Slovakian fighting legend Ivan Buchinger produced a performance full of guts and determination to stop rising lightweight contender Hafeni Nafuka in the main event of Oktagon 63 in Bratislava, Slovakia.
Twenty-one-year-old Nafuka set a new record as the youngest fighter to compete in an Oktagon MMA main event, and “The Namibian Nightmare” had a huge opening round as he hurt Buchinger with big punches and dominated the former two-division champion with his wrestling in a one-sided opening five minutes.
But, by the time the pair went back to their stools at the end of the round, Nafuka looked seriously gassed. Some apparent shenanigans from Nafuka’s corner helped buy him another minute thanks to spilled water. But ultimately it wasn’t enough, and, after an initial flurry from Nafuka early in the round, Buchinger quickly took control. A few stuffed takedowns and a couple of grappling exchanges later, and Nafuka’s gas tank was running on empty, and Buchinger saw his moment.
He worked his way into a dominant position and, with Nafuka turtled up and struggling to get out of danger, “Buki” unloaded a barrage of strikes to his grounded opponent to secure the second-round TKO finish.
He even had time to prank the audience, and the Oktagon MMA owners, with a fake retirement tease as he put his gloves down in the centre of the cage. But “Buki” will fight on, and he’ll do so as a veteran star who remains one of the promotion’s most dangerous fighters at 155 pounds.
‘Apollo’ Silva claims hard-earned win
The co-main event saw a battle between two former welterweight title contenders as Brazil’s Leandro “Apollo” Silva outworked Hungary’s Mate Kertesz over three rounds to take the unanimous decision victory in their 80kg catchweight contest.
The short-notice matchup meant they fought at a catchweight, but had no impact on the action as the pair went back and forth in a bout that was spent almost exclusively on the feet. And, over the course of the 15 minutes, it was Silva who was the aggressor for the majority of the fight as he pushed Kertesz back with controlled pressure and well-chosen strikes.
Kertesz showcased his trademark toughness, but that alone wasn’t enough to prevent Silva from earning his 29th career victory with scores of 29-28, 29-28, 30-27.
After his victory, Silva demanded a bigger pay packet to continue fighting under the Oktagon banner, and borrowed a phrase from his friend Renato Moicano by declaring, “Apollo wants money!”
Debuting Zhumagulov lines up title fight with dominant win
In the opening bout of the main card, debuting former UFC flyweight Zhalgas Zhumagulov made a huge impression with a landslide decision victory over two-time title challenger Aaron Aby.
Zhumagulov came out swinging in Round 1 and found a home for his shots early as he dropped the Welshman twice in a dominant opening frame and left him with a nasty cut on the back of his head that leaked blood for the rest of the fight.
Zhumagumov’s heavy striking and solid wrestling defence ensured that he retained the upper hand through the entirety of the 15-minute battle, and it was to Aby’s great credit that he was able to hang in there and continue fighting back all the way to the final bell, despite being outmatched on the night.
Zhumagulov took the shutout win with scores of 30-26 across the board as he immediatelly installed himself as the top contender to face flyweight champion Sam Creasey early in 2025.
Best of the rest…
The main card also saw a hard-earned unanimous decision victory for Gjoni Palokaj, who edged Karol Rysavy in a back-and-forth war, and “The Prince of Bratislava” Robert Pukac went toe to toe with English striker Ammari Diedrich over three all-action rounds to claim a hugely popular win in front of his home fans.
There was also a victory for French veteran Damien Lapilus, who stopped Frantisek Fodor early in the first round of their 72kg catchweight bout.
Oktagon 63: Official results
MAIN CARD
- Ivan Buchinger def. Hafeni Nafuka TKO (punches) – Round 2, 3:23
- Leandro Silva def. Mate Kertesz via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Robert Pukac def. Ammari Diedrick via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
- Gjoni Palokaj def. Karol Rysavy via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
- Damien Lapilus def. Frantisek Fodor via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:19
- Zhalgas Zhumagulov def. Aaron Aby via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Jack Maguire def. Radek Rousal via submission (triangle choke) – Round 2, 3:44
- Roman Paulus def. Janne Elonen-Kulmala via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 3, 2:12
- Veronika Smolkova def. Mileide Simplicio via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:06
- Tomas Ciganik def. Kevin Enz via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
