MMA
Which European country would Pavol Neruda like to bring Octagon MMA to and how would he like to achieve it?
Octagon MMA is no longer just a Czechoslovak organization. The organization has already sold out two German venues and in the second half of the year is preparing to conquer the British market. But owner and promoter Pavol Neruda has revealed his next dream expansion.
Octagon MMA is no longer just a Czechoslovak organization. The organization has already sold out two German venues and in the second half of the year is preparing to conquer the British market. But owner and promoter Pavol Neruda has revealed his next dream expansion.
After Germany, Oktagon MMA is set to conquer the British market
In a relatively short period of time, Oktagon MMA has become the Czechoslovakia’s number one fighting organisation. But that wasn’t enough for the bosses of Oktagon and last year the organisation expanded beyond the borders of the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
During last year Oktagon sold out the Frankfurt Festhalle twice, which was a huge success in terms of the sport’s not-so-popularity in Germany. In February this year, a tournament was held in Munich at the Audi Dome, and in June the organization has already announced another gala in Oberhausen.
But even this is not the endgame and the organisation is setting out to conquer the UK market in the second half of the year. The first venue Oktagon will enter will be a gala in Manchester, where famous comedian Paul Smith and singer, athlete and X-Factor reality show member Jake Quickenden will face off against each other.
One of the organisation’s owners and promoters, Pavol Neruda, spoke about the expansion abroad in an interview with Sport.cz. ” The hall has 18,000 people, it’s really mega. It’s a big project, we’re going to film a reality show here,” Neruda revealed the details of their first tournament in Manchester.
The UK is a really big and traditional market and there is speculation whether an organisation from a small country can make it amongst the huge competition. However, the co-owner of Oktagon definitely plans to continue his UK mission. “We’re definitely planning ahead, we’re booking more venues for 2024. When we plant our flag there for the first time with our first tournament, we’ll continue.”
Co-owner Pavol Neruda reveals another dream country
Neruda then also revealed a dream for the next country where he would like to succeed with his organization. “Spain, from an MMA perspective, is a tough market,” he revealed. “My dream is that I would do it in the style of Corida, when they used to have bullfights. I can imagine it as a kind of Spanish version of Stvanica.”
MMA is a very popular sport in Spain, which has also been growing at a dizzying pace in recent years. Does it seem like a utopia to you? Octagon has a plan, the organization has gotten on the streaming platform DAZN, where Spanish fans can watch, for example, football La Liga.
“Every Spanish fan has DAZN and we will be streaming our tournaments there for a few years,” said the charismatic promoter. So will we see an Oktagon tournament in faraway Spain? No European MMA organization has managed a similar expansion, will Oktagon be the first?
Source:: Sport.cz, Oktagon MMA
