Petrasek is going to have a hard time. The moderator of Oktagon brings tips for the tournament in Germany

OKTAGON MMA returns to Frankfurt! The tournament with the serial number 36 is hopelessly sold out and really just around the corner. We took the opportunity to ask host Oliver Salus what to look forward to when watching Saturday’s tournament and what his picks are for the winners of the biggest draws. How did he answer?

“The clear draw for the prelims from my point of view is the return of John Hathaway. His story really grabs you by the heart. But as my co-promoter Bryan Lacey said in the promo video, MMA is the fastest evolving sport. Hathaway hasn’t fought in eight years, so despite his amazing accomplishments, winning the UFC at twenty-two and earning a 17-2 record, it’s his form that may be the big question mark.

I can’t wait for this fight and I’m hugely curious to see what The Hitman will show us in the cage after an eight-year hiatus and, most importantly, if he has what it takes to return to being a virtually unbeatable dominant fighter.”

The main card will offer a real enticement with virtually every fight. The Octagon host, however, has picked out four fights he’s particularly looking forward to.

“The Frankfurt Festhalle can look forward to a fantastic spectacle, which Ondrej has managed to put together perfectly. The very first fight on the main card will be the rematch between Jungwirth and Kertész. Their first duel took place some time ago and it was a proper dog fight, as is practically every fight the German Kelt will enter.

Personally, I saw Jungwirth winning in a very close duel back then. Even though Kertész was the one who won by the narrowest of margins in the end, it’s obvious that the second fight between these two fighters could be very even. Jungwirth will surely want to fix his appetite, going for the finish and not wanting to leave his fate up to the judges.

After a very unlucky duel with Velickovic, Kertész managed to do it at the Szczecin Arena, and the Hungarian favourite has once again jumped on a winning streak that, according to his ideal scenario, will lead him to another duel with his nemesis David Kozma. Kertész’s last fights always end up on points, Kozma, Bryczek or Velickovic couldn’t stop Máté, although he himself had five TKOs to his name by 2019, but no more have come in three years since his win over Wittner.

So I see it again this time for a three-round bloody battle, in which Máté will fully show what he learned in training with wrestling magician Khabib. I see him as a slight favorite, but if Jungwirth breaks away, Kertész could be in big trouble.

The duel I’m extremely looking forward to is the battle of the top middleweights, Polívka versus Pirate. Samuel Kristofich pulled the much shorter end of the rope in the title fight with Patrik Kinclo in February at the O2 Arena, to whom he succumbed after five rounds and lost his belt won last summer. But he would like to get close to the title again.

That chance is now. If the Pirate wins, he could become the next challenger to the middleweight champion. But he’ll be up against Zdenek Polivka. What’s very likeable about him is that he doesn’t shy away from any challenge, and deliberately only asks the names ahead of him in the rankings to face him. Last time it didn’t work out with Lohore, who was after all a slightly bigger bite than the still young Zdenek could digest in the cage. Then he fixed his appetite with a good performance over Cheick Kone and remains number four in the middleweight rankings.

However, I see the Pirate as the winner in Saturday’s fight and the reason for that is of course experience. While Polívka faces a more experienced opponent virtually every time, and Zdenek has been able to out-train many of them, Samo is a very smart and mature fighter, and I’m sure that with his fighter pilot Attila Vegh at his back, he’s certainly laid out a plan that will work for Polívka in Frankfurt.

The next bombshell follows right after that. Two elite welterweights, two UFC veterans, two title challengers who have knocked the teeth out of David Kozma. That’s Apollo Silva taking on Bojan Velickovic. Anyone who’s been following MMA for at least a year must have come across these names, and it must be obvious to them how crazy a fight this is on paper. And it may be even crazier in a sold-out Festhalle.

I see Bojan as a slight favorite in this fight. It’s going to be a high tempo fight with a lot of kicking. I’m curious to see how confident Apollo will be in the cage after Marek Mazuch’s one punch dances and feints between the ropes sent him down hard.

We all like Milos Petrasek very much in OKTAGON. He’s a great guy, a nice guy and above all a great fighter. It’s hard not to like him in this duel. His career was slowed down by two losses to Jeremy Kimball and an unlucky loss to Christensen. But last year, the new, “Bad Melon” returned to Stvanica and it was a wonderful spectacle. Melon has now claimed the big name and former title challenger Stephan Pütz. He will undoubtedly be the best opponent of his career to date.

Moreover, it will be the first time for Milos to fight outside the Czech Republic (and outside the Czech crowd he could rely on in every fight) and the first time he is not the favourite according to the odds. Not surprisingly, on paper everything is going for Pütz. The much more experienced former champion will be looking to take advantage of his current form and hunger and the home crowd to go for a title fight with Karlos Vemola. But… It wasn’t much of a performance against Zawada. Melon can take advantage of the element of surprise and come into the match with a style that will not let his opponent get anywhere. But if Petrasek wins, it will be the surprise of the night.

In Round Zero, which for tournaments outside of the Czech Republic and Slovakia will now be in English with Bryan Lacey and also in German, we usually talk to my guests about the picks for the match of the night. So I can only conclude this article with my tip. Bojan Velickovic and Apollo Silva will have the most attractive match.

In any case, we are expecting a very attractive evening, the fight card is literally packed. The atmosphere in Festhalle was electrifying during the spring tournament, this time it will be no different, so especially the home fighters can enjoy a proper cauldron. Don’t miss OKTAGON 36 at any cost.”