KSW free fight: Phil De Fries turns back fellow champion Tomasz Narkun at KSW 47

KSW heavyweight champion Phil De Fries is proved his championship pedigree in March 2019 when he turned back the challenge of light heavyweight champion Tomasz Narkun.

De Fries took on Poland’s Narkun at KSW 47, which took place at the Atlas Arena in Lodz, Poland, and saw the Englishman extend his winning run to five as he outlasted his opponent over five grueling rounds to register his second straight defense of his title.

Narkun started out aggressively and looked to use his striking to put the champion on the back foot, but it was De Fries’ power that proved decisive in Round 1. He tagged Narkun with a big right hand that dropped him to the canvas. De Fries followed his man to the mat and punished the Pole with ground and pound until the end of the round.

De Fries took Narkun to the mat early in Round 2, and only a bizarre moment when Narkun pulled down the Brit’s shorts produced a moment’s pause as the champion used his size and positional advantage to rain more ground strikes down on the challenger. However, it wasn’t all one-way traffic, as Narkun threatened with a choke in the final seconds of the round.

De Fries took over in Round 3, using his superior conditioning to keep the pressure on a visibly wilting Narkun, then eased off the pace a little in Round 4 as he steeled himself for a final round onslaught.

Narkun threw everything he had left into a final flurry in Round 5, but De Fries showed his fight IQ by letting his man get comfortable, then changing levels and taking the action to the ground once again.

Narkun continued to attack and attempted two armbar submissions, but De Fries was wise to them both and escaped without fuss before landing more ground and pound. Eventually, the fight was stood back up, and the two tiring heavyweights battled to the final bell.

When the result came, it was no surprise when De Fries was awarded the victory, with scores of 50-44, 50-44 and 50-45 underscoring the Brit’s dominance as he retained his title and in the process snapped Narkun’s seven-fight winning streak.

De Fries (18-6) will look to continue his winning form when he takes on Michal Kita (20-11-1) in the main event of KSW 57, which takes place Saturday night in Lodz, Poland. The event streams live at KSWTV.com.

Before De Fries returns to the KSW cage, relive his win over Narkun via the video above.