The second-ever Tipsport Gamechanger tournament will end with a champion-versus-champion matchup.
OKTAGON Lightweight Champion Ronald Paradeiser and featherweight king Losene Keita advanced to the grand finals of the promotion’s 155-pound bracket on Saturday night, putting together successful performances at the Winning Group Arena in Brno, Czech Republic.
Paradeiser scored a quick victory in the main event of OKTAGON 61, stopping Spain’s Acoidan Duque in 88 seconds.
A clean left cross from Paradeiser rocked Spain’s Acoidan Duque, causing the champ to charge forward with a series of punches that dropped him. Duque was hurt significantly and not defending himself, forcing a sudden finish.
Paradeiser, who captured the lightweight title in December with a victory against Ivan Buchinger, was following up on wins he earned against Daniel Torres and Attila Korkmaz in earlier rounds of the tournament.
The victory sets Paradeiser up to avenge a loss in the grand finalHe notably dropped a decision to Keita in early 2022, marking the last defeat he has taken as a pro.
Keita handed former champ Mateusz Legierski his first-ever OKTAGON defeat in their tournament bout, out-landing the Polish lightweight to win on scorecards.
Legierski found himself dealing with issues early, as it became evident that he suffered an injury to his right arm. The experienced fighter was seen shaking off his arm and glancing at the limb throughout the fight, looking uncomfortable.
The right hand was not thrown often by Legierski, relying much heavier on his lead jab, kicks and knees to compete.
Keita started the contest as the advancing fighter, although Legierski became more aggressive by the second round. Keita proved to be the more effective stand-up fighter even when backpedalling, scoring with clean punches throughout the fight.
Open scoring had Keita up two rounds to none by the third, forcing Legierski to up his aggression even more. However, he wasn’t able to do anything that could hurt Keita and turn the tide of the fight.
Keita joined the Tipsport Gamechanger bracket just months after regaining the featherweight title, defeating Niko Samsonidse in late 2023. He was coming off a finish win from his quarter-final victory, putting away Predrag Bogdanovic with a body shot in July.
A busy year for Paradeiser and Keita will come to an end at OKTAGON 65 on December 29th. After fighting through the early rounds of a 16-man bracket, they’ll collide with a grand prize of 300,000 Euros on the line.
Not only will the upcoming finals have a big payout attached to it, but also championship implications. While Paradeiser hasn’t been defending his belt in the earlier rounds of the bracket, his lightweight title will be on the line in the upcoming clash.
Earlier on Saturday night, former UFC talent Lucie Pudilova secured a future title shot with a split decision win over Norway’s Cecilie Bolander. The three-round performance has lined her up to meet undefeated Lucia Szabova in a bout which will find the first-ever women’s OKTAGON Bantamweight Champion on December 29th.
Pudilova, who has a six-fight run in OKTAGON from 2020 to 2022, was returning to the promotion after a second stint in the UFC. Soon she’ll try to claim gold while ending the flawless eight-fight record of Szabova, which has been developing in OKTAGON since 2019.
Here are the quick results from Saturday’s show in Brno:
Bout 12: Ronald Paradeiser def. Acoidan Duque via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 1:28) (Tipsport Gamechanger Lightweight Semi-Final)
Bout 11: Makhmud Muradov def. Scott Askham via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 10: Losene Keita def. Mateusz Legierski via Decision, Unanimous (Tipsport Gamechanger Lightweight Semi-Final)
Bout 9: Lucie Pudilova def. Cecilie Bolander via Decision, Split
Bout 8: Andrej Kalasnik def. John Palaiologos via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 7: Vladimir Lengal def. Corey Fry via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 2:25)
Bout 6: Tomas Hron def. Fred Sikking via TKO (RD 1) (OKTAGON Underground)
Bout 5: Jack Cartwright def. Mate Sanikidze via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 4: George Staines def. Jakub Tichota via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 3: Radek Rousal def. Nezar Bahaji via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 2: Agy Sardari def. Attila Korkmaz via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 1: Jan Stanovsky def. Gleb Shadrin via Decision, Unanimous
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