MMA
Germany holds the first title in the Oktagon, Kozma lost in the first round and 9 stoppages before the limit in 11 fights. How did OKTAGON 46 look like?
Octagon has returned to Germany and specifically Frankfurt, where its expansion into the German market in 2022 began. A sold-out Festhalle watched the Tipsport Gamechanger matches or the title bout, in which the home fighter fought for the belt. In 9 matches, 11 early terminations fell. What did OKTAGON 46 look like?
Oktagon has returned to Germany and specifically Frankfurt, where its expansion into the German market in 2022 began. A sold-out Festhalle watched the Tipsport Gamechanger matches or the title bout, in which the home fighter fought for the belt. In 9 matches, 11 early terminations fell. What did OKTAGON 46 look like?
Prelims
Hromek scores his first win in the Oktagon since 2019
Daniel Hromek returned to the Oktagon for the first time since 2021 and managed to win his fight in Frankfurt. He didn’t have it easy though. He was originally supposed to fight Zoran Solaya, but he couldn’t make the fight and was replaced by his brother Daniel less than 24 hours before the duel.
Moreover, Solaja hasn’t fought since 2019, which is why it was expected that it might not be that difficult for the Slovakian fighter. Moreover, Hromek was able to hit his opponent right at the start and send him to the ground, only for him to recover and then threaten himself.
Solaja looked dangerous in the stand-up, so Hromek had to tie the fight up, pull him to the fence and there enforce his style, which was not that attractive, but as we already know, it was winning. He took advantage of being bigger and stronger to get his first win in the Oktagon since 2019.
Odunjo defeated the champion of the German Oktagon Challenge
The German Oktagon Challenge champion took on the British prospect in Festhalle. Selim Topuz was perceived as a slight underdog, however Tayo Odunjo did not have it easy at all. The Austrian fighter was strong, moreover, he was able to deliver takedowns that made it very difficult for the British fighter.
Basically, Topuz dominated all the stats. Not only in takedowns, but also in strikes or significant strikes. But it didn’t help him win. He lost on points, all judges saw Odunja win 29-28.
While Topuz now has a negative 1-2 record in the Oktagon, Odunjo picked up his first win after the loss and thus has something to bounce back from. It should be mentioned that the fans will definitely be discussing the outcome of the fight a lot.
Surprise! Fodor beats Shikic in the first round
Frantisek Fodor looked abroad for the first time in his professional career and Oktagon didn’t prepare anything easy for his foreign debut. The Slovakian hunk challenged Vlad Šikič, the man who tested Rony Paradeiser in February.
The Croatian fighter was seen as the favourite, and Fodor has been waiting to win since the summer of 2021, with two losses in a row, but he handled the big challenge admirably.
Fero, as the Slovakian puncher is nicknamed, managed to stop the fight in the first round. It was all active, attractive and played out in the stand-up. There was a lot of kicking and Fodor also showed great boxing, with which he managed to catch Šikič and caused him a nasty cut.
Samsonidse destroyed the Moldovan prospect perfectly
Niko Samsonidse is one of the best the Oktagon has from Germany. In his first fight he gamely schooled Roman Paulus, even though it was his first fight after a serious injury which has caused him to suffer one of two losses in his career, now he destroyed the Moldovan Bad Boy.
The German was due to test Nicolae Hante, he had his toughest fight in front of him at 23 and he didn’t start it badly at all. He put the German sensation in trouble with his first bomb, but instead of continuing to land punches, he tied the match, Samsonidse got his act together and then raised hell.
Everything Hantea tried after that was in vain. Samsonidse showed incredible vision, fantastic technique, a great eye and great complexity.
The attractive fight was ended by the German in the first round after Hantea attempted a takedown, he defended Samsonidze and once he got out of an awkward position, he set up a triangle choke and the Moldovan had to tap out.
The battle of the posturing champions ended in a surprising reversal
The fight between two great stand-up fighters delivered an absolutely different spectacle than expected. The German Deniz Ilbay, who had a great crowd support in Festhalle, managed to beat Marc Novak.
Ilbay was the favourite, a great stand-up battle was expected, instead there was a lot of wrestling and grappling to be seen from the start. The first two rounds in particular offered great drama. It may not have been the most technical of performances, but both fighters showed great heart in the bout.
Both did everything they could to win. Ilbay showed he can bite more though. After having a few close calls in the second round and defending submission attempts, he was the more active one in the third round.
The exhaustion was showing on Ilbay as well, but he wanted the win more and came to a stoppage with a minute to go, winning by TKO. He wants to cut another fight in front of a home crowd in Cologne in November, where he is truly at home.
Main card
Engizek made his debut in style
Kerim Engizek has made a phenomenal debut. He came into the Oktagon as a feared slugger and proved his reputation in his first fight. The hardness of his bombs was felt by Argentine fighter Matias Juarez.
Engizek needed only four significant shots to win. He let Juarez come to him, landed a clean counter and it was all over. One minute and 39 seconds. A beautiful moment.
The winner then asked for money and a fight with the champion Patrick Kinclo. Rightfully so. After all, he is a former champion of two German organizations, he holds a 12-fight win streak and Engizek could be an interesting test for the Czech fighter.
Apollo had fun taking apart Grabinski
Stepping into the cage, the question of what kind of Apollo we should expect is in order. Sometimes he just goes to have fun, other times he gives a supremely focused and brilliant performance. He has tremendous qualities, but for some reason he can’t always sell them to the fullest.
Now he’s challenged by Marcel Grabinski, a dangerous puncher who might not be worth putting on a show with. However, Leandro Silva clearly slept very well and entertained himself as well as the fans.
He was dangerous in the first round, his technique? A joy to watch. He sold everything he had. He was beating Grabinski all over the place, but he had to be careful. And he was. In the second round, he had no trouble checking the fight on the ground, and in the third, he finished the fight by landing a rear-naked choke.
While Apollo showed his class, Grabinski didn’t look too good. Silva took advantage of his opponent’s mistakes and proved that he is on another level.
The biggest favourite of Tipsport Gamechanger has fallen
Louis Glismann was seen as the biggest favourite in the pyramid from the start of the Tipsport Gamechanger, but his first performance wasn’t quite sovereign, but it was different for the second one, when he cut a phenomenal submission that is nominated for a world award.
It was Andreas Michailidis who was seen more as a possible dark horse. However, he had to beat Leandro Apollo Silva right from the start, then Marcel Grabinski awaited him, who shone by knocking out Máté Kertész.
Now Glismann and Michailidis faced each other and the fight didn’t last long. 33 seconds and it was over. For the Greek didn’t let the Dane get to his strong side and he ended the fight in the stand-up.
So Glismann went down, being finished for the first time in his career by KO/TKO. It’s Michailidis who is making amends after a failed stint in the UFC in Europe and showing great quality.
Jungwirth finished, again not knocked down
Phenomenal start, high expectations, but even more disappointing at the end. Christian Jungwirth delivers great entertainment in every fight, win or lose. It was no different now. Against Ioannis Palaiologos he was an extra favourite, but lost.
It didn’t look bad on his part for a long time, only for Palaiologos to hit Jungwirth twice in the standup, then take the fight to the ground. First he deployed a rear-naked choke, then he followed up with a kimura.
Jungwirth left the cage hurt, again not tapping, and we can only hope his injury isn’t serious. His elbow gave him away. In any case, Palaiologos showed he can shine in the Oktagon.
Kozma fell, Velickovic beat him in the first round
The second semi-final of Tipsport Gamechanger was won by David Kozma and Bojan Veličkovič, who competed for the second time. The first match was dominated by the Pink Panther and now it was the Serb’s turn. And Prometheus didn’t hesitate.
From the beginning, Velickovic was better, more dangerous, more accurate. Great kicking, great defending Kozma’s efforts to take the fight to the ground. In short, he didn’t give the Pink Panther one chance to win.
Kozma didn’t even get into the match for the most part, and at 3:43 it was over. The former champion was disappointed, apologizing to the fans and sponsors.
Velickovic, however, offered that there could be a third duel in Belgrade, Serbia. But now he has to concentrate on his next match when he is challenged by Andreas Michailidis, who retired Louis Glismann, in the final of the Tipsport Gamechanger.
Germany’s first title in the Oktagon
Katharina Dalisda and Jacinta Austin provided the main event of the Frankfurt gala. The German fought the Australian for the strawweight title and also to see who would secure her country’s first title in the organisation.
Dalisda was seen as the favourite, however Austin was able to prepare very well for the fight and was no easy opponent for the German Tigress. It was an evenly matched battle in terms of attitude, but was decided by one mistake in the third round.
In the first round we saw a lot of clinching, in the second Austin kept more distance from her opponent and that suited her, so she continued that in the third round. But a moment of inattention meant taking the fight to the ground, putting on the guillotine and the Aussie tapped out.
Dalisda won the first title for Germany in the history of the Oktagon, becoming an unexpected hero of the German MMA scene and the organization’s expansion into the German market.
Source: Oktagon MMA, Tapology
