The Hamburg-based card was another big night for Oktagon, which has become the preeminent promotion in European MMA. Ciganik (6-2) has fought for Cage Warriors and a number of other regional shows, and is now 2-1 under the Oktagon MMA banner.

“I feel very good. It was a close fight, I was expecting it would be a finish until the second round,” Ciganik told Cageside Press following the fight. After the second, mind you, he expected the final frame to be a war.

When it came time to hear from the judges, Ciganik believed he had done enough. Yet at the same time, he was well aware that it was a close fight.

“I believed myself that I won. I jumped on the cage after the fight; I was happy. But always it’s like, I know this was a close fight. So in my head was like, I can lose. But I believed that I won.”

At weigh-ins on Friday, Halimson, a German born in Afghanistan, had given Ciganik a good shove. That said, it didn’t create any real bad blood. Instead, the Slovak fighter kept his cool.

“No, no [there was no bad blood] but I was like, I know that Afghan mentality is very hard, so I wanted to show him that I’m the harder man,” explained Ciganik. “On morning weigh-ins, I saw on video that he wanted to push me first time.” Yet when Ciganik didn’t lean in, the opportunity wasn’t there. Instead, Halimson got physical in the ceremonial weigh-in that afternoon.

“I told myself, I was like calm, but I saw in him that he don’t control his emotions. That’s it. I control my emotions, I did nothing. I just saw him, that he didn’t control his emotions,” stated Ciganik.

“This sport is hard but you need to be calm,” he continued, noting that had he punched Halimson, “okay, yeah maybe we fight on weigh-ins. But I was calm. I was just looking into his eyes, and I wanted a hard fight, and he pushed me. So I don’t think it was better for me in the fight, because he is hard, but I just saw in him that he don’t know [how] control his emotions. And I was calm in this situation, and I was happy for this.”

As for his next fight, Ciganik doesn’t have a name in mind, and without a finish at Oktagon 73, didn’t feel it was appropriate to call anyone out. He does, however, have a card in mind, with Oktagon returning to his native Slovakia for a show in Bratislava this October.

Watch our full interview with Oktagon 73’s Tomas Ciganik above. 

The post Oktagon 73: Tomas Ciganik On Close Fight With Halimson, Weigh-in Shove appeared first on Cageside Press.

Martin went 1-3 in her UFC stint, but the former Invicta FC fighter then landed in Oktagon, losing her debut only to win her next four, including a rematch against Katharina Dalisda that earned the American the Oktagon MMA strawweight championship.

At Oktagon 70 over the weekend, Martin (11-6) defended her title for the first time in a one-sided scrap with Eva Dourthe.

“It just feels so good. You know you’re not a champion until you defend the belt, so I felt like I really did the job, and I feel like I am a champion now,” Martin told Cageside Press following the fight. “I’m just really proud of myself.”

Dalisda was supposed to have competed at Oktagon 70, and a win for the ex-champ would have built hype for a rubber match between her and Martin, given the pair’s career series sits at 1-1. Mallory Martin, for one, wasn’t worried that Dalisda pulled out of the event.

“I heard she got sick, and things happen. But going into this fight, even in the locker room, I kept telling myself I can do it, I can do it. But I also was saying, if Dalisda can do it, I can do it,” stated Martin. “Dalisda beat this girl twice. Why not me? Why not Mallory Martin? And so I just held that in my heart. I went out there last fight and I had a dominant performance against Dalisda, and Dalisda put away this girl twice. Why can’t I do what Dalisda did?”

Martin happens to be one of the few Americans competing for Oktagon MMA, which has become a key player in European MMA with sold out shows in Germany and the Czech Republic now a regular occurrence.

“Amazing. Amazing. I have no words for that, it’s really cool just to be able to travel the world and come out here and fight for the European fans,” Martin said of repping the U.S. in Oktagon. “And I feel like the European fans are ten times better than the American fans. So it’s just really cool to come out here and travel the world.”

Watch our full interview with Oktagon 70’s Mallory Martin, the promotion’s reigning strawweight champion, above.

The post Oktagon 70: Champ Mallory Martin Says Euro Fans “10 Times Better” Than American Fans appeared first on Cageside Press.

Vosgrone earned a submission win over Jorick Montagnac at Oktagon 69 on Saturday, his third submission victory in as many fights. No surprise, coming from a grappler who has found success at Polaris and the IBJJF World No-Gi Championship.

“It’s incredible to fight before all these fans, to win. It feels amazing, I feel at home, I feel I belong here,” Vosgrone told Cageside Press following his victory at Oktagon 69 in Dortmund, Germany. “I think this’ll be my home for a while.”

“Coming from jiu-jitsu where you’re on your own, you’d prer for your own tourneys, get treated poorly, it feels great to be well-cared for here. I’m excited for my next fight, and yeah, my career needs this.”

Few MMA events except the UFC and ONE Champion “sell out areans like this,” the German light heavyweight added. “So nothing beats this, and it was a home crowd. I never, when I started martial arts 13 years ago, I never imagined fighting in Germany with such support.”

Vosgrone admits that just weeks before the fight, he sustained a severe knee injury that left him unable to walk for a week, something he hadn’t revealed previously. His meniscus, already weakened, was injured further – making the win on Saturday that much more impressive.

Still very young in his MMA journey, the idea of fighting Will Fleury has already popped up, thanks in no small part to Fleury himself, who reacted positively to Vosgrone’s debut.

“I think a fight between me and Will Fleury, we’re both very strong fighters, it would come down to endurance,” Vosgrone suggested. “I don’t think either of us will dominate from the start, take the fight home from the beginning. Instead, I think it will be a real battle. Just about who’s tougher between us. And I think it’ll be the most intense fight for fans, maybe in all of Oktagon. I don’t think any two fighters go all out like Will and I.”

Watch our full interview with Oktagon 69’s Frederic Vosgrone above.

The post Frederic Vosgrone Reacts To Sub Of Montagnac, Possible Fleury Fight appeared first on Cageside Press.

Yet while he’d no doubt like to start plotting his next move, Fleury has been held up by an injury sustained in the Todev fight.

“It’s been good, but I’ve had a frustrating situation. I broke my thumb pretty badly in the fight. That now requires surgery. I’m going to get that surgery on Monday. That’s going to be eight weeks of healing roughly, and then another probably two, two and a half months of getting back in condition,” Fleury (15-3, 1NC) told Cageside Press at this past weekend’s Oktagon 69. “And then I’m in fight shape. So it’ll probably be about four and a half months before I can fight. That pisses me off a lot but at the same time, having just won the belt, it’s not a bad place to be.”

The mental struggle of being forced to sit on the sidelines is real, but Fleury has been here before, having dealt with injuries more than once. “I’m good at dealing with it now. It is hard. Honestly, not being able to get out kind of the frustrations of life by training, it’s something I’ve had to adapt to.”

“Eventually there’s going to be a day I can’t do this anymore. I fear that day,” he admitted. As for his thumb and current downtime, “I know at least I’m going to be able to train in a couple of months, or weeks. The main thing is, I can still use my legs, I can practice my kicks, I can do whatever. It’s just my hand that’s injured. After the surgery there’s two weeks of zero exercise. That’s going to be tough. For me, I’m still training kind of twice a day, just messing around, not as intense but just playful. So I’m going to find that really hard.”

When it does come time for Will Fleury to make his next move, it might be a drop to middleweight. Fleury has talked about pursuing a third title, and favors a fight with UFC veteran Makhmud Muradov, who is expected to fight for gold later this year.

“I want to fight the best guys. Right now it looks like the best guys are at middleweight, so if they’re there, cool I’m going to be at middleweight. If the best guys start to be at heavyweight, if they sign, thanks, and if people want to see a rematch between me and [Lazar] Todev, cool I’ll go and do that,” stated Fleury. “Honestly, whatever is going to sell and look class and be like ‘oh sh*t this guy is an amazing fighter.’ Whatever fight I have to do to do that, to keep proving ‘f*ck you I’m the best guy here,’ I’ll go and do that.”

Watch our full interview with Oktagon MMA double champ Will Fleury above.

The post Oktagon Double-Champ Will Fleury Reveals Injury Timeline appeared first on Cageside Press.

That left Walid (8-4) in high spirits following a successful promotional debut.

“I feel good, I feel good. I have pain in my head, I was asking my coach, ‘is it normal that I have pain?’ Of course, because I was in a fight,” he joked.

Walid was aware of the caliber of fighter he was facing heading into the fight, which arrived on the Oktagon 69 preliminary card. Though he’s fought experienced opponents before, Walid did acknowledge that there was a deficit between himself and Aby in that department. What didn’t worry him however was Aby’s power.

“He has good experience, he has two times more fights than me, and I knew this guy always goes to decision. I was not afraid of his power, I knew I was more powerful than him,” Walid told Cageside Press following the bout. “I felt in the first round, his punch, it was okay, but I respect his experience, I respect the things he’s gone through in his life, I respect everything and I knew what was coming. I was prepared 100% with my team, with coach David, with my teammates. I was ready for it.”

Walid later elaborated on strategy, which amounted to dragging Aby into deep waters and seeing if he could swim. Though any means necessary.

“The game plan was to make him tired. Even if he took me down, I was using this moment because it’s not easy to hold someone down. And I could stand up, but I just gave a little bit more time so he gets more tired, and you saw the result. In the third round I clubbed him with the left hook, and I almost finished the fight. But I’m so happy with the result.”

Aby was ranked at #3 ahead of the bout, and there’s a chance Walid lands in that spot now. Which puts him in the running for Oktagon flyweight champion Beno Adamia, a fighter he faced outside the promotion earlier in their respective careers. Walid lost a split decision in that 2022 encounter, and would very much like the chance to avenge the loss.

“I want the title, because I fought Beno, I lost to him, split decision. And now he’s the champ, he has the belt. Of course I want my belt, and I want this victory because for me, it will be something so nice in my career,” Walid stated.

Which matters more, the belt, or vengeance? “Both of them, but my focus is on the title,” answered Walid. “Whoever has the title, I’m going to go for it. I want the belt, it’s my belt, I want to feel it here on my belly. And I want to be the new face, first Kurdish flyweight out of Germany.”

Watch our full Oktagon 69 post-fight interview with Mohammed Walid above.

The post Oktagon 69: Mohammed Walid Wants Title, And Revenge on Beno Adamia appeared first on Cageside Press.

Opponent Aleksandar Stefanovic had missed weight for the bout, and after a triangle submission finish by Hosek, the pair had to be separated after getting into a shouting match, with numerous officials entering the cage to get between them.

Then, cooler heads prevailed— an embrace, and Stefanovic went as far as to carry Hosek on his shoulders to celebrate his win.

Following the fight, Hosek (12-6-1) told Cageside Press that he was “not so happy” with how things played out, in part because he had planned to keep the fight standing, rather than have to battle it out on the ground.

“He was very heavy and took me on the ground; I made a triangle, but it was not my plan. It’s not bad, because many opponents can see this fight, and they will be thinking I’m good in the stand-up, on the ground, everywhere,” noted Hosek. “So maybe it’s good for me.”

In response to Stefanovic missing weight, Hosek stated that he didn’t particularly care, but at the same time, felt the difference in the fight itself.

“I didn’t care about his weight. I said I don’t care, but in this fight when he took me on the ground and was just holding me, it was not so good because it was very hard to take him out,” admitted Hosek. Still, fighting on the ground, “I was getting a new experience,” he added.

As for the confrontation at the end, which Hosek sparked after screaming at his opponent following the win, “I was angry because of many things,” he revealed. “It was because he was very heavy, he had more than five kilograms on the weight, and now he has 10 kilograms more than me [on the night of the fight]. But I was angry because something hit me in the eye, it was his finger. I think maybe he didn’t want to do it, but he was just touching, touching, and he took my neck, like this [gestures], and in this moment I think he hit my eye and my neck. So I was angry about everything.”

Thankfully, all involved made the right call to focus on sportsmanship. Hosek, a KSW veteran, earned the win in his first fight for Oktagon since 2021.

Watch our full interview with Oktagon 69’s David Hosek above.

The post Oktagon 69: David Hosek Reacts to Opponent’s Weight Miss, Post-Fight Confrontation appeared first on Cageside Press.

He was definitely not taking Charriere lightly.

“He’s a super talented guy. I was not nervous of the fight, but I was never underestimating him. I know how dangerous he is,” Wood told reporters including Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum.

“He’s a former Cage Warriors champion. He had a massive support. The amount of messages I’ve been getting from the French fans…I had a lot of pressure on me.”

Wood (21-6) gave Charriere his second UFC loss, but he may have paid for it with an injury to his foot. Wood wasn’t sure how bad it was, but knows he needs to get it checked out.

“If I’m honest I need to get my foot checked. I don’t know if it’s broken, and I’m just going to go home, give my daughter a kiss, and walk the dog,” he said.

The featherweight then weighed in on what he loved about MMA.

“I’m an athlete and I’m a very competitive athlete. Mixed martial arts is the most competitive sport on the planet. We don’t rely on a team as such like football or soccer,” he said.

“It’s me versus another man and that for me is what I like most. Martial arts is about respect, being humble. I think if everyone learned martial arts the world would be a better place.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Nathaniel Wood above.

The post Nathaniel Wood Reveals Possible Broken Foot, Shows Respect For Charriere appeared first on Cageside Press.

“At the end of the day I love fighting, and I realize we’re in the entertainment business,” Kavanagh told reporters including Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum.

“If I can be entertaining while it’s getting to the top then I’m all for it.”

Kavanagh (9-0) continues his undefeated career with the win over dos Santos. With a bright future ahead Kavanagh knows it’s a bit early to call out names.

“I don’t have a hit list as such. I don’t know too many people, I don’t watch UFC that much, but whatever my manager Jose Diaz and my coaches say, I’m up for it,” he said.

“For me, I’m always about one fight at a time, so whatever’s next I’m happy.”

One of the highlights of the night for Kavanagh was getting a visit from the former UFC featherweight champion Ilia Topuria. Topuria went to congratulate Kavanagh and have a few words with him.

“I’m a big fan of Ilia. I love watching his fights. I go on TikTok I watch his highlights, and then him walking into the change room, saying that he likes my style,” he said.

“I’m like oh what’s going on here, but yeah it was awesome. He said nothing but nice things.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Lone’er Kavanagh above.

The post Lone’er Kavanagh Wants To Entertain And Win, Details Topuria Visit appeared first on Cageside Press.

The Polish heavyweight is hoping to remain on the roster and continue to climb the rankings.

“Today my contract with the UFC ended, that was my last fight, so right now I’ll be hoping (to) get a new one,” Tybura told reporters including Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum.

“This fight was about (proving) that I still belong in the top 10.”

Tybura (27-9) holds a 14-8 record in his run with the UFC, and 3-2 in his last fight bouts. His losses came at the hands of Serghei Spivac and current interim heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall.

His last two opponents were up-and-comers Parkin and Jhonata Diniz who are good fighters, but won’t help Tybura continue his rise. He hopes for someone with a number higher than his next.

“Two (wins) in a row, very talented opponents, so anyone (next). I feel like UFC (is) taking care of me just today I (fought) someone lower (ranked), last time too, and (I’ve) earned someone (ranked higher) than me,” he said.

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Marcin Tybura above.

The post Marcin Tybura Reveals Parkin Fight Was Last On UFC Contract appeared first on Cageside Press.

If pressure creates diamonds then mindsets might be what keeps them gleaming.

“Obviously you’d be under pressure. You’re in your first contract and coming off a loss,” Loughran told Cageside Press at his post-fight scrum.

“Winning’s a habit, but losing’s also a habit. So yeah put pressure on myself coming into this one. I felt I performed ok.”

Loughran (10-2) took a close split-decision victory over Fletcher at UFC London, but he wasn’t very confident when Bruce Buffer read the score cards. Ultimately he came out with the win and credited the ‘dog’ in him for pushing through adversity.

“I was in there I was like f*ck I thought they were going to take this away from me. It’s good to get in the win column. You just can’t teach ‘dog’,” he said.

“When the fight was in the bounds I pushed on a wee bit more. That’s something I’ll be proud of, you know what I mean? You just can’t teach ‘dog’.”

It’s still early on in 2025 and plenty of time for a mostly un-injured Loughran, who suffered a cut during the fight, and he’s got a wish list of fighters and a location.

“You know what I just want to fight in Abu Dhabi. Time-wise it just works well,” he said.

“It’s kind of a hub for MMA. I’d love to fight (Raul) Rosas (Jr). I was in Vegas, we were on the mat together, but we didn’t spar. I’d like to fight Cameron Saaiman if he can get a win.”

Watch the entire post-fight scrum with Caolan Loughran above.

The post Caolan Loughran: “Winning’s a habit, but losing’s also a habit.” appeared first on Cageside Press.