decision. Bellator MMA De Fries made his Bellator MMA debut on 15 December 2017 at Bellator 191 against Pride FC vet James Thompson. He won the fight via submission in the first round. KSW On 8 February 2018 it was announced that De Fries had signed a four-fight contract with Polish MMA promotion Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki. Heavyweight Championship reign In the promotional debut De Fries faced Polish prospect Michał Andryszak for the vacant KSW Heavyweight Championship at KSW 43: Soldić vs. Du Plessis on 14 April 2018. De Fries won the fight via technical knockout in the first round and claimed the championship. On 6 October 2018 De Fries made his first title defense against Karol Bedorf at KSW 45: The Return to Wembley, retaining his championship via keylock submission in the second round. De Fries successfully defended his title against reigning KSW Light Heavyweight champion Tomasz Narkun at KSW 47 on 23 March 2019, winning the fight via unanimous decision. De Fries was initially expected to make his next title defense against Damian Grabowski at KSW 50 on 14 September 2019. However, Grabowski was forced to withdraw from the bout due to an injury, and was replaced by Luis Henrique. De Fries won the fight by split decision. In his 4th defense, De Fries faced Michał Kita on 19 December 2020 at KSW 57: De Fries vs. Kita. He won the fight via second-round TKO finish one minute into the second round. De Fries rematched with Tomasz Narkun on 24 April 2021 at KSW 60: De Fries vs. Narkun 2. The pair previously met on 23 March 2019 in the main event at KSW 47: The X-Warriors, where De Fries defeated Narkun by unanimous decision and defended his KSW heavyweight title. He won the bout via ground and pound resulting in a TKO. De Fries faced Darko Stošić at KSW 67 on 26 February 2022. He defended his title and won the bout via TKO after Stošić tapped due to combination of exhaustion and damage in the fifth round. De Fries faced Ricardo Prasel on 10 September, 2022 at KSW 74. He defeated Prasel at the end of the first round, choking him out via rear-naked choke. De Fries rematched Todd Duffee on February 25, 2023 at KSW 79. He defeated Duffee in the first round via ground and pount TKO. Personal life De Fries has two daughters (born