The final of Oktagon MMA’s €1 million Tipsport Gamechanger lightweight tournament was confirmed at Oktagon 61, as lightweight champion Ronald Paradeiser and featherweight champion (and former lightweight champ) Losene Keita both punched their tickets to the tournament finale.
Paradeiser starred in the main event of the evening at the Winning Group Arena in Brno, Czech Republic, where he needed just 88 seconds to knock out Spanish contender Acoidan Duque and move into the final of the tournament virtually unscathed. And, earlier on the main card, Keita outworked former Oktagon champ Mateusz Legierski over three rounds to hand the Pole his first defeat under the Oktagon banner and earn his spot in the finale.
The pair will face off in a rematch in the tournament final, which will take place at Oktagon’s end-of-year show, at Prague’s O2 Arena, on December 29.
The co-main event saw the return to the promotion of Makhmud Muradov, who leaned heavily on his wrestling to earn a unanimous decision victory over former KSW champion Scott Askham in their battle of former UFC middleweights.
The main card opener delivered a big win for the Brno fans, as local hero Vladimir Lengal fought through adversity to stop England’s Corey Fry in a barnburner.
Lengal started like a house on fire as he chased an early knockout, but Fry remained remarkably calm and collected amid the chaos, and eventually started to find a home for his own strikes as he countered the Czech fighter superbly. And, when a stabbing front kick to the body briefly folded up Lengal and put him on the retreat, it looked like Fry was well in charge.
There were also crowd-pleasing victories on the main card for Andrej Kalasnik, who defeated Ioannis Palaiologos, and former UFC fighter Lucie Pudilova, who defeated former IMMAF silver medallist Cecilie Bolander to book herself a title fight with Lucia Szabova in a Czech Republic vs. Slovakia battle for the women’s bantamweight title at Oktagon 65 in Prague on December 29.
Fry continued to calmly pick Lengal apart through the remainder of the round, and came close to earning a late stoppage, but Lengal survived the round and, despite being hurt to the body again at the start of Round 2, turned the fight on its head with a pair of knees in the clinch sending Fry to the mat. A barrage of ground strikes eventually finished the job, as Lengal nearly took the roof off the Winning Group Arena.
Earlier in the night, Dutch lightweight contender Agy Sardari claimed a hard-won unanimous decision victory over Attila Korkmaz in their Tipsport Gamechanger reserve bout, and there was a pair of important victories for the two English stars on the preliminary card, as Jack Cartwright and George Staines both picked up unanimous decision victories.
Oktagon 61: Official results
MAIN CARD
- Ronald Paradeiser def. Acoidan Duque via knockout (punches) – Round 1, 1:28 – Tipsport Gamechanger semi-final
- Makhmud Muradov def. Scott Askham via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Losene Keita def. Mateusz Legierski via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 29-28) – Tipsport Gamechanger semi-final
- Lucie Pudilova def. Cecilie Bolander via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Andrej Kalasnik def. Ioannis Palaiologos (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)
- Vladimir Lengal def. Corey Fry via TKO (knee and punches) – Round 2, 2:25
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Tomas Hron def. Fred Sikking via TKO (cut) – Round 1 3:00 – Underground K-1 rules bout
- Jack Cartwright def. Mate Sanikidze via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- George Staines def. Jakub Tichota via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Radek Rousal def. Nezar Bahaji via unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
- Agy Sardari def. Attila Korkmaz via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27) – Tipsport Gamechanger reserve bout
- Jan Stanovsky def. Gleb Shadrin (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
