OKTAGON 38 took place on Friday evening, December 30, in front of almost 20,000 fans at the O2 Arena, Prague in the Czech Republic. A record European MMA attendance this year witnessed the tenth and final event of 2022 for OKTAGON MMA, which signed off on a historic period for the promotion.
In the main event, Gustavo Lopez (13-6-1) dominated Filip Macek (27-17-1) to win the interim bantamweight belt by first round submission after taking the fight on just ten days’ notice. The UFC veteran took the Czech fighter down early and used his strong ground game to control position before advancing to lock up a guillotine choke. After the fight, Lopez told fans that next time out they would see an even better version of himself with a proper camp behind him. OKTAGON MMA bantamweight champion, Jonas Mågård, watched on from the sidelines while recovering from a broken cheekbone – the timescale for his return still unknown.
Undefeated lightweight champion, Losene Keita (9-0 MMA), defeated Slovak standup legend, Milan Minči Paleš (42-9-1 kickboxing/muay thai), in a special underground rules bout at 71kg/157lbs in the co-headliner. The pair traded heavy blows throughout the contest, which was so close that a sudden death round was needed to decide on a winner. ‘Black Panther’ proved that he is elite across multiple disciplines, and he is eyeing up a return to MMA in February when he will potentially drop down to the featherweight division to start his hunt for a second OKTAGON MMA title.
Alex Lohoré (22-8) had a successful return to the 170lbs division when he viciously knocked out Matúš Juráček (9-3) at the start of the third round. Both men has bright spots during the bout but it was the 33-year-old whose power and accuracy came to the fore. This victory earned ‘Da Killa King’ a place in the €1 million Tipsport Gamechanger welterweight tournament which kicks off with the whole opening round on March 4 at OKTAGON 40.
In other feature bouts, Jorick Montagnac (4-1) finished Daniel Škvor (5-2) by a quick TKO to send a statement to the whole light heavyweight division in their boxer vs. kickboxer showdown and Matěj Peňáz (7-1) starched Joel dos Santos (16-8) in the opening frame of their middleweight contest to set up a mouth-watering clash with Vlasto Čepo in Bratislava next April.
Elsewhere on the card, ‘Baba Jaga’ Václav Mikulášek (8-10 MMA) overcame Gábor Boráros (19-10-1 MMA) by unanimous decision in their cage boxing matchup and Radovan Úškrt (7-3) made it seven first round knockouts in as many victories when he defeated Ole Magnor (7-7) at middleweight.
OKTAGON 38 Results
Main Card
Main Event
OKTAGON MMA Interim Bantamweight Title
Gustavo Lopez (13-6-1) defeated Filip Macek (27-17-1) by submission (guillotine choke) at 4:44 of round 1 to win the interim bantamweight belt
Underground Rules (71kg/157lbs)
Losene Keita (9-0 MMA) defeated Milan Minči Paleš (42-9-1 kickboxing/muay thai) by sudden-death decision after a split draw (39-38, 39-37, 38-38)
Welterweight
Alex Lohoré (22-8) defeated Matúš Juráček (9-3) by knockout (punches) at 0:16 of round three
Lightweight
Matouš Kohout (8-5) defeated Jan Malach (14-13) by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Light Heavyweight
Jorick Montagnac (4-1) defeated Daniel Škvor (5-2) by TKO (punches) at 0:38 of round one
Boxing (86kg/190lbs)
Václav Mikulášek (8-10 MMA) defeated Gábor Boráros (19-10-1 MMA) by unanimous decision (38-36, 38-36, 38-36)
Preliminary Card
Featherweight
Ahmed Vila (10-4-1, 1NC) defeated Jakub Dohnal (11-3) by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Middleweight
Matěj Peňáz (7-1) defeated Joel dos Santos (16-8) by knockout (punches and elbow) at 2:03 of round one
Welterweight
Max Handanagić (9-6-1) defeated David Jacobsson (11-4) by majority decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-28)
Featherweight
Jaroslav Pokorný (15-10) defeated Can Aslaner (8-4) by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Middleweight
Radovan Úškrt (7-3) defeated Ole Magnor (7-7) by knockout (punches) at 3:54 of round one
Catchweight (74kg/163lbs)
Hassan Shaaban (1-1) defeated Martin Pipek (1-1) by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-27, 29-28)
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