By ProMMAnow.com contributor Pawel Sawicki

Former UFC contender and BJJ black belt Thales Leites is scheduled to fight Sengoku and Elite XC vet Mamed Khalidov in the KSW 15 main event March 19 in Warsaw, Poland. Leites is set to replace longtime MMA veteran Matt Lindland, who had to withdraw from the bout with a hand injury, although there are rumors Leites is also injured.

Khalidov (21-4), one of the best middleweights in Europe, defeated Yuki Sasaki by TKO at the Dec. 30 Soul of Fight event. The Arrachion Olstyn fighter has good striking and jiu-jitsu, but is his jiu-jitsu on the Leithes level?

Leites (18-4) recently has submitted Tor Troeng in Sweden. During his UFC stint, he won five of his first six to earn a title shot against Anderson Silva, but lost a lopsided decision. Leites was then released following a split decision loss to Alessio Sakara.

Although this news just broke, some sources from tatame.com say that Leites is injured. ProMMAnow.com is awaiting confirmation from KSW and will update this story as more information becomes available.

2 thoughts on “Former UFC middleweight Thales Leites may replace Lindland vs. Khalidov at KSW 15”
  1. KSW is waiting for reports from Leites camp. He has knee injuiry.

    Guilherme Cruz, tatame.com journalist, says that Leites is out definitely, but KSW is more optimistic.

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