Leeds welterweight Tom Crosby will step out into a packed arena for the biggest fight of his career this weekend when he makes his promotional debut at Oktagon 53 in Germany.
Crosby, whose fighting moniker is “The Viking,” will take on in-form Czech welterweight Miroslav Broz on the main card in Oberhausen on Saturday, February 10 in a bout that offers him the chance to make an instant impact on the promotion’s 170-pound division.
Broz is returning for his second stint with the promotion, and will be making the walk to the Oktagon cage for the 10th time in his career. He has a victory over German fan-favourite Christian Jungwirth to his name, and heads into Saturday night’s matchup with Crosby on a seven-fight undefeated streak (six wins, one draw). His return to Oktagon came last May, when he earned a split-decision victory over Robert Pukac at Oktagon 43.
Crosby’s career to date has been spent largely on the UK scene, with his last outing ending in an armbar submission defeat at Full Contact Contender 28 in April 2022. Now the 36-year-old, who as an amateur represented England in the 2016 IMMAF World Championships, as well as IMMAF European Championships in 2016 and 2017, is looking to kickstart a new chapter for his career under the Oktagon banner as he prepares to make a significant step up in class to face 16-3-1 Broz.
Crosby’s Oktagon debut forms the third bout from the top of the fight card in Oberhausen, with German fighters in action in seven of the 10 scheduled bouts.
Headlining the event is a battle for the women’s strawweight title, as reigning champion Katharina Dalisda faces number-one contender, France’s Eva Dourthe, while 8-1 welterweight Islam Dulatov will look to blast his way into the 170-pound rankings when he faces off against Greece’s number-nine ranked Ioannis Palaiologos.
Oktagon 53: Official fight card
MAIN CARD
- Katharina Dalisda vs. Eva Dourthe – for strawweight title
- Islam Dulatov vs. Ioannis Palaiologos
- Miroslav Broz vs. Tom Crosby
- Hojat Khajevand vs. David Zawada
- Cihad Akipa vs. Ivica Truscek
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Jan Malach vs. Gokhan Aksu
- Jaroslav Pokorny vs. Gjoni Palokaj
- Endrit Brajshori vs. Jan Fajk
- Emir-Can Al vs. Tomas Votava
- Sam Zarabi vs. Jakub Batfalsky
