UFC? Nope. The Octagon is my future, champion Magard is clear. He earned a round of applause. Who does he want to fight?

Liberec saw an incredible tournament on Saturday night. Nine finishes before the limit, some big or small surprises and a great performance by the Danish shark. Jonas Magard showed that he is a deserved champion. What’s next?

Three games, three wins. In the first he won the title match, in the second he won the title, in the third he defended it for the first time. He’s a fan favourite, he must get on the nerves of his opponents with his shakes, but he’s also got qualities.

Jonas Magard couldn’t be doing any better in the Octagon. He shouldn’t have had it easy against Gustavo Lopez. The UFC veteran was the favorite in the fight, and it was expected that he would find his wrestling to win against the Dane.

Only, Lopez didn’t just get to wrestle. He didn’t manage to get to virtually anything in the fight itself. Shark was moving well, hitting hard, using his height advantage and greater arm span.

He also landed punches so hard in the second round that Lopez went down. Not once, but twice. After the first knockdown, he got to his feet quickly, but after the second, Magard finished him off on the ground.

So Magard overcame the biggest challenge of his career and at 30 years of age he could still be thinking about the top. Maybe even a UFC title shot. But when the question came up at the press conference, the Dane answered quite clearly without hesitation.

“My future is in the Octagon. I signed a new contract and I’m happy for that. The Octagon is the future. What it offers, be it the atmosphere, the fans… It’s something incredible. I’m happy here, there are good people here and I want to develop here,” reports the champion.

And what’s next? Magard has one specific name in mind. He would like to face Antun Racich, a seasoned fighter with a 26-11 record and 13 submission wins. In recent years, the 32-year-old Croatian has been showing his stuff, especially in KSW.

Promoter Ondrej Novotny, however, didn’t seem to think Racic would face Magard. The Dane, however, says he’ll fight anyone, and that’s what the organization’s boss wants to build on.

Magard, however, earned applause and praise from not only Novotny, but also Pavol Neruda. The latter later confirmed that making fighters want to stay in the Octagon and not come to the UFC at any cost is exactly what the organization is trying to do and what can help it grow further.

Source: Octagon MMA