Beno Adamia narrowly snuck by Sam Creasey on Saturday night, causing the OKTAGON Flyweight Championship to change hands after five rounds of action.
With a margin of just one round on all three scorecards, Adamia won via split decision against Creasey in the main event of OKTAGON 67 from the Werk Arena in Trinec, Czech Republic.
While the 25-minute flyweight battle wasn’t the most fan-friendly bout—best illustrated by the quiet and progressively thinning crowd throughout the headliner clash—it was undoubtedly a down-to-the-wire battle where anyone was able to win it with just minutes to go.
The success of either fighter fluctuated throughout the bout, but essentially all took place in a similar stand-up exchange: Creasey spent nearly all of the fight on his backfoot, constantly moving against an advancing Adamia. At times, it was the pursuing Adamia who got ahead with effective boxing. In other moments, Creasey seemed to be the more accurate striker on the counter, out-landing the Georgian and mixing in leg kicks as well.
OKTAGON’s open scoring allowed viewers to follow along with the official scorecards throughout, providing insight into how judges interpreted certain parts of the fight. After a close opening round which leaned in the way of Adamia, Creasey got ahead by getting into the flow of the fight in the second and third frames.
While an issue with Adamia’s right leg appeared in the fourth round—something he claimed afterward was an injury suffered during his training camp—Adamia tied the match up by prevailing in the five-minute frame. Creasey’s output dropped against the challenger during the fourth, while Adamia kept pressing with his own punches.
The fight was anyone’s to win with just five minutes to go. While still a hard-to-call, razor-thin fight through those moments, the quick combinations that Adamia was able to connect with his hands earned him the scorecard nod.
The competitive result continues the best stretch of appearances for Adamia since his 2015 pro debut. The 28-year-old had gone on a run of five wins prior to this weekend, including past OKTAGON victories over Stipe Brcic and ex-UFC talent Gustavo Lopez.
He now has a win over a highly experienced former Cage Warriors fighter, and most importantly, a title.
“Honestly, I thought I hit the cleaner shots in there, to be honest,” Creasey reflected during his post-fight interview. “But I should have worked more … I didn’t and I can only blame myself.”
Creasey captured OKTAGON’s flyweight title last year, going the distance against Aaron Aby to win the vacant belt in his promotional debut. Before then, he had a lengthy 18-fight run in Cage Warriors, holding their 125-pound twice along the way. He’s now back to the drawing board, claiming that he hopes to soon be going after the promotion’s belt once again.
Main Card (12:00PM EST / 6:00PM CET) (OKTAGON PPV)
Bout 11: Beno Adamia def. Sam Creasey via Decision, Split (OKTAGON Flyweight Championship)
Bout 10: Robert Pukac def. David Kozma via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 2:15)
Bout 9: Mick Stanton def. Milos Petrasek via Decision, Unanimous (Tipsport Gamechanger Middleweight Grand Prix Opening Round)
Bout 8: Mark Hulme def. Andreas Michailidis via Submission, Guillotine Choke (RD 1, 2:20) (Tipsport Gamechanger Middleweight Grand Prix Opening Round)
Bout 7: Niko Samsonidse def. Edgar Delgado via TKO, Injury (RD 3, 0:27)
Bout 6: Lucia Szabova def. Kalinadra Faria via Submission, Standing Americana (RD 1, 4:16)
Bout 5: Daniel Skvor def. Antonio Zovak via Submission, Ninja Choke (RD 1, 0:26)
Bout 4: Jaime Cordero def. Milan Datelinka via Submission, Arm Triangle Choke (RD 1, 4:10)
Bout 3: Tomas Mudroch def. Petru Buzdugan via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 1:22)
Bout 2: Veronika Smolkova def. Aitana Alvarez via Decision, Unanimous
Bout 1: Daniel Ligocki def. Dominic Schober via TKO, Strikes (RD 1, 3:29)
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