Phil successfully defends world title
A Sunderland fighter has successfully defended his world title on the global stage.
Phil De Fries has brought home the KSW heavyweight title once again after winning the international belt five times, successfully defending it four times over.
The fight, which was broadcast around the world from the octagon in Lodz, Poland, was the first time the professional fighter from Thornhill has been able to fight for 15 months due to the pandemic and he says it was great to be back.
Phil, 34, who took on M i c h a ł K i ta , s a i d : “It wa s great to get back to doing my job.
"T h e re c ou l d b e s o m e improvements, it was quite a dominant win, but I felt p roud to d e fe n d th e t i tl e again.
"Everyone was watching back home and the reaction has been great, the promoter was happy with the result too.”
K S W, w h i c h s t a n d s for Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki, is one of the leading fight promoters in Europe.
A professional fighter for 12 years, this is Phil’s biggest title to date.
T h e rei g n i n g c h a m p i - on usually travels to Florida ahead of fights to train with
the American Top Team.
A l th oug h re s tr ic t io n s m ad e i t d i f f i c u l t to tra i n abroad, training sessions at his home gym, TFT MMA in Seaham, stood him in good stead for defending his top title.
R ega rde d a s o n e o f th e best MMA gyms in the region, 18 professional fighters, including Cal Pacino and Ryan Scope, train out of the gym ahead of bouts for the world’s biggest promoters.
A n d r e w F i s h e r, a p r o f i g h t e r a n d t r a i n e r, w h o runs the gym, said: “The pros have been able to get back to training and fighting. The bi g s h ows h ave te s t i n g i n place and money behind it, so they’ve been able to continue.”
P h i l s a i d : “It’s t h e b e s t place in the North East, with the best training partners.
"T h e r e ’s n o b a d e g g s there, if there was they wouldn’t last long, everyone supports each other.”
Speaking about why Sunderland is home to so many successful fighters, Phil, who is dad to Violet, four, and Willow, two, added: “I think in areas of poverty, fighting pulls a lot of people in. For me, I used to get picked on and it started from that.”