Phil De Fries Record, stats and next fight

Analysis

Phil De Fries is a British mixed martial artist from Sunderland, undisputed heavyweight champion of Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki (KSW) since 2018. Having come through the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Bellator MMA and M-1 Global, he holds the record for the most title defenses in the Polish promotion’s history.

Career

Born on April 21, 1986 in Cleethorpes, Phil De Fries grew up in Sunderland and started Brazilian jiu-jitsu at age 14. He made his professional debut in April 2009 in the northeast of England, on regional cards for Strike and Submit and Tyneside Fighting Challenge, where he strung together submission wins over Darren Towler, Jamie Sheldon and Grant Hocking. He earned a contract with the Ultimate Fighting Championship after a win over Stav Economou in 2011, with a record of 7 wins and no losses.

After his time in the UFC, he returned to the independent English and Japanese circuits. He beat Strikeforce veteran Brett Rogers by submission in December 2013 at Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2013 in Tokyo, before losing a decision to judoka Satoshi Ishii in April 2014 on the IGF 1 card. He then continued his career on the small English M4TC promotion, where he split two fights with Thomas Denham, winning one and losing the other by stoppage, before a submission win over Lukasz Parobiec in late 2014. In May 2017, he suffered a stoppage loss in Russia to Ivan Shtyrkov under the RCC Boxing Promotions banner, then won by majority decision against Anton Vyazigin at M-1 Challenge 84 in Saint Petersburg.

Ultimate Fighting Championship career

De Fries made his UFC debut on November 5, 2011 at UFC 138, where he beat Rob Broughton by unanimous decision. In February 2012, he faced Stipe Miocic at a UFC on Fuel TV event and lost by first-round knockout. He bounced back in August 2012 by submitting Oli Thompson with a rear-naked choke at UFC on Fox: Shogun vs. Vera, then dropped two straight stoppage losses, to Todd Duffee at UFC 155 in December 2012 and to Matt Mitrione in April 2013, the latter in just 19 seconds. He left the organization after this third loss in four fights.

Bellator MMA career

De Fries made a single appearance for Bellator MMA on December 15, 2017, at Bellator 191 in Newcastle. There, he beat Pride Fighting Championship veteran James Thompson by first-round submission (guillotine choke).

Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki (KSW) career

In February 2018, De Fries signed with the Polish promotion Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki. He immediately claimed the vacant heavyweight title in April 2018 by beating local prospect Michal Andryszak by stoppage at KSW 43. He went on to defend it against Karol Bedorf by submission, Tomasz Narkun twice by decision and then by TKO, Luis Henrique by split decision, Michal Kita by stoppage, and Darko Stosic twice by stoppage.

He also defended his belt against Ricardo Prasel and Todd Duffee, whom he beat in a rematch after facing him in the UFC a decade earlier, then against Szymon Bajor and former UFC fighter Augusto Sakai by unanimous decision in June 2024. He continued his string of defenses in 2025 against Arkadiusz Wrzosek by submission and against Stefan Vojcak by third-round stoppage. His most recent known fight took place on April 18, 2026 at KSW 117 in Warsaw, where he submitted Marcin Wojcik by first-round rear-naked choke for his fourteenth title defense, a record in the promotion’s history.

Fighting style

A Brazilian jiu-jitsu purple belt, Phil De Fries builds the bulk of his wins on the ground. Sixteen of his twenty-nine victories come by submission, overwhelmingly by rear-naked choke, an unusual ratio for a heavyweight. He consistently looks to take the fight to the ground, where he controls opponents before hunting for the finish, and rounds out this base with effective ground and pound sequences, behind several of his stoppage wins in KSW. His losses come almost entirely on the feet, against strikers able to hit him before he can bring the fight to the mat.

Record

• Professional record: 29 wins, 6 losses, 1 no contest
• Wins by KO/TKO: 8
• Wins by submission: 16
• Wins by decision: 5
• Title: Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki heavyweight champion (one reign, ongoing since 2018)
• Distinction: record for the most title defenses in KSW history, across all divisions (14)

Fighter profile

• Full name: Philip De Fries
• Nickname: And Still (also known as S-11)
• Born: April 21, 1986 in Cleethorpes, England
• Nationality: British
• Height: 6’4″ (193 cm)
• Reach: 6’7″ (201 cm)
• Division: heavyweight
• Team: TFT MMA (Sunderland)
• Coach: not disclosed
• Base: Brazilian jiu-jitsu (purple belt)

Sources

• en.wikipedia.org
• www.sherdog.com