Apollo in the Realm of Dreams or Knees by Škvor and Rysavy. Recall the best knockouts of the year in the Octagon

The year 2022 is almost over and it’s time to take stock. The biggest domestic MMA organization has had a great year, in which it reached some interesting milestones and staged many attractive fights. There were also some awesome KO/TKOs. Take a look at the best ones.

Mazuch hard and unexpectedly sent Apollo to dreamland

It was May 21, 2022. Oktagon hosted a purely boxing tournament of its stars in the sold-out O2 Arena. The gala evening was capped off by an unattractive and controversial battle between Karlos Vemola and rapper Marpo. However, other duels offered entertainment.

One of them was the fight between Mark Mazuch and Leandro Silva. Silva went into the fight as the favorite and it was clear in the first round why. He was enjoying the fight, showing an overview, it almost felt like an exhibition. But then came the second round.

In it, Mazuch decided not to mess with anything and showed his raw power. After 49 seconds, even with boxing gloves on, he sent Apollo into dreamland. The first and last fighter in the Octagon.

A great comeback by Bryczek

Tournaments in Ostrava are always specific, but on December 3, 2022, it was as if there was something special in the water or air in the Moravian-Silesian city. Knockouts fell one after another and one more beautiful than the other.

One of the best ones was taken care of by Robert Bryczek, who was returning to the Octagon after more than a year. He had three losses out of four fights in the biggest Czechoslovakian organization. However, he had been winning elsewhere and wanted to get back on the winning streak in the Octagon as well.

And he succeeded. In Ostrava, he stopped Driaie in the first round. It took him less than a minute and a half to win.

Paradeiser ended a four-year wait

Like Bryczek, the Ostrava tournament in December also suited Ronald Paradeiser. The Slovakian talent has the highest ambitions and confirmed them in the match with the Brazilian fighter. He wanted to end it and he did.

After 21 seconds it was all over when Paradeiser beautifully sent Maia down in the middle of the cage. It’s worth noting that the Slovakian fighter has been waiting for a via KO/TKO win since May 2018.

Kincl destroyed Lohoré

Patrik Kincl defended his middleweight title in September. After defeating Samuel Kristofich, he was challenged by Alex Lohoré, who was troubled by Kincl’s rival Karlos Vémola in a five-round battle.

However, the middleweight champion was not going to imitate the Terminator. He went into the fight with a clear goal, a clear strategy and incredible poise. And that’s what it looked like. The fight lasted less than two minutes.

Kincl hit a great high kick, after which Lohoré got into trouble and it was no problem for the Czech fighter to finish the fight victoriously.

Škvor impressed with a knee on Štvanica

Daniel Škvor is one of the most attractive fighters in the whole organization. And he proved it in July in Prague’s Štvanica, where he was challenged by Stroumpoulis. The Czech fighter is an experienced stand-up fighter, so his opponent’s tactics were very clear.

Stroumpoulis wanted to wrestle, keep the fight at the wire, or take him to the ground, but Škvor counted on this scenario and managed to prepare himself perfectly. When he was pressed against the mesh, he was able to make room to hit his opponent with a knee right on the chin.

In 49 seconds it was over and Skvor scored a very interesting and valuable scalp.

Keita mimicked McGregor and caught Buchinger by surprise

Losene Keita entered the Octagon in style. He swept Karol Rysavy, defeated Ronald Paradeiser in a hard-fought, five-round bout, and then made a clear title claim against the legendary Ivan Buchinger.

Buchinger went into the fight as the favorite, and was expected to be able to minimize Keita’s strengths with his vast experience. But the opposite was true. Keita’s speed took the Slovakian star by surprise and the now former two-time Octagon champion lasted only three minutes.

Keita managed to hit Buchinger hard and accurately several times and the fight had to be stopped.

Rysavy showed that he doesn’t just have bombs in his hands

In March, OKTAGON Prime 5 was held in Šamorín, Slovakia. Karol Ryšavý was originally supposed to fight František Fodor, but he was unable to enter the match and was replaced by Ibrahim Hosseinpour.

Hosseinpour was definitely not an easy opponent and it showed. Christian Jungwirth also had problems with him, beating him on points. And the Slovakian fighter knew it too. He fought a tough battle with his rival, but it was worth it.

And especially the ending was absolutely exemplary. Ryšavý managed to catch Hosseinpour with a great knee during his lunge and it was over.

Brito clearly outpointed Kozma

The biggest fight of the year? Quite possibly. And by the way, another fight that took place on December 3 in Ostrava. David Kozma went into the fight with Kaiko Brito as a fairly big favorite, but the bettors and bookies miscalculated.

And Kozma himself miscalculated with his tactics to survive the first round. He was sent down twice in the first round, once in the second and once in the third.

The referee had no choice but to stop the fight, even though Kozma was on his feet. It may not have been the most spectacular KO/TKO, but the dominance the Brazilian showed and the punches he landed, along with the sensational result, deserve a place on this list.

Source: Octagon MMA, YouTube