Vémola vs. Matavao? Novotný explained what led to the fight. He’s a dangerous opponent for Carlos, says Oktagon promoter

Karlos Vémola has a fight with Patrik Kinclo, but before that he will face Al Matava. The Olomouc native faced a lot of criticism for that, along with Oktagon. What does the promoter Ondrej Novotny have to say about it?

Liberec is looking forward to the first Oktagon tournament and the biggest star of the Czechoslovak organization will not be missing there. Karlos Vémola. He will face Al Matava a month before his expected fight with Patrik Kinclo.

Matavao is seen as fodder by many fans and pundits alike, and there has been huge criticism of the organization, as well as of Vémola. However, Matavao has shown that he has a hard shot. But he has equally shown that fighting on the ground is definitely not his strong suit. On the contrary.

Of course, we have to take into account that the Terminator wants to get in shape for an important duel. However, Matavao is typologically a completely different opponent than Kincl, so it’s not an ideal preparation.

And what does the promoter Ondrej Novotny have to say about the criticism? “We are again in a situation where Matavao is underestimated. And who adds to it the most is the biggest fan of Karlos, and that is Patrik Kincl,” the Oktagon boss began his comments in his podcast MMA Flight Through the World.

Why Matavao? “We wanted to make a weight between welterweight and middleweight. Matavao has trouble making weight in the middle, so he’s the perfect choice. At the same time, he was able to take down Mazuch, he beat Salchak before, Pirate had problems with him, he participated in Contender. It’s just right for what we were looking for,” explained Novotny.

Reportedly, there were other names in the game. For example, Daniel Škvor’s upcoming opponent Dan Vinni. However, the promoter did not want to comment too much on Vemola’s words that the legendary Michal Materla was also on the radar.

Matavao, however, is certainly not going to be underestimated. Novotny believes that Matavao can be really dangerous for the Terminator. Just because he’s short and stocky, which can make takedowns a bit difficult for Vemola.

“Karlos will be bigger than his opponent for the first time in a long time. Matavao has a cannon, that kind of guy is always dangerous. We saw in the Match of the Century that the captain’s first punch can decide the match,” recalled Vemola’s legendary loss to Attila Vegh at the end.

Source: MMA Around the World, Octagon MMA