KSW Champ Philip De Fries to Face Josh Barnett in Grappling Match on Feb. 24

Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki heavyweight champion Philip De Fries will square off against Josh Barnett in a grappling match on Feb. 24.

The Polish promotion recently announced the booking. KSW "Epic" takes place at PreZero Arena in Gliwice, Poland and is available via pay-per-view.

The 37-year-old De Frieds is on a 12-fight winning streak in MMA that dates back to October 2017. He’s successfully defended the KSW heavyweight strap nine times and is coming off a second-round submission of Szymon Bajor at KSW 84 this past July. Fourteen of his 24 career victories have come by way of submission.

A former UFC heavyweight champion, Barnett hasn’t competed in MMA since 2016, when he submitted Andrei Arlovski at UFC Fight Night 93. “The Warmaster” has competed in combat sports, most recently defeating Shoma Shibisai via first-round TKO in a mixed-rules bout in December 2022. He also bested Marcin Rozalski in a bare-knuckle affair in October 2020 and was submitted by Gordon Ryan at Quintet 3 in 2018.