Tis The Season For Oktagon 65
Chirstmas may be here but there is still some action for MMA fans to get their teeth into over the holidays. Oktagon 65 goes down this Sunday (Dec 29th) at the 02 Arena in Prague, Czechia and features three title fights at the top end of the card.
The promotion have had an exceptional year with some massive landmark moments to remember. Oktagon 62: Bigger Than Ever took place in October at the Deutsche Bank Park in Frankfurt, Germany in front of 59,148 screaming fans.
They will close out their busy 2024 schedule this weekend in front of a passionate crowd and three fighters will walk away wearing championship belts. Let’s take a look at some of the unmissable matchups on the main card.
Ronald Paradeiser vs. Losene Keita, Tipsport Gamechanger Final, Lightweight Title Fight
Oktagon lightweight champion Ronald Paradeiser (21-8) will put his belt on the line at Oktagon 65 against the promotion’s featherweight champion Losene Keita (15-1) in the final of the Tipsport Gamechanger European MMA Champions League tournament, which carries a €300,000 prize for the winner.
The pair have clashed before in February of 2022 when Keita emerged victorious after 25 minutes to claim the interim lightweight championship. The Belgian went on to win the unified title before losing the belt when he picked up an injury in a fight against Mate Sanikidze in July of 2023.
Having made the move to 145 lbs and become a champion there, “Black Panther” is now ready to challenge for the lightweight strap once again.
Standing in his way will be Ronald Paradeiser who has sucessfully defended his title three times already this year. The Slovak is coming hot off the heels of a quickfire knockout victory over Spanish veteran Acoidan Duque in September and will surely go into Sunday’s main event brimming with confidence.
Karlos Vemola vs. Will Fleury, Light Heavyweight Title Fight
Three-time light heavyweight champion Karlos Vemola (37-8) will face surging Irish contender Will Fleury (13-3) in a matchup that received huge attention following Fleury’s sensational win over Pavol Langer at Oktagon 62 in October.
PFL veteran Fleury finished Langer in just 91 seconds and immediately called for a title shot. After making Fleury wait a while, the bout was finally confirmed when the pair faced off inside the cage at Oktagon 63 in Bratislava in November.
Former UAE Warriors middleweight champion Fleury has had a sensational introduction to fans of the promotion, finishing two of the light heavyweight division’s top contenders (Langer and Daniel Skvor) in quick fashion.
“I did enjoy the victory (over Pavol Langer)” Fleury said during an exclusive interview with MMA Sucka in October. “Fighting in front of so many fans (at the Deutsche Bank Park) 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”.
Lucia Szabova vs. Lucie Pudilova, Women’s Bantamweight Title Fight
Unbeaten Slovak sensation Lucia Szabova (8-0) will square off against Czech UFC veteran Lucie Padilova (15-10) for the vacant women’s bantamweight title.
Padilova picked up a split decision victory over Cecilie Bolander on her return to the promotion at Oktagon 61 in September, while Szabova has won all four of her contests under the Oktagon banner in impressive fashion.
Full Oktagon 65 Fight Card
Ronald Paradeiser vs. Losene Keita, OKMMA Lightweight Championship
Karlos Vemola vs. Will Fleury, OKMMA Light Heavyweight Championship
Lucia Szabova vs. Lucie Pudilova, OKMMA Vacant Bantamweight Championship
Jonas Magard vs. Ivor Severino, Bantamweight
Radovan Uskrt vs. Daniel Schwindt, Middleweight
Mateusz Legierski vs. Agy Sardari, Lightweight
Jakub Tichota vs. Ozan Aslaner, Lightweight
Cecilie Bolander vs. Sara Luzar Smajic, Bantamweight
Marco Novak vs. Eemil Kurhela, Featherweight
Jakub Batfalsky vs. Dominik Toporcer, Featherweight
