Oktagon 65: Three Title Fights In One Night

Central European promotion Oktagon MMA will close the year with their annual show on the 29th of December at the O2 arena in Prague. This year, the organization reaches event number sixty-five, which is host to three title fights: Lucie Pudilová vs Lucia Szabová for the vacant women’s bantamweight title, Will Fleury challenges Karlos ‘Terminator’ Vemola for his light heavyweight crown, and Ronald Paradeiser takes on Losene Keita in the TipSport Gamechanger final and a rematch for the lightweight crown.

TipSport Gamechanger Final: Ronald Paradeiser vs Losene Keita.

This year, the Czech betting company TipSport came in front of the money for just the second-ever ‘Gamechanger’ tournament with Oktagon MMA. This time it was the lightweights turn, after ten long months and some gruelling battles along the way it’s the current lightweight champion Ronald ‘Rony’ Paradeiser(21-8) and Losene ‘The Black Panther’ Keita(15-1) in the final for three hundred thousand euros. The championship contest will be a rematch from February 2022, where it was Keita who walked away with a unanimous decision victory after five hard-fought rounds for the interim title at 155lbs.

Since the first meeting almost three years ago, ‘Rony’ has had ten fights, losing one immediately after the Keita defeat, but has since gone on a nine-fight winning streak, picking up the lightweight title along the way when he avenged his defeat to Ivan Buchinger at Oktagon 50.

In contrast, Keita, first won the lightweight title immediately after the first fight with Rony, he then vacated the belt and went onto win the featherweight title against Jakub Tichota at Oktagon 42. He remains champion at 145lbs but was allowed to enter this year’s gamechanger and has since collected seven more wins on his path to meeting Paradeiser again.

Vemola vs Fleury – A Grudge Match For Light Heavyweight Gold.

Will Fleury (13-3) heads into Sunday evening’s championship fight full of confidence that he will be able to dispatch Czech MMA legend Karlos Vemola(37-8) in the first round and says he will be genuinely disappointed if that doesn’t happen. The champion, Vemola, says he aims to take the Irishman into deep waters and make him not want to be there.

Fleury looks to settle an old score after ‘The Terminator’ caused him an injury during a sparring session several years back. Vemola looks to shut the talkative Irishman up as he’s aware he is the main threat to his light heavyweight crown after dispatching number one-ranked Pavol Langer in just 71 seconds.

Fleury heads into the contest on a two fight win streak under the Oktagon MMA banner with his most recent win coming at Oktagon 62 in October, Vemola comes in on the back of a win over Attila Vegh at Okatgon 58 in June. However, he did lose by stunning knockout against Samuel ‘Pirat’ Krištofič on 29th December last year at Prague’s o2 arena, and Fleury is hoping that lightning strikes twice in the same place! An intense build-up and a box-office face-off have set the tone for a colossal light heavyweight title fight!

WORLD IN SPORT INTERVIEW WITH WILL FLEURY: Will Fleury: “I’ve Been Waiting My Whole Life For An Opportunity Like This” – Vemola vs Fleury Full Preview

Lucie Pudilová vs Lucia Szabová For Bantamweight Supremacy.

Unbeaten Szabová(8-0) came into the promotion through the Oktagon Challenge series and has worked to a championship fight on the biggest card of the calendar year against UFC veteran Lucie Pudilová(15-10). The contest is the first of the three title fights on the bill and has earned its place in being there.

The Czechoslovakian Pudilová has more than three times the number of fights Szabová, with eleven under the UFC banner. She’s been the distance more times than her opponent has stepped into the cage as a professional mixed martial artist and will look to impose all that experience on her Slovakian opponent. Who, in return, has won her fights via some methods: armbars, punches, kicks and wins in fights that have gone the distance.

These all-action bantamweights will slug it out for the vacant gold as Oktagon MMA look to further strengthen the women’s divisional rankings with high-calibre fighters that have applied themselves in the UFC and other major mixed martial arts promotions.

Jonas Mågård vs Igor Severino

Jonas Mågård(17-6) looks to end the year as he started it at Oktagon 52 in January with a statement win over Jack Cartwright. The Dane was then pencilled in to fight Felipe Lima for the bantamweight title in July, but the Brazilian got a late call-up from the UFC. Mågård has said the promotion then tried to make a rematch with Cartwright for the now vacant belt, but the latter declined.

Up steps another former UFC fighter, Igor Severino, who joins the Czech-based promotion looking to establish himself with some of Europe’s best. The Brazilian holds an 8-1 record and has somewhat of a point to prove after coming up short on his one and only UFC appearance after getting through Dana White’s Contender Series.

World In Sport Interview With Jonas Mågård: Jonas Mågård: “I’m Gonna Stay Active, I’m In My Prime and Injury Free” – Mågård vs Severino Preview.

There are many more mouth-watering match-ups on the Oktagon 65 card, such as the TipSport Gamechanger reserve fight involving the former lightweight champion Mateusz Legierski(12-2) and Agy Sardari(18-5). Plus a highly anticipated middleweight contest between Radovan Úškrt(8-5) and Daniel Schwindt(5-2) which joins the main card. You can watch all the action from Prague LIVE on DAZN in the UK from 6pm and on Oktagon.tv in other territories.