MMA

Brito destroyed Kozma and is the new champion! Sanikidze won the title with Tichota and Ostrava saw a bunch of knockouts. How did OKTAGON 37 look like?

Ostrava welcomed the OKTAGON 37 gala evening on Saturday evening. Several local fighters went into action and we also saw two big title fights. The sold-out Ostravar Arena offered a great show and a great atmosphere. How did the tournament look like?

Published

2 years ago

3. 12. 2022

Pavel Langr

Prelims

Two quick fights, an exemplary KO of Bryczek and Chochlíková’s first loss

The very first fight offered a duel between Matej Kuznik and Ozan Aslaner. Kuznik as a home fighter received a very warm welcome and his performance was positively affected. After a long break he looked a bit nervous, but he was more confident in his stance and took the fight to the ground.

Unfortunately, however, Aslaner was injured on Kuznik’s successful takedown attempt and the fight was stopped rather quickly. However, Kuznik went into the match with a clear goal – to win. This was evident in his performance and he deservedly succeeded within two and a half minutes.

The second fight didn’t last too long either. Robert Bryczek made a triumphant return to the Octagon, celebrating a valuable scalp after three losses in the biggest Czechoslovakian organization.

In his way stood Rahmane Abdel Driai, which was not an easy opponent. However, the Polish fighter was well prepared and destroyed his opponent in the stand-up. He pushed his opponent to the fence where he unleashed a series of punches, one of which landed right on his chin. A show stopping knockout!

Monika Chochlik and Katharina Dalisda provided the first and only women’s bout on the card. A clash of two completely different styles was expected. While the Slovakian fighter is a pure and unadulterated stand-up fighter, Dalisda excels in ground disciplines. In that respect, this was the biggest challenge of Chochlíková’s career so far.

Although Chochlikova ended up on the ground several times in the first round, she valiantly resisted takedown attempts, while Dalisda, on the other hand, left a lot of power in them at the fence.

In the second round, it took two minutes for Dalisda to take the fight to the ground, but she got into a full mount and things looked bleak for the Slovakian star. However, the critical moment persisted until the end of the round.

In the third round, Dalisda delivered a takedown much earlier, confirming her dominance in the bout. While Chochlikova put up a valiant fight, she could do nothing to turn the match in her favor. Thus, the German fighter won clearly on points and the Slovakian scored her first loss in MMA.

Heavyweight KO, Mikulasek wins, Paradeiser destroys opponent in seconds

The next fight promised great KO potential, and this one delivered. Heavyweights Tadej Dajcman and Adam Palasz didn’t stay in the cage together for long. In fact, the Pole began to build pressure rather quickly and Dajcman could soon see his power. And he couldn’t resist it for long, as he was sent to dreamland about halfway through the first round.

Eventually, Vaclav Mikulasek took to the cage, determined to win. However, he changed opponents the day before the fight and ended up facing Petr Bartonek. In the first round, Bartonek was able to catch Baba Jaga off guard, taking him down twice and attempting several submissions, including a rear-naked choke.

However, Mikulášek withstood the uncomfortable situations, managed to get up from the ground shortly before the end of the first round and frustrated Bartonek with hard punches. So much so that the referee stopped the fight at the last second of the first round and Baba Jaga scored a TKO win.

The last fight of the prelims card lasted only 21 seconds. Ronald Paradeiser welcomed the skilled Felipe Da Silva Maia to the Octagon, but it took just three punches to send the Brazilian fighter into dreamland. An incredible performance.

Main Card

Matavao shocked Ostrava, Shiroky fell and Chepo was in office

The first fight of the main card continued in the established style and ended in the first round. Al Matavao prevailed, and Marek Mazuch took the cage instead of Rado Ushkrt. The latter tried to put pressure on his opponent, but practically didn’t resort to punches.

Matavao, on the other hand, caught the Slovakian fighter off guard and sent him to the ground with a great combination, where he finished him off. A surprising and great performance.

With the traditional follow-up from Jaromir Nohavica, Jan Široký cheered the entire Ostravar Arena before his fight with Konrad Dyrschka. He was clearly winning in the crowd, but the first round went to his opponent.

Dyrschka was like a tick and constantly tried to take the fight to the ground and managed to dominate it. Broad couldn’t and wouldn’t find a recipe for him. Same in the second five minutes and actually the third five minutes.

So Dyrschka deservedly and clearly won on points.

Giovanni Melillo and Vlasto Cepo provided the other anticipated fight. Wildness was expected and we got it. It took a while for the Slovakian machine to get going, but the Italian gave him an opportunity and it was taken. So it was another end in the first round.

Sanikidze and Tichota put on a fantastic title fight

The first title fight of the night promised to be an attractive spectacle and the first round showed why, offering two knockdowns, one on each side. It was no different with the takedowns.

Even in the second round, both fighters beautifully displayed the beauty and diversity of MMA. It wasn’t until the third round that the fight was all standing and both fighters exchanged interesting and at times very creative combinations, the hall watched the fight in great suspense.

The fourth round once again offered a glimpse of both fighters’ ground and poise skills. After it was over, you could tell that Tichota had earned Sanikidze’s respect. The fifth round was then dominated by the talented Georgian, who also won the entire fight on a split decision.

However, both fighters gave a fantastic and comprehensive performance and both earned the applause of the entire Ostravar Arena.

Kozma’s dominance is over!

The main draw of the OKTAGON 37 tournament. David Kozma faced a dangerous Brazilian threat in his sixth defense. Kaik Brito was confident going into the bout, and it was expected that he could give the champion, especially in the stand-up department, a good thrashing right from the start of the bout, and for that reason, too, there was a lot to look forward to.

Kozma was understandably greeted extremely loudly by the home crowd on his entrance. However, the match started better for Brito. He sent the champion to the ground quite quickly and he began to have a clear idea of the game plan.

He was mainly going to pull with the Brazilian, eventually taking him to the ground and not trying to give him chances in the stand-up. That worked out pretty well, however Brito was able to get up successfully and sent Kozma down for a second time at the end of the first round.

The second round was absolutely horrific from Kozma’s perspective. Brito kept hitting him, physically destroying him, and Kozma was glad at the end of it that he even made it to his corner to team up. He showed tremendous heart, Brito must have been desperate that the home fighter was still standing.

The crowd were urging Kozma to get a grip. But to no avail. Even in the third round, Brito began to completely dismantle him and although Kozma tried, Brito gave him no chance and the referee had to stop the fight after all. He gave a very precise performance and asked for real and serious interest from the UFC.