OKTAGON 70: Igor Severino vs Jack Cartwright set for vacant bantamweight title

OKTAGON MMA will crown a new bantamweight champion at OKTAGON 70 in Karlovy Vary as England’s Jack Cartwright takes on Brazilian contender Igor Severino for the vacant title on April 26.

Severino, who was infamously kicked out of the UFC after biting his opponent Andre Lima on his Octagon debut back in March 2024, made his promotional debut with OKTAGON in December, and claimed a split-decision victory over Danish former champion Jonas Magard at OKTAGON 65.

After that performance, he called for a shot at the title, and OKTAGON’s bosses have granted him his wish, with the 9-1 21-year-old set to fight for the vacant belt in the Czech Republic.

Standing in his way is former Cage Warriors bantamweight champion Cartwright. The 12-2 Englishman captured Cage Warriors gold by defeating Scott Malone and Marko Kovacevic on the same night in September 2019, and the Bolton native went on to defend his title three times, with victories over Manuel Bilic, Gerardo Fanny and Sylwester Miller.

A decision loss on Dana White’s Contender Series saw Cartwright miss out on a UFC chance as he suffered the first defeat of his career, but he regrouped and, after signing for OKTAGON MMA, claimed a first-round Americana finish of Junior Assis at OKTAGON 48 in November 2023.

A decision defeat to former champ Magard followed, but Cartwright put himself right back into the title picture with a unanimous decision victory over former featherweight champion Mate Sanikidze last time out at OKTAGON 61.

🚨 BREAKING NEWS 🚨
Igor Severino (9-1) 🇧🇷 will battle it out with Jack Cartwright (12-2) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 for the vacant bantamweight title at OKTAGON 70.
Who leaves Karlovy Vary on April 26 as king of the division in this absolute thriller?
Buy tickets👇🏼
🎫 https://t.co/hAZIhIgSv1 pic.twitter.com/0QwmqaeEVd
— OKTAGON MMA (@OktagonOfficial) February 5, 2025

Now the Englishman has his first shot at OKTAGON championship gold as he faces the dangerous Severino on a fight card that will also feature the final first-round matchups in the €1 million Tipsport Gamechanger middleweight tournament, as welterweight champion Ion Surdu takes on former UFC middleweight Krzysztof Jotko, while Vlasto Cepo faces off against Austria’s Erhan Kartal.

Also set for Tipsport Gamechanger action in Karlovy Vary is fan-favourite Samuel “Pirat” Kristofic, who will contest the final first-round bout in the tournament against an as-yet-unnamed wildcard opponent.