With Oktagon 48 set to take place in Manchester on November 4, shown live on DAZN, there are a host of reasons to watch the MMA extravaganza.
Jake vs. Paul
For the past ten months, UK celebrity Jake Quickenden, and scouse comedian, Paul Smith have been immersing themselves in the martial arts lifestyle. In a bout dubbed ‘Stage to the Cage’, the pair have completely dedicated their lives to MMA training, and they get the opportunity to showcase their skills on November 4th at Manchester’s iconic AO Arena.
Oktagon Challenge - Shem Rock and Akonne Wanliss
OKTAGON MMA are story-tellers. Showcasing the incredible personal stories of their fighters is their priority, and this has been proven with their documentary series, OKTAGON Challenge: England vs Ireland. The series has championed eight up-and-coming MMA fighters from England and Ireland, and OKTAGON 48 will play host to the final of the show. In addition, England co-coach Akonne Wanliss, and Irish co-coach, Shem Rock will also appear on the card, as they both look to climb the OKTAGON MMA Lightweight rankings.
Flyweight title fight
The first ever OKTAGON MMA flyweight champion will be crowned. Welshman Aaron Aby will take on UFC veteran Elias Garcia in a bout which will headline OKTAGON 48. History is on the line as these two flyweight scrappers look to have gold wrapped around their waist in Manchester.
The crowd
The biggest MMA promotion in Europe, OKTAGON MMA has been selling out 20,000+ seater arenas in Europe for the past few years. Now, they make their UK debut, and there is no better place to begin their UK journey than Manchester. The biggest arena in the UK will host a night of packed out MMA action, with one of the most stacked cards of the year. This is the first of many OKTAGON MMA UK events, and the crowd will be electric. Shem Rock is looking forward to seeing his fans take over the AO Arena: "I'm super excited to see the turnout of the fans.
Me and Paul Smith are going to bring a large number of scousers, we are going to have the venue rocking. I think this is going to be the first time in my career where every single fan in the arena is going to be on my side and booing my opponent. I'm used to it being the other way around, people giving me stick from the sidelines!"
Ondrej Novotny
The OKTAGON MMA co-founder isn’t your ordinary MMA front man. Commentator, ring announcer and promoter, Novotny has become a hero in Eastern Europe. His iconic catch-phrase 'Jedeme Bomby' reverberates around arenas, with the whole crowd joining Novotny in his chorus. Recently nominated for ‘Leading Man’ at the World MMA Awards, UK fans are sure to love the enigmatic Czech.