At Oktagon 68, Will Fleury became the third-ever two weight class world champion in the promotion, when he defeated Lazar Todev via unanimous decision. The Irishman has made waves in the European MMA scene, becoming the light heavyweight champion, and now the heavyweight champion, in the span of 322 days.
After his departure from the PFL, many thought that was it for Fleury. When asked about his journey at the Oktagon 68 press conference, Fleury talked about being in an Airbnb in Las Vegas with a broken hand, after his fight against Krzysztof Jotko.
“Considering 11 months ago I was in an Airbnb in Las Vegas with a broken hand wondering if I should quit the sport, its been quite the turnaround,” he stated. “I put in about 14 years of effort at that stage, and the thing that I’m feeling most the most this week, is a real determination to get the fruits of that work.”
Fleury certainly showed that determination in his fight with Lazar Todev. Todev, a former title challenger, did not shy away from the challenge that is Will Fleury. Going into the fifth and final round, Fleury was up on the scorecards, but was slowly beginning to fade. Todev grew into the fight as it went on, and in the fifth round, pushed extremely hard to get the finish. Through that determination, Fleury managed to finish the fight, and get the second belt wrapped around his waist.
After the fight, Fleury did not shy away from giving Todev his props, but also explained that his camp for this fight was far from ideal. Battling illness for a lot of the camp and missing training sessions being among the obstacles. “You cannot deny that I have the balls of an Elephant,” Fleury stated, speaking about the challenge of stepping up to heavyweight.
After the fight, there were some discussions of a potential move down to middleweight, and to lay claim to the Middleweight title. Were it to happen, it would see Will Fleury become the only three division champion in Oktagon MMA history.
Also at Oktagon 68, Makhmud Muradov won his fight in impressive fashion over Yasubey Enomoto, and was immediately announced for an interim title fight against Patrik Kincl in June. The winner of that fight would then be set to face the winner of the Tipsport Gamechanger Middleweight tournament, likely in early 2026.
With the middleweight division tied up, and a grueling weight cut ahead of the newly crowned “Champ Champ,” we may see Fleury defend his light heavyweight title against the winner of Poppeck vs. Langer 2 in May, around late summer, and then face the middleweight champion in 2026.
The last time Will Fleury fought at middleweight was March of 2022, when he won the UAE Warriors middleweight title. After beefing up to 238 pounds, and living the heavyweight life, Will Fleury will have to be very restrictive to make 185. No more victory beers.
Will Fleury vs. Makhmud Muradov however would be one of, if not the biggest fight in European MMA. Both fighters have a huge fanbase, and the fight would be nothing short of explosive.
