Sunderland powerhouse Phil De Fries retains KSW heavyweight title in record-breaking run

True to form, Phil De Fries retained the belt after winning his KSW title defence fight against former UFC competitor Augusto Sakai at KSW 95 in Poland.

The 38-year-old from Thornhill has now won the KSW Heavyweight title 11 times with a run of 10 successful defences and is on track to be the longest-running holder of the title.

He flew to Poland, where promoter KSW is based, for the fight against Sakai, one of his toughest opponents yet.

It wasn’t the usual plain sailing for Phil who took a kick to the leg in the first round which he says hampered his performance but he still managed to win via unanimous decision after five rounds.

“He fought really hard,” said Phil. “I thought I’d dominate to get the finisher. He’s a scrapper and I’m a scrapper so I thought we’d meet in the middle, but it didn’t go like that which surprised me a bit.

“I’m used to getting the finisher but a win’s a win.”

Phil fights out of TFT gym in Seaham under coach Andrew Fisher alongside fellow Sunderland heavyweight Mick Parkin who fights in the UFC, as well as sparring sessions with UFC fighter Tom Aspinall in Manchester.

Phil first got into martial arts when he was 14 and began doing BJJ before moving on to MMA when he was 20. He fought for the biggest fight promoter in the world, UFC, in his 20s.

But it was joining TFT gym and signing to KSW when he was 30 that’s led to his greatest success in the sport and helped him to overcome mental health struggles.