Top Reasons to Catch KSW 101

True promotional cornerstones are few and far between in mixed martial arts, but Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki appears to have one in two-division champion Salahdine Parnasse.

The 27-year-old Frenchman will put his lightweight crown on the line when he faces Wilson Varela in the KSW 101 headliner this Friday at Paris La Defense Arena in Nanterre, France. Parnasse has rattled off six victories across his past seven appearances, a unanimous decision defeat to current welterweight champion Adrian Bartosinski his only misstep. The Atch Academy rep last competed at KSW 93, where he cut down Valeriu Mircea with a head kick and follow-up punches in the first round of their April 6 encounter. It was just the third first-round finish for Parnasse in 21 professional assignments. Varela, meanwhile, has won six fights in a row ahead of the most significant opportunity of his career. He returned to KSW in 2023 on proceeded to defeat Gracjan Szadzinski, Lukasz Rajewski, Sebastian Rajewski and Marian Ziolkowski in succession. Varela, 29, operates out of the Marseille Fight Club.

Outside of the Parnasse-Varela showdown, here are two other reasons to catch KSW 101:

Grappling Hook

Marcin Held was once a can’t-miss prodigy on the regional scene in Europe, and while he may have fallen short of the great expectations that were originally placed upon him, he has carved out a long and successful career for himself. The resurgent Polish grappler will seek his seventh win in 10 outings since exiting the Ultimate Fighting Championship in 2017, as he locks horns with Davy Gallon in the lightweight co-main event. Held, now 32, has secured more than half (15) of his 29 pro victories by submission. He last saw action at KSW 95, where he outpointed Roman Szymanski to a unanimous decision on June 7. On the other side of the equation, Gallon has not posted a win in more than two years. The 35-year-old Adrenaline Fight Team product last fought in September 2023, when Attila Korkmaz felled him with a head kick and follow-up punches under the Bellator MMA banner. A 2019 rolling thunder kick knockout of “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 9 winner Ross Pearson anchors the Gallon resume.

No Ordinary Rookie

Alain Van De Merckt seems to have the tools necessary to become a contender in short order. The undefeated 31-year-old Belgian will make his organizational debut when he confronts Laid Zerhouni in a three-round middleweight showcase that figures to serve as something of a litmus test for the KSW newcomer. Van De Merckt has stopped all eight of his opponents, four by knockout or technical knockout and four by submission. The Levels Fight League champion last appeared at LFL 12, where he punched out Marcos Silva do Nascimento in the second round of their April 12 pairing. Van De Merckt withdrew from a booking on Dana White’s Contender Series in October, so major promotions have had their eyes on him for some time. Zerhouni, meanwhile, boasts 12 finishes among his 13 career victories. The 29-year-old former Hexagone MMA champion saw a four-fight winning streak grind to a halt in his most recent outing—a 61-second technical knockout loss to Radoslaw Paczuski at KSW 98 in September.