January 31, 2021 - Francisco 'Croata' Barrio registered his first win inside the KSW promotion against Poland's Bartłomiej Kopera.

Last night saw the first KSW event of 2021. KSW 58 took place in Lodz, Poland, and it proved to be a mixed night for Croatian fighters. 

Francisco 'Croata' Barrio (8-2) registered his first win inside the KSW promotion with a unanimous decision win over Poland's Bartłomiej Kopera (9-7) in the opening bout of the night. It was another tough fight for the ATT Zagreb fighter, but he used his high-level wrestling abilities to control Kopera over the course of the fight.

The 31-year-old made his promotional debut at KSW 56 last November in a losing effort against Mateusz Legierski. Now back to winning ways, Barrio will aim to build upon this win and has set himself up for a big 2021.

Elsewhere on the KSW 58 card, Pula's Daniel Bazant (4-2) suffered a submission loss to top Polish prospect Robert Ruchała (5-0) and, upon his return after a fifteen-month break, Cro Cop Team's Aleksandar Rakas (16-8) was TKO'd in the first round by Michal Michalski (9-4).

KSW 58 Results

Main Event
Featherweight Title
Daniel Torres (12-4) def. Salahdine Parnasse (14-1-1) via KO (bicep strike), round 1, 1:47.
View Here

Co-Main Event 
Light Heavyweight
Szymon Kolecki (9-1) def. Martin Zawada (29-16-1) via unanimous decision (30-26 x 2, 29-28).

Welterweight
Michal Michalski (9-4) def. Aleksandar Rakas (16-8) via TKO (elbows), round 1, 4:35.

Welterweight 
Shamil Musaev (15-0) def. Uroš Jurišič (11-1) via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3).

Heavyweight 
Michal Andryszak (22-9) def. Guto Inocente (8-6) via submission (arm-triangle), round 2, 4:07.

Bantamweight
Pawel Politylo (6-2) def. David Martinik (4-2) via unanimous decision (30-27 x 3).

Catchweight 150lb/68kg
Robert Ruchała (5-0) def. Daniel Bazant (4-2) via submission (armbar), round 3, 3:37.

Lightweight
Francisco Barrio (8-2) def. Bartłomiej Kopera (9-7) via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28x2).

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page.  

January 25, 2021 - KSW's first event of 2021 takes place this Saturday, January 30, in Lodz, Poland, and will feature a trio of Croatian MMA stars. 

Aleksandar Rakas (16-7) is back and will finally make his long-awaited promotional debut this weekend. The Team Cro Cop fighter was originally scheduled to compete at KSW 51 in Zagreb at the end of 2019. However, an unfortunate late injury forced him from that card, and he has not been in action since. After representing Croatia worldwide in MMA, Rakas will now make the walk into the KSW Arena this Saturday against Poland's Michal Michalski (8-4) in a potential 'fight of the night.' 

Making his second appearance in KSW will be Francisco 'Croata' Barrio (7-2). The Croatian-Argentinian is a Pan Am wrestling medalist and almost qualified for the Olympics before switching to MMA. Training out of ATT Zagreb, the 31-year-old stepped in on late notice at KSW 56 last November and, despite being out of his weight category, pushed the undefeated Mateusz Legierski the distance in a hard-fought decision loss. Now Barrio is back in his natural weight class and meets Bartłomiej Kopera (9-6) in an important fight for both athletes. 

Finally, Pula's Daniel Bazant (4-1) will make his KSW debut this Saturday. A student of Croatian MMA legend Zelg Galešić, Bazant has the biggest opportunity of his young career this Saturday when he faces the undefeated Robert Ruchała (4-0). 

Croatian fans can watch KSW 58 live this Saturday on RTL (please check local listings) and online on https://kswtv.com/ and the KSW App available now on iOS & Android.

KSW 58 will see undefeated French sensation Salahdine Parnasse (14-0-1) defend his KSW featherweight title against exciting Brazilian Daniel Torres (11-4) in the main event, while Olympic gold medalist in weightlifting Szymon Kolecki (8-1) meets German veteran Martin Zawada (29-15-1) in the co-main.

KSW 58 Fight Card

Main Event
Featherweight Title
Champion Salahdine Parnasse (14-0-1) vs. Daniel Torres (11-4)

Co-Main Event 
Light Heavyweight
Szymon Kolecki (8-1) vs. Martin Zawada (29-15-1)

Welterweight
Michal Michalski (8-4) vs. Aleksandar Rakas (16-7)

Welterweight 
Shamil Musaev (14-0) vs. Uroš Jurišič (11-0)

Heavyweight 
Michal Andryszak (21-9) vs. Guto inocente (8-5)

Bantamweight
Pawel Politylo (5-2) vs. David Martinik (4-1)

Catchweight 150lb/68kg
Robert Ruchała (4-0) vs. Daniel Bazant (4-1)

Lightweight
Bartłomiej Kopera (9-6) vs. Francisco Barrio (7-2)

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page. 

January 16, 2021 - Croatian mixed martial arts duo Francisco 'Croata' Barrio (7-2) and Daniel Bažant (5-1) have both been added to KSW 58, one of the leading mixed martial arts organizations in Europe, on January 30, 2021, in Lodz, Poland.

This will be Barrio's sophomore appearance in KSW after making his promotional debut last November in a hard-fought decision loss against undefeated star Mateusz Legierski. The ATT Zagreb fighter will face Bartłomiej Kopera (9-6) later this month, and it will take place in the lightweight division.

The 31-year-old was born in Argentina and is the son of Croatian Brigadier Rodolfo Barrio Saavedra, who was involved in the Croatian War of Independence. Barrio moved to Croatia in his youth, and it was in his homeland that he developed his love for martial arts and wrestling in particular. Upon returning to Argentina in his late teens, he began excelling in wrestling and had great success in the Pan American Championships & South American Games, and almost qualified for the 2012 London Olympics.

That same year, he transitioned to MMA and went on to fight in the FFC promotion in Croatia, amassing an impressive 7-1 record en route to joining KSW. 

Pula's Daniel Bažant now also joins KSW and will make his debut this month. The 29-year-old is a student of Croatian MMA legend Zelg Galešić at the Trojan Free Fighters gym. He will be facing the undefeated Polish prospect Robert Ruchała (4-0) in the featherweight division.

KSW 58 will see Olympic gold medalist in weightlifting Szymon Kolecki (8-1) face German veteran Martin Zawada (29-15-1) in the main event, while undefeated French sensation Salahdine Parnasse (14-0-1) will defend his KSW featherweight title against exciting Brazilian Daniel Torres (11-4) in the co-main and it is available for Croatian fans on RTL (please check local listings).

You can follow more about KSW at KSWMMA.com

To read more about sport in Croatia, follow TCN’s dedicated page.