Oktagon 78 Preview: Eckerlin v Truscek, Dalaslan returns

Oktagon are back on German soil this Saturday with another bumbler show for the loyal locals. Oktagon 78 features eleven bouts in the Lanxess Arena, including one for a championship.

Christian Eckerlin (17-7) is one of the country’s most popular fighters and was a promising footballer before switching codes to MMA. The German trains out of MMA Spirit in Frankfurt and has won two of his last three. The 38-year-old has a strong grappling game that entails good wrestling and slick submissions, most notably his rear naked choke. He also has six knockout wins on his record, proving his kickboxing isn’t too shabby either. Ivica Trušček (44-39) is a legend of the Balkan scene and a man that was just born to fight. The Croatian has amassed an incredible twenty-four knockout and seventeen submission wins across his decorated career. The 37-year-old has been at this game for eighteen years and he’s won his last three bouts. The ATT Zagreb man is a master of the guillotine and can threaten with any choke, as well as knock your block off with his kickboxing.

Alina Dalaslan (3-0) jumps quickly back into things following a big KO win last month and this will be her fourth fight of the year. The German has been dropping bodies left and right since joining Oktagon in March, patiently waiting to strike in the later rounds, giving opponents no chance of return. The 25-year-old IMMAF veteran is a striking specialist. Katharina Lehner (9-7) has been around a long time and is one of the scene’s bigger characters. The German has competed for Bellator, Invicta and LFA, as well as featuring on The Ultimate Fighter. The 35-year-old has bags of experience and has a solid Muay Thai base with some good grappling. Her power generally isn’t a worry, so she can’t stand and trade here.

Kasim Aras (10-5) is a Bellator and LFL veteran and has a great debut knockout win over Adam Pałasz in June. The 38-year-old has big ham hocks for fists and end things with one blow. The German is also mean and loves to deliver punishing ground and pound if it hits the mat. One of his losses was a disqualification for biting, which shows how hungry he is for the win. Simon Biyong (11-5) is always hanging around somewhere doing cool stuff. The Cameroonian born fighter has long since called Italy his home, and he’s fought around the world for Bellator, PFL, EFC and Rizin amongst others. The 34-year-old has won his last two bouts, and he’s a vicious kind of fighter. In the clinch, he throws brutal knees and elbows, out in the open he throws hard punches and on the ground he’s always doing damage. Last but not least, the man can take a shot.

Deniz Ilbay (8-2) returns after a frustrating loss to Max Holzer in April. The German is a former pro boxer who has heavy hands and loves to rip wicked body shots to immobilise his opponents. The 30-year-old has taken to the grappling arts like a duck to water. The Cologne man will have fans on side here, and he’s shown he can wrestle, land fight-ending ground and pound, as well as threaten with a few submissions. Teo Saldana Smith (4-1) comes in from WOW in Spain and has also competed for FNC. The Swiss has a wide range of skills and started his career showcasing his wrestling and submission chops. The 31-year-old has won his last two victories via knockout. This will be a big step up in competition from what he’s faced so far.

Patrick Vespaziani (5-2) is a towering athlete at 6ft7in tall and he’s won both his Oktagon bouts to date. The German is predominantly a striker who can dictate the range of the fight is played at, and he has massive power four knockout wins on the feet. The 33-year-old likes to get his work done early and he hasn’t heard a scorecard read out yet. His only downfall is if you can catch his chin way up there, he can be hurt. Denis Stojnić (16-3) is another one of those Balkan lads who just loves a scrap. The Bosnian has been at this for twenty years now, scoring six knockout wins and a further five finishes by submission. The 45-year-old has a powerful punch and has won his last six bouts. He’s shared the cage with such esteemed opposition as Cain Velasquez, Stefan Struve and Ricco Rodriguez.

The vacant OKMMA Bantamweight Championship is on the line on Saturday. Igor Severino (9-1), another with a biting DQ loss on his record, is a very talented young man. The 22-year-old is a UFC veteran and won his Oktagon debut with a split decision victory over Jonas Mågård. The Brazilian is a slick submission player who utilises all main MMA BJJ techniques frequently and proficiently. “The Hannibal”, his choice of nickname, not mine, is also a heavy hitting striker with four knockout wins already. Khurshed Kakharov (13-1) is a Bellator veteran and the 2023 PFL Europe champion. The Tajiki born fighter was also a champion in Poland for EFM. The 32-year-old now resides in Germany and he is known for his lights-out striking game. Every swing is wrought with danger and he’s amassed nine knockout victories to date. This is high quality world-level MMA.

Cihad Akipa (9-2) is of Kurdish descent and finely displays the warrior culture of his people. The 29-year-old has won his last three and he has experience in pro boxing and kickboxing. Whilst he has five knockouts on his record, he’s more of an attritional striker who causes damage over the longer run. The German’s only defeats have been to former Cage Warriors champion Matthew Bonner and aforementioned Croatian legend Ivan Trušček. David Piechaczek (4-1) comes in from LFL in the Netherlands where he beat their highly tipped prospect Roland Goedhart by rear naked choke. The German does a lot of his best work on the ground, particularly with his submissions, notably the rear naked choke. The 27-year-old has one knockout on the feet, pole-axing Marvin Aboeli in August 2024.

The next bout is a rematch from the German regional scene, where the result was a majority draw. Arijan Topallaj (7-2-1) has bags of potential and is looking to bounce back from defeats to Denis Frimpong and Hafeni Nafuka, two of the lads at the top of the division. The Albanian is a choke master who loves to lock in an anaconda, D’arce or even Brabo if you don’t protect your neck. The 26-year-old uses ground and pound well to soften you up, sometimes getting the win that way. His last win was a beautiful left hook knockout. Hassan Kayani (3-0-1) puts his undefeated record on the line in his first promotional bout. The German comes in from WE LOVE MMA on the regional scene, where he showed some nice grappling chops and submission acumen. He was last seen a month ago where he scored a knockout win in the third round. Activity hasn’t been consistent for him, appearing on average once a year, so seeing him twice in two months is a rarity.

Tamerlan Dulatov (2-0) comes from a well known fighting family that also dabbles in modeling and are very astute businessmen. The 25-year-old made short work of his Oktagon debut with a guillotine win after just sixteen seconds. The German’s pro debut wasn’t that much longer, a ground and pound flurry had the ref pulling him off the opponent before we’d seen two minutes. He’s got clear superstar power and will be keen to follow in the footsteps of his brother, the UFC’s Islam Dulatov. Henrique Mato (2-0) arrives from all the way across the Atlantic to fight in Europe for the first time as a professional. The Brazilian won decisions in both appearances for BFC in his homeland. During his amateur days, he showed some submission gaps which will be exposed big time if he hasn’t closed them here. He’ll need to keep it standing.

Marek Bartl (15-14) appears for the fifteenth time under the Oktagon banner and is a man they call when they want a fun, competitive fight. The Czech loves an armlock and will aggressively attack that limb throughout the fight. The 32-year-old does have a hard punch and is 5-2 in recent times. Kennedy Rayomba (6-5) is of similar warrior stock, willing to go out on his shield if that’s how the cookie crumbles. The German comes from a kickboxing background where he does a lot of damage with his punches. He’s also had some success with his rear naked choke.

Altin Zenuni (1-0) had an impressive debut win over experienced Tibor Balázs via rear naked choke. The German trains out of the renowned UFD Gym in Düsseldorf. He had a 30-fight amateur career, winning GEMMA titles and representing his nation at many IMMAF competitions, where he showcased that he can win a fight in every facet, knockout, decision or submission. Marcel Máša (debut) comes in from Fusion. The Czech is a good offensive submission player, threatening with rear naked chokes and triangles. This will be his first pro MMA bout, so we’ll see if his serviceable hands lead to more knockouts in the small gloves.

Oktagon 78 is live from Cologne on Saturday night from 17:00 Irish time on Oktagon.tv.