Piwowarczyk, and alongside his brother Kamil is a huge influence in the gym. The Warsaw man is one of the best MMA kickboxers on the scene and he uses his kicks effectively to smash the legs, tenderise the body and knock heads clean off. The 33-year-old has one hitter quitter ability in his hands, and he’s achieved six knockouts to date.

The action doesn’t stop there, this next one is another banger. Leo Brichta (14-7) is one of the most popular “foreigners” on KSW’s roster and he always brings excitement. The Czech is a big ticket seller for this event, and he recently came up short in a title fight with Patryk Kaczmarczyk in June. The 28-year-old is a fireball on the feet, taking risks and looking to use his strikes to finish things quickly. The Prague man has eight knockout victories and he’ll have no intention of relying on the judges. Kacper Formela (20-6) is a former longtime FEN champ and has been considered in “who is the best fighter” in the featherweight division for at least the last six years. The 30-year-old is on a two-fight win streak and he competed against Robert Ruchała for an interim title in 2024. The Pole is a patient and technical striker who will pounce on any gaps in your defence to deliver a killer blow, and he has eight knockout wins. If the mistakes don’t materialise, he’s happy to dominate the striking and use his high fight IQ to bring it to a decision.

Muslim Tulshaev (14-4) is another on the card bouncing back from a defeat in a title fight, losing to Adrian Bartosiński in December. The Germany based man had won all four of his KSW bouts before then, all in devastating fashion. The Berlin Spitfire man has massive power on the feet, with a great grappling acumen that makes him a very hard puzzle to solve. The 31-year-old has a wand of a left hand, and he’s finished eleven bouts within the distance. Kacper Koziorzębski (13-6) is an eleven-fight KSW veteran and in recent times he’s really found his rhythm, coming in on a four-fight win streak. The 31-year-old can be summed up by his toughness and durability, and he’s happy to get into anybody’s face and throw down. The Pole is great at drawing you into his game and that will generally result in a very hard fight to judge, and he’s experienced at sneaking over the line for the victory.

Łukasz “Harry” Charzewski (15-3) has won his last two bouts and he’ll give the crowd a good laugh with his “Let It Go” entrance from Disney’s Frozen. The Pole is a high level operator with some of the best intelligence on the continent. The 34-year-old doesn’t really take the risks of the power to consistently finish fights, however he can keep the fight where he wants it, and can control the striking exchanges or mix it up with his wrestling. He was a champion over in FEN, proving he can keep up the high output for twenty-five minutes, even though he’ll only need fifteen here. Josef Štummer (7-2) has been one of the most successful additions in the Czech expansion. The Liberec man will have the home crowd behind him and he’s riding the wave of a three-fight win streak. The 29-year-old is a high level wrestler and he’s got a wicked suplex in his arsenal, which is where the nickname “Air” comes from. His striking is coming on leaps and bounds, and he’s starting to develop a finishing threat on the feet.

Hanka Gelnarová (1-0) returns to KSW after debuting in October 2024 against Dominika Steczkowska, a split decision win. The Czech is well known on the freak fight scene, where she was a champion in Clash MMA. The 25-year-old built up a big fanbase through her Tik Tok channel and her reality tv appearances. She has  GAMMA championship experience as an amateur and legitimately puts the time and effort into her MMA game. The Ostrava native is decent and lively in striking exchanges, and her BJJ offers a submission threat with the rear naked choke. Małgorzata Popowicz (debut) makes her first appearance in the paid ranks, however carries huge amateur experience. The Pole has thirty-five senior bouts under her belt, twelve at junior level, and she has won gold medals at European and World IMMAF senior level. The 22-year-old will snatch any limb you leave open in the submission game, where she excels in knee bars and arm locks. The Lubin native is also very competitive on the feet, with a little bit of pop.

Adrian Dudek (8-5) thrives on staying active and bouncing around boxing and bare-knuckle to feed his competitive spirit when he doesn’t have an MMA bout. This fight was originally slated for February, however Dudek picked up a knee injury. The Pole is a hard puncher and he’s very attack heavy early on. Five wins have come via knockout. The grappling threat is his wrestling and ground and pound, and he can tap you out very quickly when he takes your back. Borys Dzikowski (4-4) is a very colorful character who could do with an injection of confidence to return to past glories, coming in on a three-fight skid. The 29-year-old is very capable of getting the best of the striking exchanges, carrying lots of power. The Pole also has wrestling ability. He was involved in a fight of the year contender against Dominik Humburger in February last year, so it would be nice to see him get to the level he was at previously.

Samual Bily (0-1) lost his KSW debut in this arena in February 2025, and he returns to MMA for the first time since then. The Czech competes across all striking codes, with wins in boxing, kickboxing and Muay Thai. The 23-year-old is an ultra-aggressive fighter with big power in his left hand, and he’ll take risks to try and get it done early. His branding is heavily influenced by horror legend Michael Myers. Dominik Zadora (0-1) has one MMA bout to his name, a guillotine choke loss. The Pole is a multi-promotion champion in kickboxing, winning FEN, ISKA and DSF titles. The 35-year-old has dabbled in boxing as well, and his style is more based on going the distance than any big, explosive moments. His gamechanger might be his leg kicks..

KSW 121 is live from Liberec at 18:00 Dublin time this Saturday night and the PPV can be purchased at KSWTV.com. If you’re looking for a taste of what’s to come, the first two fights will air for free on Youtube, as well as the infamous KSW opening ceremony.