Three new champions had been topped at Prague’s o2 area on Saturday night as Belgian Losene Keita, Irishman Will Fleury and Norwegian Cecile Bolander all walked away with gold of their respective divisions. Rounding off an unimaginable 12 months for Europe’s record-breaking combined martial arts promotion.
The Pound For Pound Quantity One.
Losene Keita shocked followers as he completed ‘Rony’ Paradeiser in spherical quantity two of the Tipsport gamechanger last, strolling away 300 and 5 thousand euros richer after successful the efficiency of the evening bonus as he entered his twenty-seventh birthday. A second serving of their 2022 bout went the complete fifteen-minute distance in a detailed contest the place Keita simply pipped every spherical on all scorecards.
A 12 months of event MMA with 4 fights in 9 months was seemingly an excessive amount of on the physique for Paradeiser, who seemed much more torpid than the challenger to his throne as he made a determined try and shoot for takedowns, which isn’t part of his typical sport. The birthday boy, Keita, was capable of capitalize, and after an enormous left hook landed, he wasted no time and jumped on the defending champion with a floor and pound. Giving referee Marc Goddard no different choice however to waive the competition.
When talking on what’s subsequent, the Oktagon MMA pound-for-pound quantity, one joked, “I’m going as much as middleweight for subsequent season gamechanger, I’ll struggle Bolander for her title subsequent, I would like all of it, I’m double champ now, and no person can cease me!”
Will ‘F**king’ Fleury Turns into Oktagon’s First Irish Champion.
It’s been a really promising 12 months for Irish combined martial arts, seeing names rise to the cream of the crop, however none extra so than Will ‘F**king’ Fleury, who vowed to make a cost for the sunshine heavyweight title and declared conflict on Karlos Vemola’s again in February when he first signed with the organisation.
Steaming his approach by means of opposition this 12 months, he was allowed to problem ‘The Terminator’ for his crown and was assured that he would defeat the Czech MMA legend within the first spherical. Vemola had different plans, and though he was dominated, he confirmed the center of a real champion. There was an enormous second within the third spherical when Fleury landed a left knee on the chin of the champion that had him stumbling throughout the cage and seemingly out on his ft.
Fleury requested the referee to step in to forestall additional injury as he adopted it up with a number of kicks that simply wouldn’t put Vemola down. The Czech celebrity was nonetheless extremely pushed ahead, and moments later, he had his Irish opponent in a guillotine choke, however he couldn’t apply it with the intent he wanted.
Two extra brutal rounds ensued, and Fleury remained in management as he pushed by means of the unbelievable quantity of noise created for the hometown fighter. It was an unimaginable twenty-five minutes of motion the place Vemola walked away with large quantities of credibility, and Fleury walked away as the brand new gentle heavyweight champion.
Choices For The New Champion.
The Irishman seemed for what could possibly be subsequent no sooner after the struggle had completed. Within the cage, part of workforce Vemola was Makhmud Muradov, who re-signed with Oktagon MMA earlier this 12 months after going 4-2-1NC within the UFC. The middleweight contender was in all probability aggravated that his teammate had simply been crushed, so he talked his approach into a brief face-off with Fleury and opened the door to a doable match-up in 2025.
There’s additionally the opportunity of shifting as much as heavyweight as there’s a vacant belt there; nevertheless, getting into the gamechanger event at middleweight subsequent 12 months can be on the playing cards, and Fleury is aware of that might be essentially the most financially profitable if that chance had been to be introduced to him.
In addition to choices on both facet of his present division, he’s prepared to face any problem to defend his belt. He has intentions of pushing for the primary Oktagon MMA present in Eire. After three fights all on away turf, on his option to turning into king of the 205lb class, he feels he deserves a championship homecoming.
New Girls’s Bantamweight Champi0n.
Cecile Bolander was topped the brand new ladies’s bantamweight champion after 5 gruelling rounds with Lucia Pudilova. Exhibiting her emotion within the cage post-fight, she described the struggle sport because the hardest sport on the planet and the way grateful she was to be given the chance. The Norwegian was because of struggle on the undercard, however an harm to primary ranked Lucia Szabová, forcing her to withdraw from the title struggle with Pudilova, allowed Bolander to run it again with Pudilova after their first struggle in September.
Mågård Falls Brief Towards ‘The Hannibal’.
Jonas Mågård misplaced by a razor-thin cut up resolution towards Igor Severino in what proved to be the most important shock of the night. Mågård was supplied to struggle for the bantamweight championship belt towards Jack Cartwright in a extremely sought-after rematch. Nonetheless, with the latter declining a number of instances, the Dane needed to remain energetic and take one other problem with a global opponent. Talking with World In Sport submit struggle he mentioned “It was a detailed struggle, I misplaced on an opinion I assumed I bought it[the decision] but it surely’s my fault for leaving it to the judges. That’s what occurs typically, he was a very good, robust child[Severino] and I felt like his scramble shocked me a bit of bit however I shocked myself with my efficiency and may of pushed for it[the win] extra.”
Full Undercard Outcomes:
W Losene Keita def R. Paradeiser L KO/TKO, 4:02 R2
W Will Fleury def Karlos Vémola L Unanimous Dec
W C. Bolander def Lucie Pudilová L Cut up Dec
W Igor Severino def Jonas Mågård L Cut up Dec
W D. Schwindt def Radovan Úškrt L KO/TKO, 2:23 R2
W Agy Sardari def Ognjen Dimić L Sub, 1:13 R2
W Ozan Aslaner def Jakub Tichota L Cut up Dec
W Marco Novák def Eemil Kurhela L Unanimous Dec
W Peter Gabal def Benny Bajrami L Unanimous Dec
WJ. Batfalsky def D. Toporcer L KO/TKO, 1:41 R1
