At the KSW 99 gala in Gliwice, two more people were announced who will join the Polish organization’s Hall of Fame. On November 16, during the XTB KSW 100 anniversary event, they will be officially introduced to this group Paweł NastulaOlympic gold medalist in judo and pioneer of Polish MMA, as well Andrzej Janisza long-time commentator of KSW galas.
Paweł Nastula is a true legend of combat sports. The judoka born in Warsaw is a two-time world champion, a three-time European champion and an Olympic gold medalist in Atlanta in 1996. 9 years later, Nastula joined the legendary Pride FC, at that time the leading MMA organization in the world. He was the first Pole to fight the biggest stars of this sport, including: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Aleksander Emelianenko, and Josh Barnett.
In KSW Nastula he fought three fights, which contributed to the further development of the organization and the increase in the popularity of the entire discipline in Poland. The Olympic champion won against Kevin Asplund, but in the fight for the heavyweight belt he had to accept the superiority of Karol Bedorf. In his last fight, which took place in 2014, Nastula faced Mariusz Pudzianowski, who ultimately won by unanimous decision.
Andrzej Janisz is a Polish journalist and sports commentator who started his career in this industry over 40 years ago. He accompanied the KSW organization from the very beginning of its existence, observing the first gala live in 2004. For the next 17 years and approximately 60 events, Janisz was closely associated with the largest Polish MMA organization. He is known to fans from the commentary duo created with Łukasz “Juras” Jurkowski.
In 2023, the KSW organization announced the creation of a Hall of Fame for the most distinguished figures. Its first member was the already mentioned Łukasz Jurkowski, KSW tournament champion, and in later years also a commentator. The ceremony of inducting Paweł Nastula and Andrzej Janisz into the Hall of Fame will take place on November 16 in Gliwice during the XTB KSW 100 gala.
