Mamed Khalidov Retains Middleweight Title with Bizarre Performance in KSW 35 Headliner

Mamed Khalidov was successful in his first Kontrontacja Sztuk Walki middleweight title defense, but it was hardly a vintage performance. Khalidov (32-4-2) defeated Aziz Karaoglu (9-7) via majority decision in the KSW 35 headliner at the Ergo Arena in Gdansk, Poland, on Friday, extending his winning streak to 12 straight fights. Two judges scored the bout 29-28 for the 35-year-old champion, while a third submitted a 28-28 scorecard. However, he barely resembled the fighter regarded by many as one of the top talents outside the UFC. It was a bout that saw referee Marc Goddard warn Khalidov for timidity in the third round after the champion spent much of the contest flopping to his back in hopes of drawing his opponent into his guard. For the most part, Karaoglu ignored the invitations, which disrupted the rhythm of the fight as Goddard was forced to repeatedly call for one standup after another. However, Khalidov likely did enough work in the first and second frames to cement the victory. He successfully executed a single-leg takedown in round one and escaped a guillotine before moving to mount and then taking his foe’s back before the horn sounded. Khalidov whiffed on a variety of spinning kicks in the second stanza, after which he would fall to the canvas in hopes luring Karaoglu to the ground with him. His most significant offense of the frame occurred late in the round when he was able to frame a triangle choke on his adversary. Khalidov was breathing heavily when he released the hold. Round three was Karaoglu’s best, and while Khalidov was clearly wary of his power, the German-based fighter mostly walked down his foe without doing any serious damage. Khalidov was ultimately able to stay out of trouble until the final horn without receiving the forewarned point deduction. In a post-fight interview, Khalidov speculated that he could take as much as a year off. In the co-main event, Marcin Rozalski handed Mariusz Pudzianowski his second straight loss, as he submitted the five-time World’s Strongest Man winner with a surprise second-round guillotine choke. The end came 1:46 into the period when Pudzianowski (9-5) appeared to briefly tap out with his left arm, something he would dispute after the conclusion of the bout. It looked as though it was going to be a rough outing for Rozalski (6-4) after he was …

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