Katharina Dalisda notched her first strawweight title defence a she established herself as the best female fighter on the Oktagon MMA roster.
Germany’s Dalisda put her strawweight title on the line against former foe, France’s Eve Dourthe, on home soil in Oberhausen, and rose to the occasion with a strong final round to secure a unanimous decision victory.
Oktagon’s open scoring showed that the fight was hanging in the balance heading into the final frame, with Dalisda ahead on one card, but the fight sitting level on the other two, meaning whoever took the final round would leave the Rudolf Weber Arena with the title.
Dalisda’s corner told her that she needed to win the final round, and she duly obliged to earn scores of 48-47, 48-47, 49-46 and register the first successful defence of her title.
After her victory, Dalisda said she expects to be pushed by Oktagon’s matchmakers as she bids to remain on top of the promotion’s 115-pound division.
“I just try to continue and improve myself, and I’m looking forward for my next title defences,” she said.
“I’m sure I’ll get tough opponents which challenge me and make me improve my game.”
Oktagon MMA
Debuting Dulatov claims buzzer-beater finish
The co-main event saw an explosive promotional debut performance from German prospect Islam Dulatov, who finished Greek contender John Palaiologos with a buzzer-beating TKO in an incident-packed one-round appearance that saw him bank the evening’s Performance of the Night bonus.
Dulatov’s sharp, straight punches put Palaiologos in trouble early, and it looked as if a quickfire TKO finish might be on the cards, but when an attempted body shot strayed low and into Palaiologos’ cup, the action was halted to give the badly hurt fighter time to recover.
When the action resumed, Dulatov attempted to pick up where he left off, but Palaiologos hung tough and, despite shipping more hard shots, managed to drag the young prospect into a series of grappling exchanges, and briefly had Dulatov in trouble with an attempted armbar.
But Dulatov eventually escaped and, with 10 seconds left in the round, he loaded up for one final barrage of shots that forced the finish in the final second of the opening round.
After he was informed of his post-fight bonus, Dulatov immediately said he’d split the extra cash with German veteran David Zawada, who made a winning return to the promotion earlier in the evening.
Oktagon MMA
Best of the rest
Elsewhere on the card, Czech veteran Miroslav Broz edged a split-decision verdict over debuting Englishman Tom Crosby in a back-and-forth welterweight scrap, while former UFC and KSW welterweight David Zawada turned up the heat in the final round before finishing Hojat Khajevand with a heel hook in the final minute of their middleweight matchup.
The main card opened up with a submission finish, as Croatia’s Ivica Truscek finished Germany’s Cihad Akipa with a guillotine choke and ended a heated fight week rivalry between the pair with their beef squashed, and the 82-fight veteran’s hand raised.
Oktagon MMA
Oktagon 53: Official results
MAIN CARD
- Katharina Dalisda def. Eva Dourthe via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 49-46) – for strawweight title
- Islam Dulatov def. Ioannis Palaiologos via TKO (punches) – Round 1 , 4:59
- Miroslav Broz def. Tom Crosby via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 29-28)
- David Zawada def. Hojat Khajevand via verbal submission (heel hook) – Round 3, 4:24
- Ivica Truscek def. Cihad Akipa via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2, 2:22
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Jan Malach def. Gokhan Aksu via TKO (knee and punches) – Round 2, 3:01
- Gjoni Palokaj def. Jaroslav Pokorny via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Endrit Brajshori def. Jan Fajk via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 3, 0:47
- Emir-Can Al def. Tomas Votava via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:49
- Sam Zarabi def. Jakub Batfalsky via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
