*anese mixed martial arts fighter

Tomasz "Giraffe" Narkun (born December 3, 1989) is a Polish mixed martial artist currently competing for KSW. A professional MMA compe*or since 2009, he is the former KSW Light Heavyweight Champion and has also competed for M-1 Global, where he is the former Light Heavyweight Champion. He is currently ranked #1 in the KSW Light Heavyweight rankings.

Contents

• 1 Background
• 2 Career
  • 2.1 Early career
  • 2.2 M-1 Global
  • 2.3 KSW
    • 2.3.1 KSW Light Heavyweight Champion
• 3 Championships and accomplishments
  • 3.1 Mixed martial arts
  • 3.2 Grappling
• 4 Mixed martial arts record
• 5 See also
• 6 References
• 7 External links

Background

Weighing in at around 205:lb (93:kg; 14.6:st), Narkun is considered small by North American standards for light heavyweights. He has, however, earned respect for his tactical and defensive capabilities. Gegard "Dreamcatcher" Mousasi, a regular training partner of Narkun, has said of Narkun: "Tactically and technically he has reached a very high level". Mousasi has also stated his belief that Narkun "is the future light heavyweight champion".

Career

Early career

Narkun made his professional MMA debut in 2009, winning via armbar submission in the first round.

M-1 Global

In 2010 Narkun appeared for M-1 Global at their Western Europe Selections Light Heavyweight Tournament in 2010. Narkun won his first two bouts with relative ease; submitting each opponent within a minute of the first round. In the Tournament Final in July, Narkun faced Georgian David Tkeshelashvili, winning again via first-round submission. This also awarded Narkun the M-1 Global Light Heavyweight Championship belt.

Narkun next faced Vyacheslav Vasilevsky in his first *le defense on December 10, 2010. Narkun was handed his first professional loss via second-round TKO after Narkun's corner threw in the towel.

At the weigh-ins for M-1 Challenge 28 in Russia, for his fight against Saparbek Safarov, both fighters ended up slapping each other. At first it appeared to be a joke, but when Safarov threw a right hook at Narkun, M-1 officials intervened. Safarov was disqualified from the event.

Narkun fought only once in 2011; winning via first-round submission; this would be his last fight under the M-1 Global banner. After not returning to the cage until 2013, Narkun won his next three fights via submission before signing with KSW in his native Poland.

KSW

Narkun made his promotional debut against Brazilian veteran Charles Andrade at KSW 27 on May 17, 2014. He won via kneebar submission in the first round.

KSW Light Heavyweight Champion

Narkun returned to face Croatian Goran Reljic at KSW 29. Narkun was defeated via majority decision. In 2015, Narkun defeated Karol Celinski via first-round rear-naked choke before being given a rematch with Reljic, who had since defeated Attila Végh to become KSW Light Heavyweight Champion, at KSW 32. Narkun won via first-round knockout, becoming the KSW Light Heavyweight Champion.

After defeating Reljic in their rematch for the belt, Narkun had his first *le defense against Brazilian C*io "Jacare" de Oliveira at KSW 34 in early 2016, and then defeated Sokoudjou for his second defense in October of that year. For his third defense, Narkun defeated Marcin Wojicik via triangle choke with just a second left in the first round at KSW 39: Colosseum.

At KSW 42, Narkun prepared for a non-*le bout against Mamed Khalidov, the former KSW Middleweight Champion. The pair met at a Catchweight of 203 lbs. After getting knocked down twice in the first round, Narkun was able to regroup, he won via triangle choke submission in the third round; breaking Khalidov's 15-fight unbeaten streak. The pair met again at KSW 46 on December 1, 2018. Narkun won again, this time via unanimous decision after three rounds.

Narkun next challenged KSW Heavyweight Champion and former UFC veteran Phil De Fries for his *le at KSW 47 on March 23, 2019. Narkun lost via unanimous decision.

Narkun next defended his Light Heavyweight Championship at KSW 50: London against Przemysław Mysiala, winning via guillotine choke submission in the first round.

Narkun faced Ivan Erslan at KSW 56: Polska vs. Chorwacja on November 14, 2020. He defended his *le, winning the fight via second round submission.

Narkun rematched Phil De Fries on April 24, 2021 at KSW 60: De Fries vs. Narkun 2 for the KSW Heavyweight Championship. The pair previously met on March 23, 2019 in the main event at KSW 47: The X-Warriors, where De Fries defeated Narkun by unanimous decision and defended his KSW heavyweight *le. He lost the bout in the second round via ground and pound.

Narkun faced Ibragim Chuzhigaev on January 15, 2022 at KSW 66: Ziółkowski vs. Mańkowski. Narkun lost via unanimous decision.

Championships and accomplishments

Mixed martial arts

• Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki
  • KSW Light Heavyweight Championship (One time)
    • Five Successful *le Defenses
  • Fight of the Night (Two times) vs. Mamed Khalidov and Ibragim Chuzhigaev
  • Submission of the Night (One times) vs. Przemyslaw Mysiala (KSW 50)
• European MMA
  • EUMMA Light Heavyweight Championship (One time)
• M-1 Global
  • 2010 M-1 Global Western Europe Selection Tournament Winner
• Super League of MMA
  • Fight of the Night (One time)
  • Submission of the Night (One time)

Grappling

• 2012: ADCC European Championship - 1st place in 99:kg category (Ljubljana)
• 2014: ADCC European Championship - 1st place in 99:kg category (Sofia)

Mixed martial arts record

Except where otherwise indicated, details provided in the record box are taken from Sherdog

See also

• List of current KSW fighters
• List of male mixed martial artists

References

External links

• Professional MMA record for Tomasz Narkun from Sherdog