Akonne ‘The Jedi’ Wanliss will now fight at OKTAGON 56 following an incident with his opponent's coaches.
Wanliss (7-2) is the sole UK fighter in OKTAGON MMA’s €1 million Tipsport Gamechanger tournament, which began this past weekend in Ostrava.
In the round-of-16, Wanliss was scheduled to take on Swedish striking phenomenon, Sahil Siraj. However, after a heated interaction at the press conference, Wanliss was attacked by two of Siraj’s coaches, resulting in the promotion having to pull the fight, just hours before the pair were due to step into the cage.
Both fighters will remain in the €1 million tournament, with their first-round bout being rescheduled for OKTAGON 56, when OKTAGON MMA returns to the UK. Wanliss, who is from Wolverhampton and calls Team Renegade in Birmingham his home, will now headline the event.
Akonne Wanliss commented: “First of all, I want to apologise to every single one of the OKTAGON MMA fans who were expecting The Jedi to perform this weekend.
“But I also want to thank everyone who has been showing support through this turbulent time. This is a very hard time for me and my team, for those who have shown support, thank you, and the force is with you!”
In an official statement OKTAGON said: "After Friday’s press conference, an incident occurred between Sahil Siraj's team and Akonne Wanliss.
“The latter was assaulted by two coaches while leaving the hall from which they were both banned earlier.
“Both coaches have been banned from OKTAGON MMA tournaments for life.
“Akonne Wanliss is not feeling 100% and the incident could affect his performance, although all examinations show that there were no injuries.
“Sahil Siraj was not involved in the incident and had no ability to influence its course.
“Both fighters remain in the TIPSPORT GAMECHANGER and their bout will now take place at OKTAGON 56 in Birmingham.
“We are sorry for this incident and apologize to all our fans who were present.”
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