MMA talk - PFL, Bellator, KSW, ONE...

[pawel7777]

Salahdine Parnasse, a former KSW lightweight champion, is having his UFC debut tomorrow.
He will face Dan Hooker, a pretty good opponent for him to showcase his skills. Parnasse is a huge favourite. Odds for him are x1.15, while for Hooker: x5.07. I think Hooker might be a bit underrated, but I guess the fact that the fight is taking place in Parnasse's home country, France, is a big factor in predicting the outcome.

Betting on Hooker is tempting because of the attractive odds, but I can't imagine he will surprise Parnasse with anything. His only hope is probably to look for luck in wild striking exchanges.

[pawel7777]

Parnasse was a huge favourite but he did even better than expected. He demolished Dan Hooker within the first round and he made it look easy.
Highlights for those who missed it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiUim6M46O4

That's a dream start of his UFC career, and now Parnasse is in a good position to ask for bigger names. But this also shows that the level of fighters outside of the UFC is not to be underestimated. KSW has quite a few talented fighters, but they do struggle to keep them in and to grow the prestige of the organisation.

[TopTort777]

It is actually very unusual to see someone from not so cool promotion compared to giants like One, PFL, Bellator to get so high in UFC from the start. And it is common for guys from other promotion to have a test fights, but after a debut Parnasse is #8 already. Am I underestimating KSW ? (It has been for ages, but I know only Blachowicz and Gamrot)  I have never paid much attention to fights, and mostly watched freak fights only. Such as Pudzianowski vs any other huge dude

[pawel7777]

It is actually very unusual to see someone from not so cool promotion compared to giants like One, PFL, Bellator to get so high in UFC from the start. And it is common for guys from other promotion to have a test fights, but after a debut Parnasse is #8 already. Am I underestimating KSW ? (It has been for ages, but I know only Blachowicz and Gamrot)  I have never paid much attention to fights, and mostly watched freak fights only. Such as Pudzianowski vs any other huge dude

KSW is, or at least was, the biggest mma organisation in Europe. For some reason, they are not as widely recognised as the organisations you mentioned. They have been criticised for not investing in proper marketing, and maybe that's the primary reason they never expanded outside of Poland/Europe.
But KSW was an incubator for quite a lot of fighters who made it to the UFC, with more or less success. Those who made it big are Blachowicz, Gamrot, Dricus du Plessis, and probably Parnasse.
There are more new ex-KSW sign-ups to make their debut soon. One of them is Roberto Soldic, who was the only man to ever KO Du Plessis. Soldic's debut is scheduled for UFC 332 on 4th October.