Former Oktagon bantamweight champion Jonas Magard showed his skills, and his smarts, as he outpointed former Cage Warriors champion Jack Cartwright to earn a return bout with the man who dethroned him, Felipe Lima.
Magard and Cartwright met in the main event of Oktagon 52, which took place at Utilita Arena in Newcastle, England. The matchup was the culmination of a month-and-a-half-long build-up that saw the two fighters document their respective journeys to the cage in Oktagon’s new bite-sized social media series, 90 Second Show.
By the time they made the walk to the cage, the fans were fully invested in the matchup, with the English crowd leaning towards their compatriot Cartwright, who was thought to have the edge in knockout power. But in the fight itself, it was Magard’s all-round game that prevailed, with the Dane mixing his wrestling into his game with perfect timing to secure all three rounds on all three scorecards for a shutout victory.
Oktagon MMA
Penaz makes statement with body shot finish
In the night’s co-main event, Czech striker Matej Penaz put the promotion’s middleweight elite on notice with an attention-grabbing win over former Cage Warriors middleweight champion Matthew Bonner.
England’s Bonner had never been stopped in his career, but Penaz snapped that streak in emphatic fashion with a clinical display of flawless takedown defense and sharp striking.
In the end it was a vicious right to the body that marked the beginning of the end as he folded up Bonner, then added a flurry of additional body shots to the same spot to force the TKO stoppage and put himself firmly on 185-pound champ Patrik Kincl’s radar.
Oktagon MMA
Aby leaves no doubt with impressive win
Welsh flyweight contender Aaron Aby delivered arguably the most important win of his recent career as he outpointed American debutant Christopher Daniel after three spirited rounds.
Aby was due to rematch flyweight champion Elias Garcia, who claimed the title in their first meeting after Aby was stopped on cuts. But, after the American declined the rematch, submission specialist Daniel was drafted in to provide a dangerous threat to Aby’s number-one contender spot.
Defeat for Aby would have been unthinkable, and he pushed the pace on Daniel throughout the three-round matchup to edge the bout 29-28 on all three cards and ensure that his next fight will be for the belt. Whether Garcia is standing across from him remains to be seen, however.
Oktagon MMA
Austin finishes Palasz to earn heavyweight title shot
The night’s other big winner was England’s Stuart Austin, who toppled number-one contender Adam Palasz to put himself at the front of the line for a shot at the Oktagon heavyweight title.
Austin had promised to turn the matchup with the heavy-handed Pole into a scrappy grapplefest, but as the action unfolded, Austin surprisingly opted to stand and trade. And, mid-way through the second round, a short elbow connected clean and sent Palasz crashing to the canvas. Austin followed up with more shot on the ground, before eventually returning to his grappling base and locking up an arm-triangle choke to force the tap.
Austin’s win puts him right in line for a shot at reigning heavyweight champ, Germany’s Hatef Moeil.
Oktagon MMA
Oktagon 52: Official results
MAIN CARD
- Jonas Magard def. Jack Cartwright via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Matej Penaz def. Matt Bonner via TKO (body punches) – Round 2, 4:43
- Aaron Aby def. Christopher Daniel via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Stuart Austin def. Adam Palasz via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 2, 3:52
- Max Holzer def. Corey Fry via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:28
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Denis Frimpong def. Jan Siroky via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Roman Paulus def. Nathan Haywood via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 4:05
- Eduard Kexel def. Rafael Hudson via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:29
- Jake McHugh def. Armand Herczeg via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:30
- Daniel Bainbridge def. Hamza Dagdeviren via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
