Scott Askham makes huge statement with KO finish on KSW debut

It took Scott Askham just 69 seconds to make a winning first impression on his promotional debut for KSW on Saturday night.

Askham took on a tough first assignment on his maiden outing for the Polish promotion, as he faced former KSW middleweight champion Michal Materla in the co-main event of KSW 42 at the Atlas Arena in Lodz, Poland.

And the Brit showcased his striking skills as he dismantled Materla inside the first round, using a succession of thumping kicks to the body to crumble the former champion.

Askham controlled the range expertly, using a mixture of kicks and a solid left jab. But it was his feet that did the talking, as he connected hard with a left kick to the body that clearly affected Materla in the opening minute of the contest.

Askham kept the pressure on, backing up the Pole and landing ever more powerful body kicks to the right hand side of Materla’s frame, eventually folding up the former champ and forcing the stoppage with referee Marc Goddard halting the action just one minute, nine seconds into the contest.

#KSW42 Official results: Scott Askham def. Michał Materla via KO (body kick and head kick), 1:09, round 1. pic.twitter.com/GCE0OGQDCD

— KSW (@KSW_MMA) March 3, 2018

After the bout, Askham told MMARocks.pl: “All respect to Materla. I’ve got lots of respect for him. I love how respected he is in the country. Every person I’ve spoken to has not had a bad word to say about him. And that just makes this victory even better.

“I knew I was coming here as an underdog – I was one of the biggest underdogs on the card – but I believed in myself. I have a great team behind me, who believed in me, and we knew that was gonna happen.

“He’s a great fighter, but I’m just on another level. I’m just starting to show my potential.”

Also on the card, the main event saw a huge shock as long-reigning KSW middleweight champion Mamed Khalidov suffered his first defeat in KSW when he was dramatically submitted by KSW light-heavyweight champ Tomasz Narkun, while lightweight champ Mateusz Gamrot and women’s flyweight champion Ariane Lipski both successfully defended their titles.

Check out some of the action shots from the bout by clicking the arrows below or using the arrow keys on your keyboard.

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