Scott Askham to face former KSW champ Michal Materla at KSW 42

British middleweight Scott Askham has been handed his debut assignment for KSW, and it’s a cracker of a matchup.

Askham will take on former KSW middleweight champion Michal Materla in a three-round middleweight battle at KSW 42 in Lodz, Poland, on March 3. The bout was announced via press release on Tuesday morning.

Askham, who was released by the UFC after his split-decision loss to fellow Brit Bradley Scott at UFC Fight Night London last March, landed on his feet with an all-British clash against another fellow UFC vet, Luke Barnatt, at ACB 70.

Askham put in a superb performance in Sheffield on September 23 to end up the right side of a controversial split decision (the fight appeared a clear win for the Yorkshireman) as he produced the sort of all-action performance fans were used to seeing before he joined the UFC.

In December it was announced that the Brit had signed with hugely successful Polish-based promotion KSW and now he’s been handed his debut matchup for the organisation in a dynamite contest between two all-action middleweights who bring significant fan support.

Materla’s most recent outing saw him stop former UFC veteran Paulo Thiago in the second round at KSW 40 in Dublin last October. It took his run of stoppage wins to three, adding to his finishes of former KSW champion Antoni Cmielewski and Rousimar Palhares.

Each of Materla’s last five wins came via KO or TKO, with his only loss in the last four years coming against the legendary Polish middleweight star Mamed Khalidov in 2015.

“I’m very happy to come back to the KSW cage so quickly and I’m very excited to face such an exciting opponent,” said Materla.

“Scott Askham is very good fighter with an awkward fighting style and big MMA experience. He has never been finished in his MMA career, I will do my best to be the first one to do it.”

Askham is no stranger to British MMA fans, having claimed the BAMMA middleweight title earlier in his career before joining the UFC. His highlight moment inside the octagon was undoubtedly his memorable walk-off knockout of Chris Dempsey at UFC Fight Night London in 2016.

Now continuing his career in Europe and keen to cement his position as one of Europe’s premier middleweights, Askham makes his promotional debut against a hugely popular former champion on March 3.

“I came to KSW for big fights and this is one of them, I want to make a statement here,” said Askham.

“Materla is a big hitter but I plan on making him miss and making him pay. Expect fireworks!”

KSW 42 will feature a champion versus champion superfight between the aforementioned Khalidov and Tomasz Narkun, with popular KSW stars Karol Bedorf and Lukasz Jurkowski, as well as KSW champions Mateusz Gamrot and Ariane Lipski.