The longest-reigning champion in Oktagon MMA held on to his title as Patrik Kincl re-unified the middleweight championship with a come-from-behind submission victory over interim champion Piotr Wawrzyniak in the main event of Oktagon 54 in Ostrava, Czech Republic.
Czech star Kincl faced Polish powerhouse Wawrzyniak, who had gatecrashed the middleweight title picture by stepping in on short notice and finishing top contender Vlasto Cepo on his promotional debut. And for a while through Round 2, it looked like the big Pole might be about to become the unified champion as he had “Inspector” in big trouble.
But, despite finding himself on the receiving end, Kincl hung tough and survived the round. Then, after Wawrzyniak pushed the pace early in Round 3, Kincl turned the tables brilliantly to take the Polish judoka to the mat, mount him, then lock up an arm-triangle choke to force the tap at the 1:50 mark.
Oktagon MMA
Paradeiser edges split decision to progress
In the co-main event of the evening, reigning Oktagon lightweight champion Ronald Paradeiser booked his place in the quarter-finals of the Tipsport Gamechanger tournament, but his progression was far from straightforward.
In a highly-competitive clash, “Rony” was pushed all the way by former Bellator, UAE Warriors and ACB veteran Attila Korkmaz in a breathless encounter that went all the way to the judges’ scorecards.
After Paradeiser took the opening round, Korkmaz claimed the second on two of the judges’ scorecards. With Oktagon’s open scoring, it meant we all knew that the winner of the third round would walk away with the win and the place in the quarter-finals. Both fighters knew, too, and they left it all in the cage in a bid to claim the victory.
In the end, it was Paradeiser who was deemed to have done just enough, with the champion winning the fight on two of the three judges’ scorecards, with scores of 28-29, 30-27, 29-28.
Oktagon MMA
Machaev delivers statement victory
Austrian contender Mochamed Machaev’s clash with former UFC featherweight Makwan Amirkhani was one of the most eagerly-anticipated matchups on the card, and in the biggest fight of his MMA career to date, the 24-year-old delivered an eye-catching performance to claim a huge scalp and earn a spot in the Tipsport Gamechanger quarter-finals.
After a stand-offish, confident start from Amirkhani, “Mr. Finland” set to work on trying to get Machaev to the mat. It proved to be a particularly tricky task and, even after the Finn had dragged him to the mat, Machaev was able to avoid trouble before scrambling his way out of danger. By the end of the round, Amirkhani was sporting a swollen eye, which appeared to get even worse during the break between rounds.
After a strong round from Machaev in the second, the Austrian then saw his chance for victory, and exploded a big lead left hook onto Amirkhani’s chin in the opening seconds of the final round. The shot sent Amirkhani down to the canvas, where
A superbly-timed lead left hook connected flush on Amirkhani’s chin and sent him down to the canvas for a statement-making finish as “The Beast” showed a glimpse of his immense potential in this tournament.
Oktagon MMA
Torres dominates Lengal
Austria’s Daniel Torres entered the Tipsport Gamechanger as the highest-ranked fighter in the lineup, and the former KSW champion showed just why with a relentless performance as he battled through adversity to defeat Czech fan-favourite Vladimir Lengal after three action-packed rounds.
In a crazy opening frame, both men connected with big shots, but an illegal knee to the head of a grounded Torres earned Lengal a point deduction, and gave Torres time to recover. After the action resumed, Torres pushed the pace on Lengal and punished him with heavy kicks to the Czech striker’s lead leg that clearly compromised Lengal’s mobility and power.
The remainder of the fight was all Torres as he pushed the pace on Lengal throughout to eventually earn scores of 30-26 across the board and punch his ticket to the quarter-finals.
After his win, Torres admitted that he’d been knocked out by Lengal’s illegal knee in the first round, and that his resulting performance was purely from his fighting spirit. When asked who he fancied in the next round, he simply stated that he treats every fight the same – as a fight against himself.
Oktagon MMA
Legierski produces standout display with familiar finish
Earlier in the night, Oktagon lightweight champion Mateusz Legierski declared, “I am going to win this!” after defeating familiar foe Matous Kohout in the first round of their Tipsport Gamechanger bout.
It was a case of history repeating itself as, after submitting Kohout via rear-naked choke in their first meeting at Oktagon 34 back in the summer of 2022, Legierski repeated the feat with another first-round RNC finish.
The Pole showcased his heavy hands early as he sent Kohout flying across the cage twice in a matter of seconds as he threatened to claim a quickfire knockout against the Czech. Kohout gamely managed to stay in the fight as he defended on the mat against the Pole’s ground strikes, but Legierski switched to his grappling and, after Kohout tried in van to fend him off, the former champion locked up the fight-ending choke to force the tap and claim the first-round victory he predicted before the event.
Oktagon MMA
Bogdanovic and Duque seal their spots
In the first two Tipsport Gamechanger bouts of the night, Predrag Bogdanovic outworked Hafeni Nafuka over three rounds, while Acoidan Duque edged a back-and-forth scrap with Marcel Grabinski.
Bodganovic took charge of his bout the very start and, with Nafuka looking slightly nervous on the big stage, the Serbian contender claimed a shutout on the scorecards, with all three judges scoring the bout 30-27 to send him into the next round.
In the following matchup, Duque went toe to toe with Grabinski over the full three-round duration in a bout that split the judges at its conclusion. The superior damage inflicted by Duque early in the bout proved decisive as he claimed the victory with scores of 29-28, 28-29, 29-28.
Oktagon 54: Official results
MAIN CARD
- Patrik Kincl def. Piotr Wawrzyniak via submission (arm-triangle choke) – Round 3, 1:50 for unified middleweight title
- Ronald Paradeiser def. Attila Korkmaz via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28) – Tipsport Gamechanger
- Mochamed Machaev def. Makwan Amirkhani via knockout (punch) – Round 3, 0:06 – Tipsport Gamechanger
- Daniel Torres def. Vladimir Lengal via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26) – Tipsport Gamechanger
- Mateusz Legierski def. Matous Kohout via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:38 – Tipsport Gamechanger
- Acoidan Duque def. Marcel Grabinski via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) – Tipsport Gamechanger
- Predrag Bogdanovic def. Hafeni Nafuka via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27) – Tipsport Gamechanger
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Lukasz Rajewski def. Jason Ponet via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28) – Tipsport Gamechanger reserve bout
- Milos Janicic def. Ebrahim Hosseinpour via TKO – Round 2, 1:23 – Tipsport Gamechanger reserve bout
