Entering the next round of the Oktagon €1 million welterweight tournament, Louis Glismann is feeling well-prepared — including on the mental side of things.
Glismann (10-2), a Danish standout on a three-fight win streak that includes a victory over UFC alum Emil Weber Meek, told Cageside Press recently that when it comes to mental preparation, “I do a lot of visualizing of the fight. I have some mantras. I prepare myself to get in the right flow state. And just doing good stuff for yourself— taking ice baths and saunas, and meditating. Focusing on finding the warriors inside you to be sharp.”
Living close to the sea, Glismann has the option to jump straight in the ocean for those ice baths. That’s one benefit to living in Copenhagen, Denmark, where mixed martial arts continues to grow.
“The sport is growing a lot, but it’s not so mainstream as like in the States. We’re still a little bit behind, but we have a lot of good fighters here,” noted Glismann. Of course, Mads Burnell and Mark O. Madsen are among the bigger Danish names in the sport — but no major promotion has been to Copenhagen since prior to COVID. The UFC did get there in 2019, however.
“That was a great show, man. It was so loud. I think definitely they should put an event here one more time,” Glismann suggested. “Because it’s also in the middle of Scandinavia; people from Norway, Sweden, Poland and Germany could arrive. The scene is growing, but there’s still a couple more steps to become a more mainstream sport like it is in the States.”
In the meantime, Glismann has his own career to focus on. Oktagon, based out of the Czech Republic, has put together the sort of money rarely seen outside the major promotions for this 16-man welterweight tournament.
“I never kind of expected it, but of course I’ve always been aiming for it. It’s a really, really great post-fight purse, I think it’s the greatest in the European tournaments,” Glismann told us regarding the potential windfall for winning the tournament. “And this Oktagon show is really great. The audience is crazy down here, there’s like 20,000 people in the O2 Arena in Prague. It’s the biggest in Europe. Yeah man to fight for this big fight purse is really great, it’s really motivating.”
Another motivational factor: Glismann has exactly the fight he was looking for heading into his second fight of the tournament. The selection process following the opening round involved a lottery — but in a stroke of luck, Glismann wound up with an early pick.
“When I went up there, there was only one guy that was standing on the bracket. And that was Melvin van Suijdam. So I actually picked to fight against Melvin van Suijdam,” Glismann noted. “That was perfect. I’d already beaten Melvin like five years ago. So my coach, when they announced this kind of lottery where you could choose your opponent if possible, my coach made a list of which fighters I should choose, and he actually put Melvin on the first part. So when I had the chance to pick him, I did, and it’s the perfect fight for me.”
Five years ago, added Glismann, he had a “a really dominant performance” in the pair’s first fight. “I did a highlight submission on him, it was a kneebar from the back, a pretty awesome submission. So I’m looking forward to extending my highlight reel with one more finish of Melvin van Suijdam.”
Watch our full interview with Oktagon 43’s Louis Glismann above.
