Fleury was invited into the cage between bouts at the event at Stvanice, where co-owner Ondrej Novotny chatted with the two-division champion about what fight he’d like to have next.
After Fleury said he’d take on literally any and every challenge Novotny and fellow co-owner Pavol Neruda can find for him, Novotny then dropped the name of Martin Buday, the former OKTAGON heavyweight champion who had surprisingly not had his contract renewed by the UFC, despite going 7-1 with the promotion since earning his spot through Dana White’s Contender Series back in October 2021.
Fleury said he’d love that challenge and, in true pro wrestling style, Novotny then motioned to the curtain, as Buday emerged and walked to the cage to a huge ovation.
Once he was in the ring, Buday signed a contract to officially confirm his return to OKTAGON MMA, and Novotny declared that the pair would face off for the heavyweight title later this year, with the OKTAGON boss hinting that they could potentially face off at OKTAGON 77 in Bratislava on October 4.
🏆 Heavyweight Title 🏆
Will Fleury 🇮🇪 will defend his belt for the first time against new signing, Martin Buday 🇸🇰 later this year.
One is the current champion and the other is the former champion.
Where would you like to see this contest take place? pic.twitter.com/SLYr16Wn6s
— OKTAGON (@OktagonOfficial) August 10, 2025
Will Fleury in OKTAGON MMA
- April 20, 2024: Makes OKTAGON MMA debut at OKTAGON 56, defeats Daniel Skvor in Birmingham.
- October 12, 2024: Knocks out Pavol Langer in 91 seconds in front of 60,000 fans at OKTAGON 62 in Frankfurt, Germany. Calls out Karlos Vemola for a light heavyweight title shot.
- December 29, 2024: Challenges Karlos Vemola at OKTAGON 65 in Prague, Czechia and earns a unanimous decision victory to capture the light heavyweight title.
- March 8, 2025: Takes on Lazar Todev for the vacant OKTAGON MMA heavyweight title and earns another unanimous decision victory to claim the heavyweight strap and become a simultaneous two-division OKTAGON champion.
