A wide range of action saw a former champ in Scott Askham competing at middleweight, facing former UFC fighter Makhmud Muradov, who had parted ways with his former promotion rather suddenly despite having re-signed with the company relatively recently. The Tipsport Gamechanger tournament also continued, with Losene Keita taking on Mateusz Legierski in semifinal action.

In the main event, meanwhile, Ronald Paradeiser of Slovakia face off with Spain’s Acoidan Duque. The winner would move on to the final of the European MMA Champions League.

Where to Watch Oktagon 61

Saturday’s Oktagon offering takes place at the Winning Group Arena in Brno, Czech Republic. The action streams live on Oktagon.tv, kicking off at 12PM ET. Full results can be found below.

Oktagon 61 Results

Main Card

Ronald Paradeiser def. Acoidan Duque by TKO, Round 1, 1:28 — Tipsport Gamechanger Semifinal
Makhmud Muradov def. Scott Askham by unanimous decision
Losene Keita def. Mateusz Legierski by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 29-28) — Tipsport Gamechanger Semifinal
Lucie Pudilová def. Cecilie Bolander by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-29) — Bantamweight Title Contender
Andrej Kalašnik def. Ioannis Palaiologos by unanimous decision (29-27, 29-27, 29-27)
Vladimír Lengál def. Corey Fry by TKO (punches), Round 2, 2:25

Preliminary Card

Tomáš Hron def. Fred Sikking by TKO, Round 1  — Underground Rules
Jack Cartwright def. Mate Sanikidze by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
George Staines def. Jakub Tichota by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Radek Roušal def. Nezar Bahaji by unanimous decision (29-28, 30-27, 30-27)
Agy Sardari def. Attila Korkmaz by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27) — Tipsport Gamechanger Reserve Bout
Jan Stanovský def. Gleb Shadrin by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

The post Oktagon 61 Full Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

A number of familiar names were in action on the card, including UFC veteran Mallory Martin, who was 1-1 in the company since her arrival in 2022, and looking to build on a win this past December against Magdaléna Šormová.

In the main event, Germany’s own Christian Eckerlin faced off with Miroslav Brož in at catchweight bout, while in the co-headliner, the Tipsport Gamechanger lightweight tournament saw its opening round finish up with Losene Keita vs. Agy Sardari.

Also on the card, Georgian Mate Sanikidze, and Denmark’s Louis Glismann.

Where to Watch Oktagon 57: Eckerlin vs. Broz Full

Saturday, April 4, 2024 sees Oktagon 57 take place at the Festhalle Frankfurt in Frankfurt, Germany. The full card streams live via Oktagon.tv; full results from the event can be found below.

Oktagon 57: Eckerlin vs. Broz Full Results

Main Card

Christian Eckerlin def. Miroslav Brož by KO, Round 2, 4:49
Losene Keita def. Agy Sardari by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28) – Tipsport Gamechanger Opening Round
Pavol Langer def. Marc Doussis by KO, Round 1, 4:06
Farbod Iran Nezhad def. Mate Sanikidze by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Louis Glismann def. Łukasz Siwiec by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 29-27)
Matouš Kohout def. Islam Khapilaev by unanimous decision (29-27, 29-28, 29-28)

Preliminary Card

Max Holzer def. Eemil Kurhela by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 2, 1:53
Beno Adamia def. Stipe Brčić by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Mallory Martin def. Anita Bekus by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Endrit Brajshori def. Tayo Odunjo by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Laura Kirtzel def. Sandra Peterhoff by submission (rear-naked choke), Round 1, 2:09 – Projekt Y Bantamweight Semi Final
Haifa Reso def. Erika Tomm by TKO, Round 3, 1:58 – Projekt Y Bantamweight Semi Final

The post Oktagon 57: Eckerlin vs. Broz Full Results appeared first on Cageside Press.

Who could the promotion bring in to bolster the ranks? We’ve got our 10 Featherweight Prospects the UFC Should Sign in 2023 list ready!

Here’s a look at last year’s list, featuring only one current UFC roster member, William Gomis, signing with the UFC in 2022:

Edwin Cooper Jr.
Jack Jenkins
Sebastian Kotwica
Tae Kyun Kim
William Gomis
Jordan Vucenic
Gabriel Alves Braga
Mansur Azhiev
Busurmankul Abdibait
Jonas Bilharinho

Don’t miss the previous entries in this series:

10 Heavyweight Prospects the UFC Should Sign in 2023
10 Light Heavyweight Prospects the UFC Should Sign in 2023
10 Middleweight Prospects the UFC Should Sign in 2023
10 Welterweight Prospects the UFC Should Sign in 2023
10 Lightweight Prospects the UFC Should Sign in 2023

It’s featherweight’s time to shine. Let’s go!

The post 10 Featherweight Prospects the UFC Should Sign in 2023 appeared first on Cageside Press.

The Georgian wave of MMA has been well documented over the past few years. Fighters like Merab Dvalishvili, Giga Chikadze, Roman Dolidze, Levan Chokheili and others have made their mark in promotions including the UFC and Bellator MMA. Sanikidze (9-2), known as “NextGen,” is now on the radar after securing the featherweight title under the Oktagon banner earlier this month.

Sanikidze has the likes of UFC bantamweight Dvalishvili suggesting that “NextGen” is next, in fact. That’s high praise from a fellow fighter that Sanikidze believes has all the tools to become a world champion some day, he told Cageside Press in a recent interview.

Thanking Dvalishvili and wishing him luck in his own career, Sanikidze told us via translator that “it makes me so proud, it makes me so happy to hear that from such a guy like Merab, who is a successful man in the sport,” going on to add that “that’s so much motivation for the young guy, for the athlete who has big goals and dreams in his career, to become successful, to become the champion and to show the world that he’s the best.”

The Georgian wants nothing more than to make his people proud, saying “I would love to share my happiness with my people, because we are a small country who cheers together all the time. I just want to prove what Merab said, and I feel like I can prove what he said and show the world that I’m one of the best among them.”

Proving that will mean continuing to win, of course. Sanikidze had done that through six straight fights, claiming gold against the previously undefeated Jacub Tichota on December 3. Next up, there are talks of a fight with Losene Keita, either at featherweight or for the Oktagon MMA lightweight title. There’s still another champ out there as well, Ivan Buchinger.

Sanikidze admits that as champ, there are a lot of options for him, and a lot of offers on the table. More will come in the new year, he expects. But as he sees it, “it doesn’t matter who will be next in front of me. Maybe Buchinger, maybe Losene Keita, whether is be at lightweight, featherweight, or even the bantamweight division.”

“I know that I’m the best here, and I have to prove that I’m the best. It doesn’t matter if I’m the best in Europe or even the U.S.A., I have to prove to the world that I’m the best,” Sanikidze added. “I’m always thinking about letting the world count my belts in every promotion that I join.”

The mention of a bantamweight run might come as a surprise, but Sanikidze believes making the limit there will not be an issue.

“It’s not gonna be hard for me, because I’ve done it already in my early career,” he told Cageside Press. “The last night before the official weigh-ins, all the fighters had a rough weight cut, they tried to cut the last pounds. But me, before the official weigh-ins, the last night I had a dinner. I ate what I wanted to eat before the official weigh-ins, and in the morning I made weight easily, without problems.”

“When I did bantamweight in my early career, that was a little bit hard for me, because I didn’t know how to do that, and I had made mistakes during the weight cut — but I did it. And now I think that I learned many things about weight cutting, and it’s going to be much easier for me to go down to bantamweight.”

As far as the future is concerned, there’s also the chance Mate Sanikidze eventually moves to a promotion like the UFC. A good chance. “Of course, U.S.A. is in my mind always, and I’m always thinking about continuing my career in the United States,” he stated.

The post Oktagon MMA’s Mate Sanikidze Wants World to “Count My Belts in Every Promotion That I Join” appeared first on Cageside Press.

Our original Scouting the Globe series singled out the following five prospects from Georgia:

• Ilia Topuria is ranked #15 at bantamweight in the UFC.
• Guram Kutateladze who is 1-1 in the UFC.
• Zviad Lazishvili who was recently released by the UFC.
• Levan Chokheli is signed with Bellator and is 1-2 for them.
• Amiran Gogoladze who fights on the Contender Series this season.

Here’s who we’ve singled out in 2022.

Welterweight, Amiran Gogoladze (14-2)