Insanity, lifetime bans and massive fines. Oktagon solves the problem, fighter attacked by opponent’s trainers, fight is moved

The OKTAGON 54 gala evening will take place on Saturday evening. One of the most interesting duels was to be provided by Akonne Wanliss and Sahil Siraj, between whom the situation escalated a lot. Unfortunately, they will not meet in Ostrava, the reason is very crazy.

This is unprecedented in the history of the Czechoslovak organization. The match between Akonne Wanliss and Sahil Siraj, which was to take place at the OKTAGON 54 gala, was heated from the start. But no one expected what happened.

Even when they met at the airport and Siraj wanted to say hello to his English rival, the Jedi wasn’t in the mood. The situation was much more heated after Friday morning’s weigh-in, when there was even a scuffle.

That the emotions between the two fighters somehow calmed down for the rest of the day cannot be said. In the early evening there was a press conference of OKTAGON Time, where they got into it again. To make matters worse, Wanliss also exchanged words with his opponent’s coaches.

It was no surprise when the pair skipped the staredown after the press conference as a precaution. Only what couldn’t happen at the staredown happened a little later backstage. There was a situation that was way over the top. The organization is also reacting accordingly.

The Oktagon is dealing with a major inconvenience

On Saturday afternoon, it was announced that Akonne Wanliss and Sahil Siraj would not be appearing at the gala. Their duel will be rescheduled. The reason? The English fighter was attacked by his opponent’s coaches.

“There was an incident between Sahil Siraj’s team and Akonne Wanliss after the press conference on Friday. Akonne was assaulted by both the coaches while leaving the hall from which both were earlier banned. Theincident could not be prevented as Akonne was accompanied by our security guards,” read a statement from the organisation.

After yesterday's press conference, an incident occurred between Sahil Siraj's team and Akonne Wanliss. The latter was assaulted by two coaches while leaving the hall from which they were both banned earlier.

Both coaches have been banned from OKTAGON MMA tournaments for life.… pic.twitter.com/LjYBbDAxPS

— OKTAGON MMA (@OktagonOfficial) March 2, 2024

“The two coaches who assaulted him as he left the hall are banned for life from OKTAGON MMA tournaments. Akonne is not feeling 100% well and the incident could affect his performance, although all examinations show that there were no injuries. Fighter Siraj was not present at the incident. He was not involved. He did not know about it and could not have prevented it,” Oktagon added.

Both teams agree with this solution. However, to make matters worse, Siraj must pay a fine of 50% of his payout for the first round regardless of the outcome.

The organization has apologized to the fans. Besides, we already know that in the evening draw after the tournament, the Wanliss/Siraj match will be seeded in the 1st position. The other fighters will draw numbers 2 through 7 and then choose where they want to line up. Last to take the stage will be the Keita/Sardari pairing.

Source: Oktagon MMA