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OKTAGON 34 | Vémola and Ilić headline in showdown for the vacant light heavyweight title

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OKTAGON 34 emanates from Prague, Czech Republic on Saturday 23rd July and promises to be an event like no other this summer. Taking place in a spectacular outdoor tennis stadium under the night’s sky, a capacity crowd will provide an electric atmosphere for the most eye-catching show of the year. A host of popular fighters will be competing in the open air, looking to continue their own stories in some fascinating matchups.

‘The Terminator’ has acquired a new target and he will be descending upon Štvanice hunting ‘The Joker’ in a huge European clash.

Czech MMA superstar, Karlos Vémola, intends to further his legacy by winning an OKTAGON MMA title in a second weight division when he takes on European standout, Aleksandar Ilić, for the vacant light heavyweight title in the evening’s main event.Vémola was originally scheduled to face Rafael Xavier but the Brazilian withdrew from the bout.

Vémola (32-6) is a pioneer of the sport in his home country and ‘The Terminator’ attracts huge crowds whenever he competes. The former OKTAGON MMA middleweight champion, who never lost his title inside the cage, returned to competition after a lengthy injury last month to defeat Michał Pasternak in the first round. Following that bout, the other ‘Terminator’ in the promotion, Stephan Puetz, who is also hungry for the light heavyweight title, made it known he is eying a future fight with Vémola to decide who the true ‘Terminator’ in the organisation is. Vémola must put this heightening feud on hold for the time being and is determined to look as dominant as ever when he welcomes another big personality to OKTAGON MMA.

Ilić (13-4) is a KSW veteran, best known for his stunning, highlight-reel knockout over Olympic bronze medallist in wrestling, Damian Janikowski, so he has history when it comes to upsetting grappling specialists. ‘The Joker’ has finished 9 of his 13 victories by TKO/KO and carries significant power in all limbs. He is the most dangerous threat Vémola has faced in recent years and is extremely confident he will earn the biggest win of his career. Who will become the king of the light heavyweight division? ‘The Terminator’ or ‘The Joker’?

The co-main event sees former OKTAGON MMA lightweight champion, Mateusz Legierski (7-1), return to the promotion in an important battle for the weight class. ‘Dynamit’ has never been defeated in the organisation and hopes that continues when he faces fan-favourite, Matouš Kohout (7-4). The man known as ‘Mighty Rooster’ has won his last three bouts, but Legierski represents a step up in competition. Could a contender for newly crowned lightweight champion, Losene Keita, emerge from this contest?

Elsewhere on the card, previous welterweight title challenger, Máté Kertész (11-5, 1NC), who has been training at AKA, takes on Vladislav Kanchev (12-6-2) in an exciting bout. Former Glory kickboxer, Daniel Škvor (3-1), wants to make it four wins in a row when he returns to action at 205lbs and #1 ranked Czech bantamweight, Filip Macek (26-16-1), aims to continue his quest back to the top of the division.

OKTAGON 34 will be broadcast live around the world on OKTAGON.TV.

Current OKTAGON 34 Fight Card
July 23rd – Štvanice, Prague
 
Main Event
Vacant OKTAGON MMA Light Heavyweight Title
Karlos Vémola (32-6) vs. Aleksandar Ilić (13-4)
 
Co-Main Event
Lightweight
Mateusz Legierski (7-1) vs. Matouš Kohout (7-4)
 
Welterweight
Máté Kertész (11-5, 1NC) vs. Vladislav Kanchev (12-6-2)
 
Featherweight
Dawid Kareta (4-2) vs. Roman Paulus (8-1)
 
Lightweight
Jan Široký (11-13, 1NC) vs. Tomáš Fiala (7-5, 1NC)
 
Light Heavyweight
Daniel Škvor (3-1) vs. Panagiotis Stroumpoulis (14-7)
 
Featherweight
David Moon (9-5) vs. Michal Konrád (8-8)
 
Middleweight
Michal Kotalík (6-4) vs. Ole Magnor (6-6)
 
Bantamweight
Filip Macek (26-16-1) vs. Mikael Silander (20-9)
 
Bantamweight
Cornelia Holm (4-4) vs. Róża Gumienna (4-2)
 
Welterweight
Václav Holota (6-1) vs. Max Handanagić (8-5-1)
 
Lightweight
Simeon Kapuya (2-0) vs. Martin Pipek (Pro Debut)

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SEAN O’MALLEY GETS THE ALL CLEAR TO BOX BY UFC

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The whirlwind surrounding Ryan Garcia’s victory over Devin Haney last weekend is just beginning to settle down but it seems the controversial boxer is intent on staying in the headlines as he eyes UFC champion, Sean O’Malley.

The bizarre lead up to the fight with Haney was plagued with erratic behaviour on Garcia’s part, rumours of a mental breakdown, signs of alcohol and drug issues, and  generally controversial behaviour. Garcia missed weight by 3.2lbs, and appeared to chug a beer on the scales during the weigh ins. 

Entering the fight as an underdog, Garcia surprised everybody by dropping Haney three times and emerging victorious by majority decision. After the fight, Garcia insisted he  drank and smoked every day in the build up to the fight and still picked up the win. This  shocking turn of events has now opened up a variety of possible lucrative match ups for Garcia going forward, and it seems one MMA superstar wants a piece of that action. 

The UFC hasn’t sanctioned a boxing crossover bout since Conor McGregor faced Floyd Mayweather back in 2017. ‘Suga’ Sean O’Malley has long campaigned for the  opportunity to test his striking skills against Garcia, and this week on his podcast The Timbo Sugar Show, he insisted that the UFC have already given him the green light to  seek out some opportunities in the boxing ring: 

A boxing fight’s possible for sure. I’m not there yet. I’ve still got to become bigger. Two  more f*cking sick performances, then we’re talking about being able to do it. 

O’Malley continued: “They told me ‘You can do a boxing fight, 100 percent, if it makes us enough money’. The option is there, it just has to be able to make enough money. But Ryan being a f*cking freak like that, you need two A-sides to make a f*cking Floyd v Conor fight”. 

Ryan Garcia tweeted an image of himself and O’Malley this week with the caption: “RAINBOW CACA BRAIN. WANTS TO BOX. BE PREPARED TO BLEED RAINBOW” 

Sean O’Malley became the UFC’s bantamweight champion when he knocked out Aljamain Sterling at UFC 292 last August. He then defended the belt and avenged the only loss on  his record when he dominated Marlon Vera over five rounds at UFC 299 in March.

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ALEX PEREIRA REJECTS FIGHT WITH MAGOMED ANKALAEV

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The next step in the fascinating UFC journey of Alex Pereira remains to be seen. ‘Poatan’ pulled off a sensational knockout finish over Jamahal Hill in the first round of their main  event bout at UFC 300 to defend his light heavyweight belt. 

Credit: MMA Fighting

In his post-fight interview, the Brazilian called for the opportunity to compete at  heavyweight at UFC 301 which takes place in Rio De Janeiro in just a couple of weeks. UFC president Dana White seemed unenthusiastic about that idea, however, and it  seems now that the dust has settled after 300, Pereira is a little more willing to take his  time before signing up for his next fight. 

In an interview with MMA Fighting’s Trocacao Franca podcast, Pereira was asked if he’d  rather defend his 205lb title again or test the waters in the heavyweight division. He responded: 

“It’s hard to answer that. I haven’t thought too much about it yet. If it’s a longer period of  time, I’d obviously rather defend my belt. If it takes too long and I fight at heavyweight  and there are injuries, when am I going to defend my belt? I don’t want to hold up the  division. 

I was imagining the best-case scenario when I called for a heavyweight fight at UFC 301,  but I have two broken toes. Both feet are f*cked. It’s complicated. I don’t want to hold up  the light heavyweight division. A cool scenario would have been fighting at heavyweight at 301 and then giving the opportunity to someone to fight for the light heavyweight belt  next. I think that would have been cool”. 

205lb contender Magomed Ankalaev has called for a fight with Pereira on the UFC’s  October pay-per-view card in Abu Dhabi, but ‘Poatan’ brushed that idea off instantly, saying: 

I don’t want to fight at the end of the year. I want to fight sooner, so maybe that shows  he won’t be ready. I don’t know why he said that. This guy is complicated”. 

If Pereira manages to get another win under his belt and is ready to go again before the  end of the year, he said he would much rather compete on the Madison Square Garden  event in November, which is closer to his current home in Danbury. 

“It makes total sense” he said. “Wait one more month and I’m fighting at home? It’s so much better”.

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“This Is A Stage I Have To Challenge On” – Masaaki Noiri Signs With ONE Championship

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ONE Championship’s striking roster has continued to flourish in 2024, and it got even stronger this week with the announcement of another elite kickboxer putting pen to paper in the world’s largest martial arts organization. Japanese megastar Masaaki Noiri has officially inked a deal with ONE, and he’s set to add further depth to the stand-up ranks. 

Noiri is a former two-division K-1 World Champion and Grand Prix Champion, and he’s also a former WBC Japanese Muay Thai Champion.

Fighting in ONE will allow him to switch between the two sports whenever he wants, and this is an exciting prospect for the 30-year-old.

“As ONE officially announced, I have signed a contract with ONE Championship, the highest stage for striking. If I want to pursue being the strongest in the world that I believe in, this is a stage I have to challenge on,” Noiri said. 

“I believe ONE is the ultimate stage for striking, so I wanted to challenge myself in that ring. I’m pursuing to be the strongest in the world through martial arts, so I chose this path to test if the current Masaaki Noiri can make it in ONE.”

It would be remiss of ONE’s hottest new signing not to have World Title ambitions as he embarks on his new journey. 

However, along with gold, Noiri’s looking to show the world what strikers from his country can do, and he hopes a world-class compatriot can help him in that mission.

“[My plan is] to definitely win the ONE world title,” Noiri said. 

“Not just me, but together with Takeru Segawa. And we’ll prove the strength of Japanese fighters to the world.”

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