OKTAGON 77: Ivan Buchinger to face Ireland's Richie Smullen in Bratislava

OKTAGON MMA’s evergreen Ivan Buchinger may be 55 fights into his professional MMA career, but “Buki” is showing no signs of slowing down.

Now the former two-division champion from Slovakia will face his next test as he takes on Irish contender Richie Smullen at OKTAGON 77 on Saturday, October 4 in Bratislava.

Buchinger was due to face Vojto Barborik in a lightweight main card matchup at the Tipos Arena. But now he’s set to take on Smullen, who will arrive in Bratislava riding a five-fight win streak.

Smullen made his promotional debut at OKTAGON 73 in June, where he finished Barborik in the second round via ground and pound TKO. And now, after a shake-up on the fight card, Smullen replaces the man he defeated as he takes on a legend of Slovakian mixed martial arts.

Buchinger is a former featherweight and lightweight champion in OKTAGON, and remains one of the promotion’s top fighters at 155 pounds. He’ll head into his matchup with Smullen with back-to-back wins in his last two fights. “Buki” defeated rising German star Hafeni Nafuka via second-round TKO at OKTAGON 63, then showcased his submission skills to finish Vladimir Lengal via second-round rear-naked choke at OKTAGON 72.

Now Buchinger will take on Smullen in a matchup that could push the winner into contention in the 155-pound division. And with the promotion’s lightweight champion Losene Keita departing the promotion for the UFC, OKTAGON will be looking to book a matchup for the vacated belt.

A win for either man could see them thrust into a fight for that belt. For Smullen, it would be a quickfire title opportunity in only his third fight for the promotion. For Buchinger, it could be the chance to reclaim the lightweight throne once again. But only one can get that opportunity, and we’ll discover who has the best shot when they face off in Bratislava on October 4.

The fight card in Bratislava will feature the two Tipsport Gamechanger semi-final bouts, as middleweight champion Kerim Engizek takes on Dominik Humburger, while Krzysztof Jotko faces Hojat Khajevand.

The rest of the main card features six bouts, all featuring Slovakian fan-favourites. In addition to Buchinger’s bout with Smullen, the card will see middleweights Vlasto Cepo and Samuel Kristofic take on German opposition in the form of Daniel Schwindt and Jaime Cordero, respectively.

Strawweight Monika Chochlikova will face Spain’s Atenea Flores in a 55kg catchweight contest, while featherweight Marko Novak takes on England’s dangerous Corey “The Sniper” Fry.

Also representing Slovakia, number-one flyweight contender Veronika Smolkova will look to extend her four-fight win streak when she returns to action in Bratislava. “Sweetheart” has claimed a hat-trick of successive wins since her return to OKTAGON last summer, with each of those victories coming against the division’s second, third and fourth-ranked contenders. Now she’ll look to make it four in a row as she bids to earn a shot at the vacant women’s 125-pound championship. Her opponent is set to be confirmed in due course.