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OKTAGON Challenge: England vs. Ireland full cast revealed

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OKTAGON Challenge has created MMA stars in the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Germany but now it is the turn of England and Ireland to take centre stage!

The reality TV show is an intense competition that tests eight athletes to the limit as they fight their way through a tournament bracket with the ultimate aim of becoming the winner of the series, earning a five-figure contract with OKTAGON MMA.

OKTAGON Challenge is unlike any other episodic MMA programming due to the ‘challenges’ that the athletes will compete in beyond the sports world that they are used to. Each ‘challenge’ is designed to take the fighters outside their comfort zones so fans can see the true personalities and characters behind the steely competitors.

In a format that has never been seen before on the British Isles, Team England will face Team Ireland in a rivalry that goes back generations. National pride will also be at stake when four fighters from each side battle it out under the guidance of expert team coaches to see which individual, and region, will reign supreme.

UK MMA legend, Brad Pickett, and rising talent, Akonne Wanliss, will oversee coaching duties for Team England while Irish MMA pioneer, Paddy Holohan, and Next Generation MMA star, Shem Rock, head up Team Ireland.

The eight athletes who will be competing on OKTAGON Challenge: England vs. Ireland are as follows:

Team England (coached by Brad Pickett & Akonne Wanliss)

  • George Staines (16-1 Amateur) from Hull
  • Jake McHugh (5-0 Amateur) from Liverpool
  • Hascan Gelezi (4-1, 1NC) from London
  • Beau Gavin (0-1) from Liverpool

Team Ireland (coached by Paddy Holohan & Shem Rock)

  • Matthew Elliott (2-1) from Belfast
  • Denis Frimpong (1-1) from Dublin
  • Aaron McDonald (8-3 Amateur) from Lisburn
  • Armand Herczeg (7-8 Amateur) from Dundalk

The field will be whittled down over eight episodes until only two fighters remain. Both men will then face each other in the series finale at OKTAGON 48 inside AO Arena, Manchester on November 4 – the inaugural OKTAGON MMA event in England – for ultimate glory and bragging rights.

Final broadcast details will be confirmed over the coming weeks.

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UFC Austin – Weigh-In Results

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With UFC Austin just a day away, all fighters competing tomorrow night have taken to the scales.

Let’s see who weighed in!

***

Main card (12am GMT – TNT Sports)

(#4) Beneil Dariush (156lbs) vs (#8) Arman Tsarukyan (155.5lbs) – lightweight bout

(#12) Jalin Turner (156lbs) vs (#13) Bobby Green (155lbs) – lightweight bout

(#8) Rob Font (135lbs) vs (#2 – FLW) Deiveson Figueiredo (135lbs) – bantamweight bout

(#9) Sean Brady (170lbs) vs (#11 – MW) Kelvin Gastelum (170lbs) – welterweight bout

Joaquim Silva (156lbs) vs Clay Guida (156lbs) – lightweight bout

Punahele Soriano (185.5lbs) vs Dustin Stoltzfus (185.5lbs) – middleweight bout

Prelims (9pm GMT – TNT Sports/UFC Fight Pass)

(#12) Miesha Tate (135.5lbs) vs (#13) Julia Avila (135.5lbs) – bantamweight bout

Zach Reese (185lbs) vs Cody Brundage (185lbs) – middleweight bout

Drakkar Klose (155.5lbs) vs Joe Solecki (155lbs) – lightweight bout

Rodolfo Bellato (205.5lbs) vs Ihor Potieira (204lbs) – light-heavyweight bout

Wellington Turman (171lbs) vs Jared Gooden (171lbs) – welterweight bout

Veronica Hardy (125lbs) vs Jamey-Lyn Horth (125lbs) – flyweight bout

***

For more UFC Austin content, stay tuned to Violent Money TV.

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ONE Championship To Spotlight MMA In 2024 With 60 Events Scheduled

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ONE Championship’s goal for 2023 saw them place a spotlight on the greatest fighters in Muay Thai fighters on its roster through its weekly ONE Friday Fights series. But 2024 will see the organization adjust its focus back to MMA.

In an interview with South China Morning Post this week, ONE Chairman and CEO Chatri Sityodtong discussed the outcomes of the martial arts giant’s commitment to Muay Thai over the last 12 months, and he spoke of the exciting plans ONE has for 2024 & for MMA. 

“You’re going to see MMA back in full force. We have our US stadium shows, we have Qatar, Japan. In the Philippines, we have one or two shows,” Sityodtong announced to the South China Morning Post.

“ONE Friday Fights and the Muay Thai product are very much on a firm footing now. We’ve laid the groundwork and feel very comfortable it’s running on autopilot, and now we’re able to scale up. We’ve firmly established we have the No. 1 striking property on the planet. The focus will be sharply back onto mixed martial arts.”

Arguably, the most-anticipated date on ONE’s calendar next year is its debut event in the Middle East. 

The organization was scheduled to put on an event in Qatar in December 2023, but plans were rearranged when conflict broke out nearby. 

But with 2024 looming, Sityodtong has confirmed that the show will go on in mid-spring.

“First and foremost, it is the right decision, given the sensitive circumstances in the region. Also, the war broke out right in the middle of our execution,” the ONE co-founder said.

“The good news for fans and athletes is that March 1st is 100 percent happening in Doha. Thank you to all of the stakeholders in Qatar for making it possible.”

Along with confirming the news of ONE’s first-ever show in the Middle East, Sityodtong also hinted at an event in Europe in the coming 12 months. 

While the location is still under wraps, it would make sense for the promotion to bring its exciting live show to a European country, given the amount of talent from the continent that ONE has on its roster.

“Yeah, knock on wood, I think in the next couple of weeks I will be making a major announcement for Europe, our biggest for Europe in our history,” Sityodtong teased.

“It’s very exciting.”

Roberto Soldic, Stephen Irvine, and Nico Carrillo have all been introduced to the global fanbase this past year. And with Jonathan Haggerty’s rise to two-sport stardom in the bantamweight division, there is a seemingly endless amount of firepower from the region that could feature on ONE’s debut card there.

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Can Abdisalam Kubanychbek end the curse of BRAVE CF’s Lightweight world title?

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One of the most devastating fighters to ever grace the BRAVE CF arena, Abdisalam Kubanychbek has finally earned the world title he worked hard for: he`s the undisputed BRAVE CF Lightweight champion of the world. But ahead of his first defense against Lucas ‘’Mineiro’’ Martins at BRAVE CF 77, on December 5, a curse rears its ugly head once again. In total, BRAVE CF has had seven titleholders, and none of them have been able to defend their belt.

The Lightweight world title has traveled the world, being contested in Bahrain (3 times), Brazil (2 times), Jordan, Poland, Uzbekistan, and Serbia. Each time, the champion failed to defend, losing the fight – and the belt- immediately after winning it. 

The belt has been in possession of Ottman Azaitar (Morocco), Lucas Martins (Brazil), Abdul-Kareem Al-Selwady (Jordan), Luan Santiago (Brazil), Cleiton Silva (Brazil), Amin Ayoub (France), Ahmed Amir (Egypt), and is now with Kubanychbek, widely regarded as the number one fighter from Kyrgyzstan.

On December 5, he will have a golden opportunity to break one of the biggest curses in MMA today. In front of him, lies a former victim of the curse, who’s now eager to keep it alive – Lucas ‘’Mineiro’’ is more determined than ever to regain the belt, and make history as the first-ever BRAVE CF two-time Lightweight champion of the world, and only one of two men to hold the same belt twice, after Jarrah Al-Silawi at Super Welterweight. 

For Abdisalam Kubanychbek, this is a chance to stake his claim as the most feared man on the roster and keep his undefeated BRAVE CF record alive. A chance Omok is eager to take and has prepared his whole life to achieve – from the boogeyman of the Lightweight division to its king and destroyer of curses. On December 5, it’s all to play – and fight – for.

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