OKTAGON middleweight champion Kerim Engizek and rising contender Matej Penaz both successfully progressed to the next stage of the €1 million Tipsport Gamechanger tournament with victories at OKTAGON 66 in Dusseldorf, Germany.
Engizek’s fight week was turned upside down when his scheduled opponent, France’s Anthony Salamone, was removed from the card due to an undisclosed doping violation.
It meant that reserve fighter Kamil Oniszczuk was drafted in to face Engizek in a hastily-rearranged main event bout, and the Pole pushed Engizek the full three-round distance in a losing effort, as Engizek claimed the unanimous decision victory to move to the next round of the tournament.

The night’s other Tipsport Gamechanger bout saw Czech contender Matej “Money” Penaz defeat German veteran David Zawada via first-round TKO as he punched his ticket to the next round in emphatic fashion.
In the co-main event, German lightweight contender Lom-Ali Eskiev stopped short-notice opponent Wanderley Junior late in the second round after a tougher-than-expected matchup for the 30-fight veteran.

Eskiev was due to face French lightweight Damien Lapilus but, in a similar situation to the main event, an undisclosed doping suspension was discovered by the promotion, and Lapilus was removed from the card. Junior stepped up, and gave Eskiev plenty of resistance early on before the German’s constant forward pressure finally took its toll in the final minute of the second round, and a barrage of strikes forced the stoppage with just 15 seconds remaining in Round 2.
The night also saw a thrilling featherweight clash between rival strikers Deniz Ilbay and Vladimir Lengal. The pair battled back and forth in a wild opening round, but after the restart, “El Pistolero” loaded up on his shots and folded Lengal with a vicious shot to the body to claim a second-round stoppage victory, and his eighth career win.

OKTAGON 66: Official results
MAIN CARD
- Kerim Engizek def. Kamil Oniszczuk via unanimous decision Tipsport Gamechanger
- Lom-Ali Eskiev def. Wanderley Junior via TKO (ground strikes) – Round 2, 4:45
- Matej Penaz def. David Zawada via TKO (knee and punches) – Round 1, 4:42 – Tipsport Gamechanger
- Deniz Ilbay def. Vladimir Lengal via knockout (body shot) – Round 2, 0:35
- Cihad Akipa def. Matous Kohout via unanimous decision
- Hojat Khajevand def. Kennedy Rayomba via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 2:20 – Tipsport Gamechanger reserve bout
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Daniel Solaja def. Raphael Federico via unanimous decision
- Emir-Can Al def. Viktor Kovac via TKO (ground strikes) – Round 1, 3:47
- Tamerlan Dulatov def. Ghith Ighzawi via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 0:16
- Zoran Solaja def. Lukas Elias via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:34
- Danielle Misteli def. Sara Smajic via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:30