While the Ultimate Fighting Championship is undoubtedly the brand name synonymous with mixed martial arts, one promotion across the pond believes it has a more impactful local fan base than the UFC does in the United States.

According to owner Martin Lewandowski, KSW is more popular in Poland than the UFC is in its traditional North American market.

“In my opinion, KSW is more popular in Poland than the UFC in the States,” Lewandowski told sportowefakty.wp.pl (h/t MMARocks.pl). “There are players who in our country have more followers than those considered to be stars across the ocean. I visited several times in the United out of pure professional curiosity to observe their sports market. MMA is not in the forefront there. It's like a hockey league in Poland.”

Lewandowski criticized the UFC’s lack of pageantry relative to KSW’s exceptional theatrics show as one of the reasons why MMA is not a priority for American sports fans.

“Just look at how their show compares to ours. They simply bring a cage about three lame boxing lights on the cross and beat the competitors. There, people are just used to paying for the entertainment and for them is not a problem to pay 40 or 60 "bucks" for the show.”

KSW’s next show, which features a heavyweight showdown between Mariusz Pudianowski and Polish rapper ‘Popek,’ is scheduled to take place in December.