Losene Keita became the main character of OKTAGON’s 2024 on Sunday night, gaining two-division champ status and winning the promotion’s year-long Tipsport Gamechanger Tournament with a finish outcome.
Keita dethroned long-time rival Ronald Paradeiser, capturing the promotion’s lightweight title in the main event of OKTAGON 65 from the O2 Arena in Prague, Czech Republic.
Just past midnight in Prague, marking Keita’s 28th birthday, the Belgian fighter reached a new high for his career with a second-round finish win. While defending a takedown, Keita suddenly put out the lights of Paradeiser with an elbow to the head.
The sudden shot, followed by ground and pound strikes from Keita, ended a bout in which he had gained an early lead due to his quick and accurate punches.
The main event victory closed out a year-long tournament run for Keita as part of OKTAGON’s 16-man Tipsport Gamechanger competition. After previously getting past names like Polish stand-out Mateuz Legierski and Croatian prospect Predrag Bogdanovic, the win this weekend netted him a grand prize of 300,000 Euro (roughly $312,000 U.S. Dollars).
Keita is now also a two-division champion in OKTAGON, adding a title at 155 pounds alongside the featherweight belt he earned late last year with a victory over Niko Samsonidse.
The “Black Panther” previously held OKTAGON’s lightweight title back in 2022, capturing the belt with a five-round unanimous decision over Paradeiser. He defended the title once later that year before later vacating the belt.
Afterward, Keita mentioned that a second chance to meet Paradeiser as part of the tournament motivated him earlier in the year.
“He’s a great competitor, he’s a good fighter,” Keita said about Paradeiser. “27 years of age. When I knew I wanted to fight Ronny, I worked my a** off because it was getting boring. But I said ‘Ronny? A rematch? No way this guy can beat me.'”
Slovakia’s Paradeiser was aiming to defend his title for the first time, as earlier rounds of the Tipsport Gamechanger tournament saw him compete without his belt on the line.
Paradeiser worked through prior rounds of the tournament with impressive performances, beating former KSW champ Daniel Torres on scorecards and stopping Acoidan Duque in just 98 seconds as part of the semi-final round.
Sunday was Paradeiser’s return to title fights after he dethroned Ivan Buchinger late last year with a doctor stoppage result. The MMA vet’s last loss that didn’t come across from Keita dates back to early 2021.
Fleury Wins One-Sided Performance Against Returning Vemola To Capture OKTAGON Light Heavyweight Title
Will Fleury dominated Czech MMA legend Karlos Vemola, pitching a shutout against the tough promotional vet to win on scorecards and capture the OKTAGON Light Heavyweight Championship.
Fleury took each and every round on scorecards against Vemola, showcasing both a superior skillset on the ground and in stand-up exchanges.
Vemola had brief moments of success, like flurries of wailing and scary shots that came close to connecting, or a couple of guillotine choke attempts on the ground. But aside from those exchanges, the fight was entirely Fleury’s.
Ireland’s Fleury spent large amounts of the fight in control on the ground, landing a long string of shots while keeping Vemola on his back. He also out-struck Vemola by nearly 200 punches, including a series of blows on the feet which came concerningly close to putting away the defending champ in the fourth round.
“Every shot, I thought ‘He’s gotta go,'” said Fleury, speaking about the toughness of Vemola. “I don’t know how he f****** stayed in there, but what a heart. What a fighter, what a f****** man.”
The title victory capped off a strong 2024 for the former PFL and Bellator fighter. Fleury, from the prominent SBG Ireland gym, entered OKTAGON in April with a submission win over Daniel Skvor. He called for a fight against Vemola after a 91-second win in October, beating Pavol Langer at the promotion’s stadium show in Frankfurt, Germany.
39-year-old Vemola was returning from a notably short retirement from MMA. The ex-UFC talent and 16-fight OKTAGON vet was expected to walk away from the sport as a champ in June after defending his title for the second time with a submission against Attila Vegh, but made his return just half a year later on Sunday.
Norway’s Bolander Takes Bantamweight Title In Close Five-Round Battle
Short-notice fighter Cecilie Bolander made the most of her five-round title fight against former UFC talent Lucie Pudilova, going to war for 25 minutes and walking away as the new OKTAGON Bantamweight Champion.
Bolander, who last week was expected to compete lower on the card in a three-round bout against Sara Luzar Smajic, was slotted into a rematch against Pudilova on short notice after illness forced Lucia Szabova out of the lineup.
While Bolander was already booked for the card, the change in plans forced her to prepare for a new opponent and suddenly adjust to fighting for five rounds, something she had never done previously in her pro career.
Bolander’s battle against Pudilova came down to the wire, with a pair of scorecards having the fight tied before the final round. The bantamweights took turns capturing momentum in the bout: Bolander started strong, but Pudilova bounced back with a more aggressive second round. Bolander’s boxing allowed her to snag a third round on scorecards, although once again Pudilova bounced back in the fourth.
An impressive final blitz from Bolander in the fifth, arguably her best frame in the entire fight, saw her aggressive striking style earn her a necessary third round on a pair of scorecards, securing her a split decision win.
The win put a massive spotlight on Bolander, who only turned pro a little over two years ago and was making her fifth pro appearance on Sunday. She has now avenged her sole defeat, a three-round split decision she suffered in September to Pudilova.
Sunday marked the first defeat for Pudilova since her second UFC run came to an end last year.
Here’s a quick rundown of the results from OKTAGON’s last show of the year:
Bout 10: Losene Keita def. Ronald Paradeiser via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 4:02) (Tipsport Gamechanger Lightweight Grand Finals) (OKTAGON Lightweight Championship)
Bout 9: Will Fleury def. Karlos Vemola via Decision, Unanimous (OKTAGON Light Heavyweight Championship)
Bout 8: Cecilie Bolander def. Lucie Pudilova via Decision, Split
Bout 7: Igor Severino def. Jonas Magard via Decision, Split
Bout 6: Daniel Schwindt def. Radovan Uskrt via TKO, Strikes (RD 2, 2:23)
Bout 5: Agy Sardari def. Ognjen Dimic via Submission, Rear Naked Choke (RD 2, 1:13)
Bout 4: Ozan Aslaner def. Jakub Tichota via Decision, Split
Bout 3: Marco Novak def. Eemil Kurhela via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 2: Peter Gabal def. Benny Bajrami via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 1: Jakub Batfalsky def. Dominik Toporcer via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 1:41)
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