Scott Askham Vows To Win KSW Title After An Experience Of A Lifetime At KSW 42
Not many fighters can legitimately claim their careers have taken an upwards trend after leaving the UFC, but Scott Askham certainly can.
Following hot on the heels of a win over Luke Barnatt late last year, Askham made his debut for Polish outfit KSW this past weekend in Lodz. Askham defeated former KSW middleweight champion Michal Materla in devastating fashion and silenced the 15,000 strong crowd in the arena.
The fight went just as Askham predicted it would and speaking to MMANytt.com earlier today, the Yorkshireman said the experience of the KSW fight week was like nothing he’d been through before.
“It’s a different environment to the English fans,” Askham said. “Nobody booed me or anything like that. Everybody clapped. I compare then to Swedish fans. They were so welcoming and everybody was nice. The opening ceremony was one of the best experiences of my life in fighting. Really good. You stood on the podium and they introduce the fighters and all the lights from peoples cameras are on. It’s like a concert. That was an unbelievable feeling and everyone clapped me. It wasn’t loud or anything, but nobody booed.
“When they announced Materla, the place went absolutely crazy and he got the biggest reaction on the card. I knew he had the love, but that’s what I said to him at the weigh-ins. People were saying I was putting my hands to my throat, but it wasn’t anything or aggressive or like that. I was just saying that on Saturday night this crowd were gonna go silent and I always believed it would.”
Askham finished the fight in devastating fashion with multiple kicks to the body that ultimately lead to a KO stoppage. The Englishman simply couldn’t contain his excitement when the referee stopped the fight and he described the euphoria of the moment.
“That raw emotion when you just get a win… there’s no explaining it,” Askham said. “You’re just screaming like ‘yeah’ and I was jumping on top of the cage and that. My Mum and Dad were there so I was like ‘yes’ to them and then I was shaking my teammates hands. I put my hand up then to thank the crowd and that. I’m little upset I didn’t get an interview in the ring afterwards to be honest with you. I did want to thank the Polish fans as well, but maybe next time I’ll get an interview.
“The experience overall was just amazing, everything about it. As a show, it was the best show I’ve fought on by far and it was the biggest win of my career so far. The after party was the best after party I’ve been to. I ended up stumbling out of a nightclub at 5pm and going for my taxi. Everything about it was amazing. I still don’t know how I didn’t miss my flight home.”
With Materla’s scalp now in the bag, Askham should go on to fight for the KSW middleweight title. The KSW middleweight champion Mamed Khalidov lost in a main event catchweight bout in the headliner last Saturday, but regardless, Askham isn’t bothered and simply just wants his shot at the gold.
“I’m going for that title next, that’s what I want,” Askham said. “Me and my manager, that’s what we’re going to push for. Whether that’d Khalidov or not, I don’t know. I don’t care how I win that title. I know he (Khalidov) took that loss, but he’s still the middleweight champion.
“Khalidov is still the middleweight man in KSW and all over the world, he’s a great fighter. If I could ask for any fighter now it would be Khalidov, of course it would.”
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