That’s because Slovakian striker Robert Pukac arrived ready to spring an upset in the headline bout, and did exactly that as he stunned, then finished Eckerlin early in the third round to claim the 20th win of his professional MMA career.
In the co-main event, Turkish heavyweight and Levels Fight League heavyweight champion Kasim Aras marked his OKTAGON MMA debut with an attention-grabbing first-round finish of Poland’s longtime contender Adam Palasz.
The main card was packed with finishes, with former welterweight champion Kaik Brito stopping compatriot Joilton Lutterbach with strikes after just 103 seconds in their 170-pound matchup, while Jessin Ayari won the battle of German former UFC fighters, courtesy of a second-round rear-naked choke.
Elsewhere on the main card, former bantamweight champion Jonas Magard improved his record to 18-7 with a unanimous decision victory over Farbod Iran Nezhad.
There was drama on the scale earlier in the week, as flyweight champion Beno Adamia missed weight and was stripped of his title on the scale during the official weigh-ins.
It meant that his title clash with former UFC fighter Zhalgas Zhumagulov would only carry championship connotations for the Kazakh fighter, who ensured he went home with the gold by outworking Adamia to claim the newly-vacated title.
OKTAGON 73: Official results
MAIN CARD
- Robert Pukac def. Christian Eckerlin via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 1:05
- Kasim Aras def. Adam Palasz via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:42
- Kaik Brito def. Joilton Lutterbach via TKO (head kick and punches) – Round 1, 1:43
- Jessin Ayari def. Niklas Stolze via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 3:25
- Jonas Magard def. Farbod Iran Nezhad via unanimous decision
- Wahed Nazhand def. Faridun Shokhnazarov via submission (Kimura) – Round 2, 3:42)
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Zhalgas Zhumagulov def. Beno Adamia via unanimous decision – for vacant flyweight title
- Marek Bartl def. Daniel Makin via submission (Kimura) – Round 2, 4:18
- Richie Smullen def. Vojto Barborik via TKO (ground strikes) – Round 2, 3:59
- Tomas Ciganik def. Ahmad Halimson via split decision
- Altin Zenuni def. Tibor Balazs via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:01
