It was a disappointing night for Welshman Aaron Aby in the first-ever OKTAGON MMA flyweight title fight, but elsewhere on the main card Brits Jack Cartwright, Scott Askham and George Staines won their fights.
One of Europe’s biggest MMA promotions, Czech Republic-based OKTAGON, made its UK debut in Manchester’s AO Arena on Saturday night with Oktagon 48.
Spectators were thin on the ground in the 20,000-seat arena, but it filled up more as the night continued and the Czech and British fans in particular made their presence felt.
The OKTAGON flyweight title fight was a highly anticipated bout between Aaron Aby, who has cystic fibrosis and was fighting four years after defeating stage 3 cancer, and American UFC veteran Elias Garcia.
Garcia had never been defeated outside of the UFC but was coming off worse in a closely-fought opening two rounds. But he landed what was ultimately the decisive blow which caused a cut above Aby’s eye in the first round.
At the end of the second round the doctor judged this serious enough to end the fight.
The decision was loudly booed by the partisan crowd, while a tearful Aby was comforted by the new champion, who is now on a four-fight win streak.
Garcia described Aby as a “f***ing warrior” and said it “means the world” to hold the title.
The disappointed crowd could soon be treated to a rematch, however. Aby said: “My life’s not been a fairytale but it’s meant to give people hope. Tonight was meant to be my destiny. I’m still gonna keep fighting, I’m not ready to quit.”
To cheers from the crowd, he added: “Let’s get that rebooked again, I deserve my shot.”
In the finale of the Stage to the Cage series, TV personality Jake Quickenden took on standup comedian Paul Smith, both unranked. It was over very quickly with a TKO by Quickenden, who has boxed for years and described his cage-fighting win as “spectacular.”
Smith will donate his money earned for fighting to Liverpool-based charity Weapons Down Gloves Up, which campaigns against knife crime. He said: “The main thing is I’ve earned a good amount of money for a very good cause.”
Bolton’s Jack Cartwright enjoyed a triumphant return to the cage after a year and a half out, defeating Brazilian Júnior Assis via submission in the first round. Assis was fighting on just a week’s notice after previous opponent Antun Račić pulled out, and appeared to have possibly broken something as he gestured to his elbow when speaking to the medical team.
Cartwright’s victory means he will challenge Brazilian Felipe Lima for the bantamweight title.
In the finale of the OKTAGON Challenge: England vs Ireland series, Englishman George Staines defeated Irish Denis Frimpong to become champion. Staines – in his first pro fight – was on top in each round, winning by submission in the fourth.
It was a much closer battle between Scott Askham and Marc Doussis in the penultimate fight, but eventually a unanimous decision in Askham’s favour.
Elsewhere on the main card, Jakub Bahník vs Akonne Wanliss was judged a no contest after just 25 seconds.
Both fighters jumped at the same time and Wanliss accidentally kneed Bahník in the groin, prompting him to recommend a “titanium nut shield” in his victory speech – to a chorus of boos from the Czech support.
In the preliminaries, Brit Hascen Neri Gelezi defeated Irish debutant Aaron McDonald by unanimous decision, as did Czech Zdeněk Polívka against Lee Chadwick. The man from Merseyside was competing in his last-ever fight before retirement but bowed out with a comprehensive loss.
Brit Shoaib Yousaf enjoyed a dominant display over lower-ranked Konmon Deh, also winning by unanimous decision.
In the welterweight division Romanian Ion Surdu won by TKO in the first of his three rounds over Alex Lohoré. The final prelim of the night – between Jaroslav Pokorný and Shem Rock – was cancelled with just hours to go before the event kicked off.
Images courtesy of OKTAGON MMA.
