OKTAGON MMA is expanding its scope beyond MMA for its next headliner, which co-founders Pavol Neruda and Ondrej Novotny are certain will provide significant entertainment.
The promotion has already developed a stronghold on the European market, with 100 total events now in the can, many of them featuring tens of thousands of fans in attendance. OKTAGON embraces the spectacle of combat sports, seeking out unique venues and passionate fanbases to deliver shows in markets such as Germany, Czech Republic and more.
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For its next event, OKTAGON will travel to Poland for the first time with OKTAGON 86 at Enea Arena in Szczecin, headlined by a matchup between MMA veterans Christian Jungwirth and Michał Materla. They won’t be fighting MMA, however, but instead under a modified striking-only ruleset the organization is now labeling as “Stand-and-Bang.”
“Our new rules ‘stand-and-bang’ between Materla and Jungwirth, that will be something special,” Novotny told MMA Junkie. “We are thinking what we will call these kinds of rules, because before we have the underground rules. Now it’s going to be basically boxing with the small gloves with elbows also, clinch on the fence but no takedowns, no kicks. I believe this will be something special. It will be a crazy fight, especially with Jungwirth and Materla. They are crazy fighters. If people don’t know them, I don’t believe you need to know them to enjoy the fight.”
OKTAGON had a previous iteration of this ruleset called “Underground Rules” but opted to rebrand to something that would be more clearly received by the audience. The idea is clear, and Novotny said it was initially enacted during the COVID-19 era when they wanted to give opportunity to athletes beyond just MMA.
It was a hit, and now OKTAGON is leaning all the way into the idea, which has been further pushed by Max Holloway‘s BMF-style point downs in the UFC cage, for the 196-pound showdown between Jungwirth and Materla next month.
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“It came from underground rules, which we made in COVID when we wanted to give a chance to stand-up fighters to make some money, but also some MMA fighters,” Novotny said. “We were looking for rules which would be easier for both sides. Here we are with stand-and-bang rules. Sometimes we have fighters who want to fight without all these kinds of different BJJ, grappling and wrestling styles. They just want to stand-and-bang. Everyone wants to see that type of fight, and these are the rules for that. Once you see Max Holloway pointing in the center of the octagon, you know the action will come. So we said, ‘OK, why not do that from the first minute?’ Let’s give it to them. This is for fans. We want to be the most entertaining organization.”
Neruda said he fully expects the OKTAGON 86 main event to deliver, along with the rest of the card. He wants to make a big splash for the Poland debut, and in his mind, this was the best way to do it.
“I’m expecting a really, really bloody fight,”Neruda said. “I recommend people watch this. It will be very unique. … The Polish market has a good fanbase, historically the best in Europe. We were always thinking one day it would be the right time to bring out show and entertain people with what we are doing and the great fights. Right now was the proper time.”
This article originally appeared on MMA Junkie: OKTAGON founders detail ‘stand-and-bang’ rules for April 11 headliner
