Preparing for his last title fight cost him 300k, he lost. Macek is not going to waste another chance on Saturday. What’s his path?

Filip Macek is only 30 years old, yet he has been one of the leading Czech fighters for several years and has long been the undisputed Czech bantamweight leader. On Saturday, he will get another opportunity to win the Octagon championship belt. What is his story?

At the age of 30, Filip Macek has already had 40 fights, won 25 and lost 15. If there’s one thing he has going for him, it’s great grappling and an unreadable stance. He is practically unrivalled in the Czech Republic at his weight.

He got his first sniff of combat sports at the age of 15 in Mladá Boleslav, his hometown. He started with the martial art called Wing Chun, made famous by the legendary Bruce Lee. He devoted himself to it for three years.

He got the opportunity to train in MMA by renting a ring with his friends and fighting in it. He was noticed by his coach Jiri Dimitrov, who saw some potential in him and offered him the opportunity to take up wrestling. At the age of 19, he had his first professional match.

Macek started his MMA career with a series of five wins, the Czech scene was small for him, so he often fought foreign opponents. He wasn’t afraid of challenges, which is one of the reasons why he has not only a lot of wins, but also a high number of defeats.

Interestingly, Macek defeated David Dvorak, now a UFC star, twice in his career. However, Dvorak was young and a third fight will probably never happen. Both fighters are very good friends.

When Macek became GCF champion, he was noticed by the Russian organization ACB (now ACA), which ranks as one of the top brands in the world after the UFC and Bellator. He had 7 fights there.

Then, since 2018, he has been a fixture of the Oktagon MMA organization. After a streak of 4 wins, he earned a title fight. He borrowed 300,000 CZK to prepare, believing in his win. But it didn’t happen. Tomas Deák defeated him, the atmosphere got to Mack, moreover, he alienated a large part of the audience with his performance.

Almost a year break followed. But since losing the title fight, Macek has not lost again and with four wins he earned a second chance. This Saturday he will face the hungry and ambitious Jonas Magarde for the title at Oktagon Prime 4.

Can he succeed?

Sources: Oktagon MMA, Fight Live