Jason Wilnis is one in a growing list of standout kickboxers to crossover into MMA in recent years.
In fact, Wilnis fought both Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira in his kickboxing career, as well as fellow rising MMA prospect Simon Marcus. Mix and match, all four of these fighters kickboxed one another.
Linked frequently, Wilnis isn’t willing to define himself by ties to others’ name recognitions. He looks to pave his own path, a story which will continue to be written Saturday at KSW 70. The event takes place in Lodz, Poland and streams on pay-per-view.
“I’m excited,” Wilnis told MMA Junkie on Thursday. “It’s crazy. This is my dream to fight on the highest stages and now we are here, man. … I dreamed of it, but I didn’t expect it this quick. But I did dream of it. … They asked if I wanted to make a bigger step. KSW is one of the biggest in Europe. We could’ve maybe taken some other chances, but we didn’t look for that. We wanted to stay at LFL just to grow. But KSW, yes, they have good fights. We gave them a chance.”
Through two MMA bouts, Wilinis still has a zero in the loss column. He won his professional debut by knockout and his sophomore outing by unanimous decision. Both of the bouts were against more well-rounded martial artists. It’s been fun to show all aspects of his game, but fighting a kickboxing-based opponent like Radosław Paczuski (3-0), whom he fights Saturday, seems a little bit more fun to Wilnis.
“I think because he’s an experienced kickboxer, also – 3-0,” Wilnis said. “I think he’s the best of these three fights that I’ve had in my small MMA career – for now. … The guys I had before, I couldn’t show all my standup MMA striking. This is a different style now, so maybe I can show more in my standup. That’s good to experience, also.”
His bout will be the first on a newly inked multifight deal with KSW. While he plans to rise up the promotion’s ranks, Wilnis said the goal will always be to fight the best challenges available, which could mean eventually pivoting to the UFC.
“We always aim for the best,” Wilnis said. “Maybe we can get a title fight, or who knows? My manager is helping me, also. We do what’s best. For now, the aim is to grow in KSW.”
