On Saturday, Jun. 6, OKTAGON hosted OKTAGON 89, live from Tipos Arena in Bratislava, Slovakia. This was planned as a marquee event with flyweight Zhalgas Zhumagulov champ coming up in weight to challenge Igor Severino for the bantamweight crown.
The fight was fantastic for two and a half rounds with both men landing lots of offense. But a left body shot from Severino drifted just below the belt and put Zhumagulov down. Zhumagulov could not recover and, with the blow being judged an accident, the fight was declared a no contest.
The ending is a massive letdown for OKTAGON, who had really pushed the boat out to promote this bout and the possibility of Zhumagulov becoming a two division champion. Given how exciting the fight was at the beginning, it feels like this one will be reloaded very soon.
In the co-main event we had a Scottish twister sighting. Jack Grant landed that move on Ronald Paradeiser. That was the PFL vet’s OKTAGON debut.
Further down the card, Martin Buday (who left the UFC on a win) lost a lopsided decision to Lazar Todev. He’s now 0-2 since rejoining the promotion where he once won the heavyweight title.
Veronika Smolková got a win, too, much to the delight of the Slovakian crowd. She scored an arm bar on Lisa Kyriacou. That’s her third finish and eighth win in a row. It also helped her stake a claim as one of the best women, not named Dakota Dicheva, fighting outside the UFC.
The event aired live on Oktagon.tv starting at 12 p.m. ET. Check below for full results.
Igor Severino vs. Zhalgas Zhumagulov ends in a no contest after accidental foul (groin strike). Round 2, 2:56 – for bantamweight championship
Jack Grant def. Ronald Paradeiser by submission (Scottish twister). Round 1, 1:44
Lazar Todev def. Martin Buday by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Robert Pukač def. Brian Manning by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Veronika Smolková def. Lisa Lyriacou by submission (armbar). Round 2, 3:04
Marek Bertl def. Jozef Wittner by TKO (punches). Round 2, 3:46
Radovan Úškrt def. Ondřej Raška by KO (left hook). Round 1, 1:49
Ratislav Zvara def. Michal Novotný by KO (body shot). Round 1, 2:15
Adam Pałasz def. Patrick Vespaziani by TKO (punches). Round 1, 1:37
Karol Ryšavý vs. Daniel Schordjie ends on a unanimous draw (28-28, 28-28, 28-28)
Ayton De Paepe def. Marco Novák by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
Dastan Amangeldy def. Moktar Benkaci by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)