The fastest growing MMA promotion in the world, OKTAGON MMA, added another incredible event to the history books this past weekend, as OKTAGON 49 headed to Cologne, Germany.
With 19,000 fans selling out the Lanxess Arena, OKTAGON MMA smashed the attendance record for a German MMA event. The previous record was held by the UFC in 2016, with 11,600.
The headline event of the night saw OKTAGON MMA crown the ‘Baddest Man in Europe’, with Hatef Moeil being crowned the new heavyweight champion. In a very tightly contested fight with Bulgarian, Lazar Todev, it was ultimately the relentless pressure of Moeil which won him the fight on the judges' scorecards.
Home crowd favourite, and former professional footballer, Christian Eckerlin was largely to thank for one of the best atmospheres from any sporting event in 2023. The German fans were left disappointed though, as their hero dropped a 29-28 unanimous points decision loss to Brazilian Leandro ‘Apollo’ Silva.
England’s Jake McHugh made his professional MMA debut, submitting his opponent via triangle in round 2. Fellow Next Generation fighter, Matthew Bonner, won via unanimous decision in a gruelling fight against former Glory kickboxer, Cihad Akipa.
Corey Fry submitted Deniz Ilbay via armbar in round one, in a performance which won him the five-thousand euro bonus.
OKTAGON MMA made its UK debut in November at Manchester’s AO Arena, in a successful first UK event for the promotion. With a busy UK schedule confirmed, with four shows in 2024, they have today gone on sale for OKTAGON 52, which heads to Newcastle’s Utilita Arena on January 27th.
OKTAGON MMA have already announced a bantamweight banger with massive title implications, as England’s Jack Cartwright takes on former champion, Jonas Magard.
Following an amazing event in Cologne, co-owner Pavol Neruda commented:
“We rewrote history tonight on the German MMA scene. Thank you to team OKTAGON, from the fighters, fans, media and everyone else was a part of this epic evening.”
The English voice of OKTAGON MMA, Bryan Lacey, added:
“Some records are there to broken, others are there to be smashed! What a night in Cologne, and a great night for the English fighters, going 3-0 on this historic night.”