Irish Star Bids To Become 3-Weight World Champion At Oktagon 68
2024 proved to be an exceptional year for Oktagon star Will Fleury (14-3 MMA, 3-0 Oktagon). The 35-year-old Irishman announced his arrival into the promotion’s light heavyweight division in style when he submitted Daniel Škvor at Oktagon 56 in Birmingham, England last April.
He returned to action in October at Oktagon 62: Bigger Than Ever which took place in front of 59,148 screaming fans in Frankfurt, Germany where he knocked out the division’s former champion Pavol Langer in just 91 seconds.
Following that statement victory, the Tipperary native called for a title shot against Karlos Vémola and the matchmakers duly obliged by placing the pair in the co-main event slot on their end-of-year Oktagon 65 card in the Czech Republic.
Fleury dominated all five rounds of the fight, almost putting “The Terminator” away in the third round, to get his hands on the Oktagon light heavyweight title and finish an amazing 2024 in style.
A New Challenge For Two Oktagon Champions in Oktagon 68
Fleury has fought in a selection of the biggest promotions in MMA throughout his career, including Bellator, Brave Combat Federation and the PFL and he previously became a world champion when he defeated Tarek Suleiman to win the UAE Warriors middleweight title in 2022.
Having also now found success at 205 lbs, Fleury will now attempt to win a world title in a third weight class when he takes on Lazar Todev (11-6 MMA, 3-1 Oktagon) during Oktagon 68 for the vacant heavyweight title in Stuttgart, Germany on March 8th.
🚨 BREAKING NEWS 🚨
We will have a new heavyweight champion after OKTAGON 68 in Stuttgart.
Bulgarian tank, Lazar Todev (11-6) 🇧🇬 faces Will Fleury (14-3, 1NC) 🇮🇪 who hopes to become a double champion, for the vacant belt on March 8!
Buy tickets👇🏼
🎫 https://t.co/p2FI0xT39b pic.twitter.com/mco1HMQW8z— OKTAGON MMA (@OktagonOfficial) January 16, 2025
“Todev’s a tough opponent” Fleury told MMA Sucka in an exclusive interview this week. “I’m definitely not taking this fight lightly but I’m very, very excited about the prospect of winning another belt.
“My whole time in Oktagon has been about me leaving a legacy, and this is a huge opportunity to cement part of that legacy.
“I feel like I’ve done amazing work in 2024, and I’m very excited to continue to build on that in 2025. This is a tough challenge but I’ve been embracing tough challenges for years and overcoming them and I’m continue to do that here”.
A Striking Sensation Awaits Will Fleury At Oktagon 68
Bulgaria’s Todev, a seasoned veteran of the Dutch professional kickboxing scene, first fought under the Oktagon banner in April of 2023 where he beat Adam Palasz by way of unanimous decision.
He returned just three months later at Oktagon 45 where he proved he’s not just a striker by submitting Wallyson Carvalho. He suffered his first defeat in the promotion toward the end of the year when he lost by decision to Hatef Moeil, but returned at Oktagon 62 in October to defeat Adam Palasz for a second time.
Will Fleury vs. Lazar Todev will serve as the main event at Oktagon 68 which goes down at the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle Arena in Stuttgart, Germany on March 8th.
Also on the Oktagon 68 card will be UFC veteran Niklas Stolze who takes on fellow German Jessin Ayari in a welterweight contest. Emilio Quissua will face Mateusz Duczmal in the light heavyweight division, while Christian Jungwirth will square off against Marek Bartl at 170 lbs.
A massive middleweight contest has also been announced for the card this week, as Makhmud Muradov (27-8 MMA, 4-2 UFC) will look to continue his exciting start to life in the Oktagon cage when he takes on Glory kickboxing veteran Joilton Lutterbach (39-10) who has recently signed with Oktagon and will be making his promotional debut in Oktagon 68.
Fights confirmed for Oktagon 68 so far:
Will Fleury vs. Lazar Todev (vacant OKMMA heavyweight title)
Emilio Quissua vs. Mateusz Duczmal (light heavyweight)
Christian Jungwirth vs. Marek Bartl (welterweight)
Niklas Stolze vs. Jessin Ayari (welterweight)
Makhmud Muradov vs. Joilton Lutterbach (middleweight)
