Oktagon 46 Preview; Dalisda v Austin, Tipsport Gamechanger Semi-Finals

Oktagon look to solidify their dominance of the German market with yet another sold out show at Frankfurt’s Festhalle this Saturday. The 9,000 seater arena will host eleven bouts under Oktagon MMA rules, including one for a title.

In the main event, a new OKMMA Strawweight Champion will be crowned. Katharina Dalisda (9-3) will have the benefit of a hometown crowd and she trains out of MMA Spirit in the city. The 31-year-old is a hard nosed judoka who has been levelling up her striking game as of late, including winning her first knockout victory in April. The German is tough and durable. Jacinta Austin (5-1) makes the long trip over to battle for the gold. The Australian is a good submission player with an IMMAF amateur background. The 28-year-old has also competed in kickboxing and boxing. She’s never been finished and her sole loss was a split decision to recent UFC signing Josefine Knutsson. We could be set up for a gruelling twenty-five minute war here.

Oktagon 46 hosts the semi-finals of the Tipsport Gamechanger tournament, along with the reserve bouts. In the first side of the bracket, Czech MMA favourite David Kozma (32-12) competes in the co-main. “The Pink Panther” is one of Oktagon’s most successful fighters at 12-1 in the promotion, as well as being a former OKMMA Welterweight champion. As the nickname suggests, you’ll recognise him by his pink hair and attire. The 31-year-old is a very well rounded competitor with a 66% finish rate. He’s very experienced, can crack you on the feet and cause you fits in the grappling. The Karvina man won decisions against Alex Lahoré and Łukasz Siwiec to make it this far. Bojan Veličković (23-12-2) is a UFC and PFL veteran. The Serbian is an even better finisher, ending 74% before the final bell. The 34-year-old packs big power on the feet and is an accomplished submission player. Victories over Ion Surdu and Christian Jungwirth punched his ticket to the semis.

On the other side of the bracket, Louis Glismann (11-2) crosses the border in search of glory. The Dane is a submission expert and if he can get your back, your legs, your neck or your arms, you’re in grave danger. The 32-year-old is a blanket on top. He beat Andrej Kalašnik and Melvin van Suijdam to qualify. Andreas Michailidis (15-6) is a UFC and Bellator veteran. The Greek is a well rounded finisher who has won six of his fights by knockout and six by submission. The 35-year-old has a bit of flair in his kickboxing which adds excitement to his fights. His path so far saw him best “Apollo” Silva and Mohammed Grabinski.

In addition to our semi-finals, we have some tournament alternate bouts. Christian Jungwirth (14-7) is a monstrously popular fighter out of Stuttgart. “The Kelt” is a rugged boxer who stays competitive until the final bell. The 36-year-old is tough and gritty, and has won five of his last seven. He’s been a key figure in the German expansion. John Palaiologos (19-12-1) is a Cage Warriors veteran. The Greek is predominantly a knockout artist, however has a few submission victories on his record. The 36-year-old needs to keep this standing as when bad things happen to him, it’s usually on the mat.

Mohamed Grabinski (23-8) hails from Düsseldorf and is predominantly a heavy hitting striker. The 32-year-old punishes with big hooks and devastating knees. On the ground, his move is the back take to rear naked choke. He’ll pounce on the slightest mistake. Leandro “Apollo” Silva (26-11-1) is a UFC and PFL veteran. Most of his success comes in the grappling arena, with ten wins via submission. The 37-year-old Brazilian has an extensive pro boxing career as well. He’s a true fighter, win or lose.

Kerim Engizek (18-4) is the EMC middleweight champion and will make his Oktagon debut. The Turk is a beautiful kickboxer with savage power. The UFD Gym man brutalises the body as well as the head. His submissions tend to be from defending takedowns, such as a guillotine. Matias Juarez (14-6-1) is also a debutant. The Argentinian is an eclectic fighter who’s just as happy on the mat as on the feet. Decisions aren’t really his thing. The 37-year-old has six knockout and seven submission wins. 

Deniz Ilbay (4-0) is another EMC talent making his Oktagon debut. The German has a 22-3 boxing record with ten knockouts. The UFD Gym man comes from Cologne and has shown he can grapple in his short pro stint to date. Mean ground and pound has been a feature of the 28-year-old’s game and he even completed a bulldog choke in his last fight. Marco Novák (2-0) is a young man from Bratislava in Slovakia and is also strapping on Oktagon gloves for the first time. It’s been his grappling that has won him his fights so far, snatching a rear naked choke and triangle. He has shown on Oktagon underground, the promotion’s exhibition show, that he has some knockout power.

Niko Samsonidse (9-2) looked good in his debut win back in April. The Georgian-German trains out of the Spitfire Gym in Berlin. The 28-year-old is a solid grappler and has shown great consistency in winning via rear naked choke. On the feet, he can pepper with stinging shots before smashing you with the big one. Nicolae Hantea (8-3) is a talented young prospect from Moldova. The 23-year-old has the classic Moldovan wrestling style, to which he’s tacked on a powerful Romanian kickboxing game. The “BadBoy” can get a finish wherever this fight goes.

František Fodor (9-7) is one of those Oktagon veterans who trades wins and losses by taking on all comers. The Slovakian is predominantly a risk-taking striker who is trying to take your block off, sprinkled in with the odd submission. Vladimir Šikić (12-2-1) is a TUF 22 veteran and is a general ball of violence. The Croatian trains out of the Spitfire Gym in Berlin and like a lot of his compatriots, kickboxing is life. Seven of his victories have come via knockout. The 33-year-old has a win over Donovan Desmae and his only losses were to Damian Lapilus and Rony Paradeiser, so that should indicate the type of talent we’re talking about here.

Kerim Engizek (18-4) is the EMC middleweight champion and will make his Oktagon debut. The Turk is a beautiful kickboxer with savage power. The UFD Gym man brutalises the body as well as the head. His submissions tend to be from defending takedowns, such as a guillotine. Matias Juarez (14-6-1) is also a debutant. The Argentinian is an eclectic fighter who’s just as happy on the mat as on the feet. Decisions aren’t really his thing. The 37-year-old has six knockout and seven submission wins.

Our free YouTube prelim features UFD Gym’s Zoran Solaja (2-0), a man returning to the cage for the first time since February 2019. Both his pro wins have been second round knockouts. It remains to be seen how much the German has improved during his hiatus, however he will be fun to watch at the very least. Daniel Hromek (2-3) is a Muay Thai stylist with big punches. The 30-year-old calls Bratislava, Slovakia his home. All his victories are knockouts and his losses are decisions.

Oktagon 46 is live from Frankfurt on Friday night from 17:00 on Channel 4, Oktagon.tv and DAZN.