The fighting organization OKTAGON MMA visited Cologne for the first time, where it organized the biggest tournament ever on German soil.
A packed arena, MMA stars and heated battles. The Oktagon 49 tournament is behind us, and in addition to the new heavyweight king, we witnessed several tough finishes, as well as exciting three-round battles. There was really a lot, so take a look with us at what this great event had to offer.
Hard finish from the first matches
The gala evening started in style. In the Free Prelims, Finn Griessman and Lukáš Eliáš faced each other and the match didn’t really last long. In the very first round, the Slovak fighter Eliáš hit his opponent with a crushing combination to the chin, who fell limp to the ground. Eliáš thus took care of the first termination of the evening and after the fight confidently declared that he would defeat the entire veltra division. He really couldn’t have wished for a better premier in the organization.
With two losses in a row, the talented Ukrainian Ivan Klevets, who collected almost 90 matches among the amateurs, returned to the cage, but after the transition to the professionals, he did not find happiness. And he will continue to look for him. Although at first the match developed in favor of Klevets, the Englishman Jake McHugh gradually started to pull for the longer end and in the second round he finished the Ukrainian opponent with a submission (triangle choke).
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The tournament continued at a wild pace, and another quick finish was brought by the clash between the Slovak Oktagon Challenge champion Roman Paulus and the German Arijan Topallaj. He went into the fight with five wins in the first round, and he confirmed how brutal his starts to matches are on Saturday. After less than two minutes, he forced the favored Paulus to finish with a submission (anaconda choke). For Paulus, this is the first loss before the limit.
Source: OKTAGON MMA
Rozkopal mu nuhu
After four long years, the Canadian Steven Macdonald returned to the fight, who fought the well-known Jorick Montagnac. The French fighter did not allow himself to be significantly threatened throughout the fight and bet on kicking his opponent’s leg, which turned completely red during the three rounds and it was noticeable that Macdonald could barely lean on it.
Montagnac was returning to the cage after a loss, when he was KOed in the first round, so this time he started a more careful, tactical battle, in which he clearly outscored his opponent. The Frenchman thus claimed his fourth victory on the Octagon and declared that he wants to fight his way to the title.
The point referees also had a say in the duel between the Brazilian Thiago Silva and the German Konrad Dyrschka. The Brazilian fighter is a master of levers and chokes, which was also shown on Saturday. He threatened to submit several times, but his opponent was always able to defend his attempts in the end. One of the judges called the very balanced duel a draw, while the other two sided with the more active Dyrschka, who extended his winning streak to five in a row.
Source: OKTAGON MMA
The main card was opened by a match between two interesting names. On one side of the cage stood the undefeated Cihad Akipa, who ended most of his wins before the limit. Former Cage Warriors champion Matter Bonner then took his place against him. It was a debut for both of them in the organization, but Bonner was more successful in it, who was unanimously named the winner after three rounds by all three point judges.
The Czech fighter got a KO
The German shooter Niklas Stolze returned from the UFC to the Octagon, and he competed against the Brno “AK 47” Andrej Kalashnik. Although the Czech wrestler was the more active and tried to create pressure, Stolze managed to land a sharp combination at the mesh in the very first round, which disabled Kalashnik and sent him to the ground. The Czech fighter did not hide his disappointment, as it was his second defeat in a row. On the contrary, after three defeats in a row, Stolze sat back in the winning saddle and repaid the home audience for their support with an exhibition knockout.
Source: OKTAGON MMA
The undefeated German star Deniz Ilbay entered the fight really wild, but his fans were in for a disappointment. Ilbay’s opponent Corey Fry withstood the initial pressure and flurry of punches and managed to force his opponent to tap out shortly after taking the fight to the ground. Ilbay suffered the first defeat of his career, and Fry said he could fight anyone in the featherweight ranks for his next fight. As he said, he wants to go all the way to the title of champion.
The Turkish-made machine Kerim Engizek shows fantastic form with every game and Saturday’s duel was no exception. His opponent Adam Horváth took the match at the last moment and despite being a huge outsider, he was able to torment Engizek with submission attempts. However, Engizek finally confirmed the position of the biggest favorite of the tournament and after Horváth tried to get up, he accurately hit him with a hard hook, after which the Turkish native sealed his win with a volley of other punches. So there was no surprise, and Engizek could enjoy his incredible thirteenth (!) win in a row.
Apollo triumphed
German star Christian Eckerlin also entered the fray with an impressive winning streak. With eight dominant wins in a row, he faced quite possibly his toughest test in the main preliminary of the evening. It was none other than the eternal showman Apollo Silva, a participant in the Millionaire Tipsport Gamechanger pyramid.
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Apollo is known for his refined fight in stance, which was confirmed on Saturday. Eckerlin was clearly able to outscore Eckerlin within three rounds, so after fifteen minutes there could be no doubt that Apollo deservedly won. He followed up on his last victory against Marcel Grabinski and started thinking again about the title in the welterweight, which he previously had within reach.
Source: OKTAGON MMA
The new heavyweight champion
But then it was time for the main course. After more than two years, fans got to know the name of the new heavyweight champion. Lazar Todev and Hatef Moeil fought each other for the belt, and things were really hot between them even before the cage door closed. Moeil repeatedly tried to take Todev to the ground in the opening rounds, but he showed perfect defense and rejected all takedown attempts of his opponent. We thus became witnesses of a twenty-five minute war in attitude.
Before the match, few would have guessed that two big hitters would wrestle like this for five whole rounds, but that’s exactly what happened. Moeil exerted more activity and pressure during the fight, while Todev almost closed his opponent’s right eye with his accurate punches. When five laps did not produce a winner before the limit, the point judges took the floor and determined Moeil as the winner. Todev made his dissatisfaction with the judges’ decision clear, but it did not change the result. Moeil claimed his 11th straight win and became the new king of the heavyweight division.
Source: OKTAGON MMA
2023-11-20 03:00:13
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