Will Fleury pulled off possibly the greatest victory of his storied career last Saturday evening when secured a 91-second KO finish over Pavol Langer in front of 59,148 fans at Oktagon 62.
The record-breaking event took place at the Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt, Germany and although the experience of performing in front of such a monumental crowd was something Fleury enjoyed, he wasted no time at all in calling for a fight with the promotion’s current light heavyweight champion, Karlos Vemola.
“It was great” said Fleury, while speaking exclusively to MMA Sucka this week. “I went into that cage and did exactly what I wanted to do and I’m delighted with that, but straight away as soon as the ref pulled me off my opponent I turned to Karlos Vemola and said, “You’re next mate!”…and since then my focus has been all about getting that fight sorted.
“I did enjoy the victory. Fighting in front of so many fans was a once in a lifetime experience. It was amazing but it’s very quickly onto the next thing and I have a huge opportunity ahead of me right now if I play my cards right”.
🎥 ALTERNATE ANGLE
That shot from Will Fleury 🇮🇪 shook Deutsche Bank Park #OKTAGON62
📺 https://t.co/TVP7NaDRbZ | DAZN | RTL+ pic.twitter.com/I6i3sQSciI
— OKTAGON MMA (@OktagonOfficial) October 12, 2024
Vemola had been scheduled to compete a few weeks later against Samuel “Pirát” Krištofič but that fight has now fallen through, and Fleury has thrown his name into the hat to fight the champion in Bratislava instead.
“His opponent for Nov. 9 pulled out the week before my fight in Frankfurt” said the Irishman, “and I posted on social media saying, “After I smash Langer I’m going to take that fight”. And I got Pavol Langer out of there in 90 seconds, didn’t get hit, came out of it completely fresh, looked damn impressive. Maybe a little bit too scary because now it looks like they’re not willing to do this fight as Vemola’s their cash cow over there!”
Fleury believes the promotion are looking to protect Vemola and have other plans for “The Terminator” going forward.
“They want the third Attila Vegh fight for Vemola” he said. “He fought Attila last year in the big stadium show in Prague, they’re now 1-1 and Karlos retired after that. But then he came back out of retirement for this Pirát fight. Pirát is the last guy to beat Karlos and they were hoping he could avenge that before the third Attila fight to create some hype around the trilogy. They see that as the big fight to sell next year.
“Me coming in and smashing Karlos puts a big spanner in the works for the promotion. I think they feel like if I get my hands on Karlos he might retire afterwards. They’re determined to stop it which is a massive pity because I’ve worked damn hard to be this good, and I shouldn’t be punished for being this good”.
@karlosvemola It’s official I’m the no1 contender and your opponent for November 9th in Bratislava has pulled out. Why won’t you fight me instead? Would you rather let the @OktagonOfficial fans down?@SevereMMA @John_Kavanagh @sportbible @IrishMirror pic.twitter.com/DOyCGc8sc8
— Will Fleury (@WillFckinFleury) October 15, 2024
Fleury, a Bellator and PFL veteran, debuted under the Oktagon banner back in April where he submitted Daniel Škvor inside the second round of their clash in Birmingham, England. Having now beaten two top-5 ranked fighters in Oktagon’s 205-lb. division, he is frustrated that his pleas for a title shot seem to be falling on deaf ears.
“I’ve just smashed the No. 1 contender and the champion has a fight in a few weeks but no opponent” says the 35-year-old. “And the promotion are unwilling to give it to me because I’m not Czechoslovakian or German. It’s hard to know where you stand with them, but it’s also very disheartening when you work your balls off to be as good as you can be, and just because of where you’re based and your nationality, you kind of fell like you’re being messed with a little bit.
“The opportunity is right there now”, he continued, beginning to let his frustration show, “but they seem to be holding back to maybe use it next year…but it’s now. Time doesn’t wait around, and you’re being childish in how you’re trying to deal with this. They just don’t want me going in and smashing Vemola and that’s the real story here. I’m more than willing to work with Oktagon and I don’t want to burn any bridges but I’m speaking the absolute truth here. I’ve done my job as well as I could have done”.
Fleury ‘s time with Bellator between 2018 and 2020 saw him struggle for consistency in both performances and results. After leaving the promotion he went on to lift the UAE Warriors middleweight title before signing with the PFL.
He made the move up to 205 lbs. and fought twice in the PFL SmartCage, winning on both occasions, although the victory over Krzysztof Jotko was changed to a no-contest after both fighters tested positive for performance enhancing supplements.
After serving a suspension the Tipperary-born fighter signed with Oktagon, carrying with him a dream to win a championship belt and bring the promotion to his native Ireland to open the door for another wave of young Irish fighters to charge through. But having been utilized as a curtain jerker at the company’s gala event in Germany last week, Fleury is voicing his frustration at their reluctance to give him the platform he feels he deserves.
“If Karlos and I fight, there’s a very good chance I’ll be a massive star with Oktagon” he says. “I’ve consistently been doing very impressive things in MMA and getting fuck all credit for it, and they put me on the prelims of a card where I’m clearly better than most of the other fighters? It’s difficult not to be a little bit pissed off.
“I feel like I’m the baddest (expletive deleted) on this Island and nobody wants to acknowledge it, you know? It’s very frustrating and disheartening. You keep thinking, “I’ll go out and do this, then people will know”, but they can just ignore it again and again”.
Fleury has dealt with a litany of injury issues throughout his career, including a badly broken thumb which he still feels the residual effects of today. Having been through more highs and lows than most fighters throughout his career so far, he realises the importance of grabbing these big opportunities with both hands when they become available.
“I still feel like I’m improving all the time which is exciting” he said. “If they give me this Karlos fight I’m really excited about what I can go in and show if I’m given the opportunity. The determination within me to go and show the skills that I have is huge, all I need is that chance. And to be denied that chance sucks but I’m also feeling like, “Ok, I’ll wait. And I’ll show you when the chance does come”. But this game is so unstable, you could tear your ACL tomorrow, you could break your hand. And there’s been enough [stuff] to wade through just to reach this point…have I not earned this by this stage? Just give me the big fight!”
