MMA

The black horse of Tipsport Gamechanger? Octagon announces unexpected name, fans criticize, Dutch organization has clarity

So far, Oktagon has only announced fighters from the Czechoslovakian organization for its Tipsport Gamechanger project, but now we know the name of the first man who has never been a part of it. He is Melvin van Suijdam. The reactions to this announcement are not exactly unanimous. Some people are laughing or even criticizing. There have even been warnings.

Published

2 years ago

6. 1. 2023

Pavel Langr

Van Suijdam is a 34-year-old fighter with a positive 13-5 record. He currently has two wins in a row. However, he can only be found at #340 in the Fight Matrix rankings, which doesn’t look good considering the rankings of the stars of the Octagon.

That’s why we can see all kinds of reactions in the comments on social media. Mostly, however, rather negative. Some of them are mocking, others are purely critical. However, some of the criticism is constructive and certainly understandable.

“I understand that it is a problem to get a free fighter for the welter. But is this a fighter on the level of Kozma, Brit, Kinc or Velickovic? For me, certainly a fighter from somewhere in the second 300 in the rankings, a groundskeeper to boot, is not worthy of such a tournament,” reads one of the comments.

There are many similar reactions. But there was one exception. The Dutch organisation Level Fight League, where van Suijdam won the title, took care of that. “Congratulations, champion. You’re the dark horse of the tournament,” they made clear.

Van Suijdam thus joins names like Kaik Brito, David Kozma, Leandro Silva, Bojan Velickovic, Máté Kertész, Alex Lohoré, Samuel Kristofich, Christian Jungwirth, Christian Eckerlin and Patrik Kincl, whose participation is still unclear.

Source: Oktagon MMA, Tapology, Fight Matrix, Instagram, Facebook