Oktagon is a Czech-Slovak organization but it attracts spectators and fighters from all over the world. It's not surprising that in Frankfurt on Saturday, the biggest response was from the home fans.
Niko Samsonidse made his first appearance on the domestic scene in two and a half years and immediately registered an impressive submission victory.
Compatriot Denis Ilbay still delivered one of the performances of the night in the prelims as he escaped from a long submission attempt from Marcelo Novak in the second round, winning by TKO in the final round to maintain his unbeaten record.
In terms of the candidates for the performance of the night, it has to be said that there are many to choose from. For example, Kerim Engizek can put his name forward. The German welterweight opened the main card with his Oktagon MMA debut, knocking out Argentine Matias Juarez in a minute and a half. The wrestler, who entered the fight with a Turkish flag, didn't wait for anything in the cage or in the post-fight interview as he went straight for a title shot.
Two Greek fighters made their presence known with dominant performances. Andreas Michailidis didn't give Louis Glismann the slightest chance in the semi-final of the Tipsport Gamechanger tournament and knocked out the Dane, who made a name for himself in May with an incredible omoplata submission in half a minute. Before he even knew his final opponent, his compatriot Ioannis Palaiologos challenged Christian Jungwirth.
The so-called 'Immortal Celt' clearly got the biggest ovation. The fans reacted loudly to every hit and they were on their feet during his entrance, when the whole hall sang his entrance song 'Auf Gute Freunde'. But all the fans in the packed Festhalle couldn't help the popular Stuttgart native, Palaiologos knocked him down in the first round and during a kimura.
"Maybe we can have two bonuses," he joked after the match on the account that he would award the extra earnings for the performance of the evening to himself and compatriot Michailidis.
The German fans disappointed by Jungwirth's loss were finally made happy by Katharina Dalisda. The Frankfurt native did not let the weight of the moment get to her in front of her home crowd, defeating Australia's Jacinta Austin in the third round to become the first-ever German Octagon champion.
The final of the Gamechanger tournament will be without Czech representation as David Kozma lost to Bojan Velickovic in his 45th professional fight. The Serbian gave a flawless performance in the rematch of the December 2021 contest, knocking 'The Pink Panther' to the ground in the first round.
Thus, the Gamechanger final will have either a Greek or Serbian winner. If the semi-final contests are any indication of what the crowning of the winner will look like, fans can look forward to a great show. But they better not blink - both Michailidis and Velickovic showed that the decisive blow could come at any second.
