OKTAGON 54 Results: Kincl rallies to unify belts, the race for €1 million begins

OKTAGON 54 went down this past Saturday night, March 2, and one of the most stacked cards in the promotion’s history definitely lived up to the hype. A Czech fan favourite turned in a memorable stoppage in the title unification headliner and this year’s €1 million Tipsport Gamechanger lightweight tournament kicked off which included a star studded lineup of many number one ranked fighters from eight countries on a thrilling evening in Ostrava.

Patrik Kincl (28-10, 1NC) proved that he is the man to beat in the division by submitting Piotr Wawrzyniak (12-6) to unify the middleweight titles in the main event. ‘The Inspector’ was hurt during the second round and the fight looked as though it was seconds away from being stopped but he rallied in the third frame to lock up an arm triangle choke. Kincl’s run as the longest reigning champion in the promotion continues and the loaded division will be queuing up to see who can challenge him next.

In the evening’s co-headliner, OKTAGON MMA lightweight champion, Ronald Paradeiser (19-8), defeated Atilla Korkmaz (14-8) via spilt decision in the €1 million Tipsport Gamechanger opening round. Both men appeared on top at various times during the contest and due to the open scoring system, everyone knew the winner of the last round would come away victorious. It was ‘Rony’ who utilised his rangy striking game in the final frame to claim the victory and advance to the European MMA Champions League quarter finals.

Mago Machaev (14-1, 1NC) had an impressive promotional debut in the opening round of the bracket, stopping Makwan Amirkhani (17-10) at the start of round three. Despite a bright start from Amirkhani, ‘The Beast’ gradually took over as the fight wore on, visibly damaging the face of the UFC veteran. The finish came just six seconds into the last round when Machaev landed a left had which sent his adversary to the canvas. This was the biggest victory of the Austrian’s career and many are suggesting he is now the favourite to win the whole tournament.

Former KSW champion, Daniel Torres (15-5, 2NC), overcame Vladimír Lengál (6-3) in the €1 million Tipsport Gamechanger opening round and Polish standout, Mateusz Legierski (11-1), submitted Matouš Kohout (9-7) to also advance in the sixteen-man field. Acoidan Duque (20-4, 1NC) picked up a close split decision victory against Marcel Grabinski (23-10) in the European MMA Champions League at lightweight and Predrag Bogdanović (16-1) was too experienced for Hafeni Nafuka (8-1).

OKTAGON 54 Results

Main Card

Main Event
OKTAGON MMA Undisputed Middleweight Title
Patrik Kincl (28-10, 1NC) defeated Piotr Wawrzyniak (12-6) by submission (arm triangle) at 1:50 of round three to unify the middleweight belts

Co-Main Event
Tipsport Gamechanger
Ronald Paradeiser (19-8) defeated Atilla Korkmaz (14-8) by split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28) to advance to the quarter finals

Tipsport Gamechanger
Mago Machaev (14-1, 1NC) defeated Makwan Amirkhani (17-10) by knockout (punches) at 0:06 of round three to advance to the quarter finals

Tipsport Gamechanger
Daniel Torres (15-5, 2NC) defeated Vladimír Lengál (6-3) by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26) to advance to the quarter finals

Tipsport Gamechanger
Mateusz Legierski (11-1) defeated Matouš Kohout (9-7) by submission (rear naked choke) at 4:38 of round one to advance to the quarter finals

Tipsport Gamechanger
Acoidan Duque (20-4, 1NC) defeated Marcel Grabinski (23-10) by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) to advance to the quarter finals

Tipsport Gamechanger
Predrag Bogdanović (16-1) defeated Hafeni Nafuka (8-1) by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) to advance to the quarter finals

Preliminary Card

Tipsport Gamechanger Reserve Bout
Łukasz Rajewski (13-9, 1NC) defeated Jason Ponet (24-17-1, 1NC) by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) to advance to the ‘Lucky Loser’ vote

Tipsport Gamechanger Reserve Bout
Miloš Janičić (17-3) defeated Ebrahim Hosseinpour (8-8) by TKO (punches and knee) at 1:23 of round two to advance to the ‘Lucky Loser’ vote

Immediately after the event ended, the draw for the quarter finals took place where each competitor selected a numbered ball to decide the order in which they would place themselves on the tournament bracket. Mateusz Legierski decided he wanted to face the winner of Akonne Wanliss and Sahil Siraj after their opening round bout was postponed. Ronald Paradeiser chose to take on Daniel Torres and Mago Machaev placed himself next to Acoidan Duque. That left Predrag Bogdanović to select the only remaining slot alongside the victor between Losene Keita and Agy Sardari.

These bouts will play out over the summer months and in the meantime, fans can vote for their ‘Lucky Loser’ from the first round to take part in the quarter final reserve bouts. Therefore, even those who were defeated still have the possibility to re-enter the tournament at a later date.

OKTAGON MMA is back in just under three weeks on March 23 when we take over Stuttgart, Germany, for the very first time! In his anticipated comeback from injury, national hero, Christian Jungwirth, will compete in his hometown at OKTAGON 55 opposite Robert Pukač in a rematch. The exciting card also features a host of German talent including Alexander Poppeck, Niklas Stolze, Arijan Topallaj and Jaime Cordero.