Jotko outworked Hojat Khajevand to earn his spot in the final of the €1 million middleweight tournament while, in the main event, Engizek defeated Dominik Humburger in an instant classic to punch his ticket to the finale.
The two tournament semi-final bouts sandwiched a featured middleweight matchup between Vlasto Cepo and Daniel Schwindt, with Slovakia’s Cepo bringing the house down on home soil with a thrilling performance to knock out Germany’s Schwindt in the first round.
The main card also saw a thrilling come-from-behind victory for Slovakian MMA legend Ivan Buchinger, who turned the tables on Richie Smullen after the Irishman appeared to be on top heading into the final round of their lightweight contest. Smullen was performing well and appeared to be on his way to a decision victory, but Buchinger managed to snatch up a Ninja choke in the second minute of the final frame to force the submission and claim a crowd-pleasing victory.
It wasn’t all celebrations for the Slovakian stars on the card, however, as another Bratislava fan-favourite, middleweight Samuel Kristofic, was defeated by injury TKO when he dislocated his arm against Germany’s Jaime Cordero.
Initially there were fears that “Pirat” had broken his arm, but it was later confirmed that he’d sustained a dislocated elbow, and he’d had the joint reset shortly after being taken backstage at the Tipos Arena.
OKTAGON 77: Official results
MAIN CARD
- Kerim Engizek def. Dominik Humburger via unanimous decision – Tipsport Gamechanger semi-final
- Vlasto Cepo def. Daniel Schwindt via knockout (punch) – Round 1, 3:38
- Krzysztof Jotko def. Hojat Khajevand via unanimous decision – Tipsport Gamechanger semi-final
- Ivan Buchinger def. Richie Smullen via submission (Ninja choke) – Round 3, 1:40
- Jaime Cordero def. Samuel Kristofic via TKO (injury) – Round 1, 2:49
- Marco Novak def. Daniel Solaja via TKO (punches) – Round 3, 0:30
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Konrad Dyrschka def. Tomas Ciganik via split decision
- Veronika Smolkova def. Ana Carolina Araujo via unanimous decision
- Ayton De Paepe def. Karol Rysavy via split decision
- Monika Chochlikova def. Atenea Flores via unanimous decision – Muay Thai
- Jorick Montagnac def. Mateusz Duczmal via unanimous decision
