The best fights in the Octagon in 2021? Recall the wins of Kozma or Buchinger

Octagon MMA has had another great year. More than ten tournaments, but many more fantastic fights. Which ones can definitely and without a doubt be ranked in the top five for 2021?

The Czechoslovak number one organization is still making great progress and 2021 was a really good year from its point of view. Great tournaments, great matches, the arrival of new foreign stars. It was even harder to choose the five best fights in 2021. Which fights made it to the top five?

David Kozma vs. Leando “Apollo” Silva – OKTAGON 24

Match of the Year? Quite possibly. Champion David Kozma uncharacteristically didn’t enter the fight as a favorite, he was trusted less than he deserved. On the other hand, his opponent was a UFC veteran who, as Kozma himself said before the fight, is better in every aspect of the fight.

The Pink Panther, however, was confident in his win. He believed he was going to tear it up with his heart. And that’s exactly what he did. He was close to finishing, the fourth round was critical from Kozma’s point of view, Apollo could have beaten him. But he didn’t.

Even though Kozma looked a little worse than his opponent after the fight, he won a balanced and beautiful fight on points.

Ivan Buchinger vs. Vojto Barborik – OKTAGON 27

The Slovakian match of the century lived up to its nickname. The legendary Ivan Buchinger wanted to win the championship belt in the second weight class in the Octagon and his opponent was Vojto Barborik, who until then had looked absolutely sovereign and unbeatable. There was a lot of talk that he might lose a lot with this fight, as he was looking at a fabulous future abroad.

For a long time it looked like both fighters would respect each other to the utmost. However, Buchinger hinted before the fight that Barborik was doping. Moreover, Barborik didn’t weigh in and didn’t take the ensuing staredown. And that’s why the odds started to change and Buchinger became the favorite.

The legend got into the head of the promising wrestler, and it showed in the match. Buchinger was able to hit Barborik hard many times, Barborik didn’t know what to do and tried to drag the fight to the ground. However, it was more or less a one-sided five round battle that Buki deservedly won on points.

Christian Jungwirth vs. Miroslav Brož – OKTAGON 24

A fight that was talked about for a long time afterwards. Christian Jungwirth has become a big favourite with the Czechoslovakian crowd, but Miroslav Brož is also popular, and before the fight he assured the fans that he was going to fight and put on a show. He lived up to his words.

A beautiful three-round stand-up shootout looked better, at least visually, for the German fighter. Broz was struggling to stay on his feet at times. Still, the Czech fighter won on points.

The unbelievable fight unfortunately aroused controversy because of the judges’ scoring. The vast majority of the fans saw Jungwirth win. Either way, it was a beautiful brawl, and it is simply good to take a break from the result in order to enjoy it as much as possible.

David Kozma vs. Bojan Velickovic – OKTAGON 29

And Kozma again! After his title defense with Apollo, he got another tough opponent, it was Bojan Velickovic, another UFC veteran who got to a title fight a little quicker than he expected. However, he handled his fights in the organization with poise.

Just like with Apollo, Kozma wasn’t trusted as much before this fight. There was a lot of money on Velickovic, even though his preparation was a little bit harder, he didn’t prepare for a five round fight originally.

But the Pink Panther was the better man in the match. Even here he didn’t avoid a heart attack moment, when he skated hard after a great high kick that the Serbian champion swung. However, instead of finishing him off on the ground, he senselessly attempted a submission, which saved Kozma.

In the fourth round, the Czech fighter destroyed Velickovic with his pressure and won by TKO. After the fight, Kozma said that Apollo was a tougher opponent for him.

Lucia Szabova vs. Cornelia Holm – OKTAGON 26

Not to be missed at the end is a proper women’s war. The best women’s match of the year was undoubtedly Lucia Szabová and Cornelia Holm. The first round was still more or less even, but the Slovakian fighter gradually started to dominate.

Holm deserves the utmost respect for how many punches she was able to take and for constantly trying to be the one to put pressure on her opponent. She hit Szabo dangerously several times herself.

A beautiful three round battle full of hard punches, clinches and failed takedown attempts. Szabova deservedly won on points, but Holm won the heart of many fans with her stamina.

Source: Octagon MMA, YouTube