Wait a minute.... Phil de Fries?!

[Ballsaque]

So, I was randomly looking at fightodds, and saw De Fries pop up... I vaguely remember him getting his ass kicked by Stipe back in the day...
However, anyone realized that his guy is undefeated going on 8 years and The KSW Heavyweight champion?

Phil De Fries ("And Still") | MMA Fighter Page | Tapology

Phil "And Still" De Fries (28-6-0, 1 NC) is a Pro MMA Fighter out of Sunderland, England. View complete Tapology profile, bio, rankings, photos, news and record.

www.tapology.com

He has wins over Sakai, Duffee, Narkun, Bedorf...

Did anyone keep up with his career? Would have have a chance at the UFC belt, did he improve substantially?

I'm thinking he's getting paid better over there, but the UFC HW division is so awful now a days that a return could make sense?

 

[El Panteron]

Don't think he can win the belt, but the UFC heavyweight division is in the shitter, they'd need De Fries and many more to look respectable.
He could land in the top 10 even at this stage.

 

[Ares Black]

Lots of people follow MMA that isn't UFC. Many of us are well aware of De Fries.

He is making good money in KSW, but yeah, I'd like to see him come back to the UFC before he retires.

 

[jitzmonkey]

Barely remember him; but solid take.
Good stuff, man!

 

[Blastbeat]

yeah man De Fries is doin really well in KSW. call it minor leagues or bush leagues or whatever you want, but 12 consecutive title defenses at Heavyweight is pretty damned impressive.

 

[Slapjit]

12 title defense

almost nearly 10 year undefeated streak

maybe he is a goat

 

[HHJ]

Jon Jones ducking Phil De Fries

 

[STAY GOLD]

Yeah, I've seen a lot of his KSW fights. He's very good, but his style doesn't fit in with what the UFC is looking for and he's getting paid well in KSW.

KSW has drawn some of the biggest crowds in MMA history. They're a big European MMA organization.

 

[Ballsaque]

Lots of people follow MMA that isn't UFC. Many of us are well aware of De Fries.

He is making good money in KSW, but yeah, I'd like to see him come back to the UFC before he retires.

So did he get better, or is he just preying on less talent?

 

[Xuh]

phil de fries in de bag, mon

 

[Doctor Grudge]

So did he get better, or is he just preying on less talent?

He left the UFC when he was only 27 so it's both.

 

[StewDogg11]

So did he get better, or is he just preying on less talent?

More of the latter. He was 1-3 in the UFC where he got blasted with ease by Miocic, Mitrione, and Duffee. All three fights together lasted like 3 minutes lmao. His lone win was against a scrub who went 0-2 in the UFC.

 

[Thesnake101]

He's been roiding and reaping the benefits, hella boring if he can't find a finish though. Very unlikely he gets picked back up since I doubt the UFC is interested in him, let alone in matching his KSW salary.

 

[Xanzito]

Jon Jones ducking Phil De Fries

Poatan cuts to 205 to avoid Defries

 

[Ares Black]

So did he get better, or is he just preying on less talent?

Kinda both

 

[Pequeño Corey]

Dude is cookin' up a storm in the B leagues. Good for him.

 

[Natural Order]

Pretty much the greatest British HW since Lennox Lewis!

 

[Unheralded Truth]

Yeah, but look at those he beat in title fights:

Luis Enrique, who was 8-1 at LHW and then decided to try HW against Ngannou. He got finished. Later lost to Arjen Bhullar when he debuted. Trying his luck outside of the UFC, Luis needed exactly one win in KSW to get the HW title fight.

Michal Kita, had been finished by Bedorf and Andryszak in KSW already and took four fights elsewhere. Two wins, a draw and a loss. But when he returned he avenged the loss to Andryszak in a rematch, and that was all it took for creating enough hype to get him an instant title shot.

Darko Stosic, the guy who realized how far behind Kennedy Nzechukwu he was that he began to spam low blows (in the UFC). In KSW he came from a split decision win over Michał Andryszak that Phil had just beat in their rematch. So it was basically fair for Darko to get the next shot based on that.

Szymon Bajor, got an instant title shot upon returning to KSW again from the smaller promotion Fight Exclusive Night. He's 2-3 in the KSW now after returning.

Nah, he's probably a better fighter now. But honestly with some real luck in the match-making that we can't ignore.

​

 

[Prazeres]

I only watched one of his KSW fight, his title defence against Sakai, and he did not look like a world beater, close fight he won largely off cage clinching.
My guess is that he held on to his belt by being decent in a world of absolute trash competition.

 

[ricc505]

Jon Jones ducking Phil De Fries

Confirmed