The long-awaited main event for Oktagon 41 is less than one week away when we finally get to see Jonas Magard vs. Gustavo Lopez where one man will unify the bantamweight title.
Gustavo Lopez made his promotional debut on the 30th of December on short notice when he faced title contender Filip Macek whom he beat in less than one round.
The Shark was originally set to be in this contest but due to injury had to pull out, but in a sense, this is a much more exciting fight that further boosts Magard into becoming Europe’s number one with a win over the former UFC fighter who many see returning to the promotion if he is to beat Magard.
Jonas Magard’s MMA journey so far
Despite only having 19 professional fights, Magard has been around for a long time making his professional debut in 2014. But his pro career didn’t go how he may have first planned to, being 1-3 in his first four bouts.
Despite this, Magard was able to get back to winning ways, going on a seven-fight win streak with all five of those bouts finishing via a Japanese neck tie.
From there Magard beat names such as Liam Gittins and Sebastian Romanowski and he eventually made his debut with the fastest-rising promotion in Europe, Oktagon MMA.
It didn’t take Magard long to make a name for himself by beating Elnur Valiev via a second-round guillotine choke. In just his second fight with the promotion, he fought for the title against Filip Macek who was known as the best 135er in Oktagon at that current time. Magrad won via a unanimous decision.
Since those two fights, Magard has had issues with injuries meaning a contender was able to rise to be the man who faces Magard this weekend, Gustavo Lopez.
How Gustavo Lopez became Oktagon Interim Champion
Gustavo Lopez, prior to this fight was competing in the UFC taking on names such as Adrian Yanez who we recently saw take on Rob Font. Lopez has also fought Merab Dvalishvili where he lost via decision.
After being 1-2-1 in the UFC it seems he was able to go and showcase his skills elsewhere in what many saw as a bid to just get back to the UFC but Lopez seems persistent when it comes to claiming Oktagon gold.
Where Lopez goes after the bout remains in question but there’s no doubt that the promotion can provide competition with current featherweight champion Mate Sanikidze eyeing the bantamweight title also.
Final verdict on the fight
Both fighters have very quickly proven that they belong at the top of the food chain, with Magard being well-known amongst fans and Lopez creating an aura around his name with fans wondering if he’s going to build on the dominant performance he had in his last outing.
The fight could potentially play out on the feet with either man then making the decision to go to the ground due to the level both are at with their grappling.
With Magard spending, a lot of time with Manchester Top Team you can guarantee his route to victory is already laid out knowing exactly what he needs to do. Whereas it is the same story with Lopez fighting with Xtreme Couture.
