The biggest MMA organization in Europe, OKTAGON MMA, will hold its first-ever UK event in Manchester’s AO Arena this winter, and fight night is now less than two weeks away.
The Arena is following up a huge night this past weekend that saw the likes of Tommy Fury, Logan Paul, KSI, and more fight with a landmark night for one of the continent’s fastest-growing sports associations, promising both professional fighters and celebrities who are set to get a taste of the action.
The former Cage Warriors bantamweight champion Jack Cartwright, who recently signed with the event, and former IMMAF amateur champion Shoaib Yousaf, who will both be making their pro MMA debuts, will both be fighting in the Oktagon this November.
The excitement doesn’t end there, though, as stand-up comedian Paul Smith from the UK and reality TV sensation Jake Quickenden from the UK will also compete in the popular “Stage To The Cage” event. You better believe they’re serious about this fight since they’ve invested more than 10 months in preparation.
There is a lot on the line in this fight card, with Yousaf aiming for the featherweight title and Cartwright seeking to establish himself as the “best bantamweight in Europe.”
Yousaf stated, “I’ve had a few fights with some big organizations, but the shows that OKTAGON MMA have been doing recently just look amazing, and when my manager came with the contract it was just something I couldn’t say no to.” Fight night is scheduled for November 4.
I hail from a tiny town close to Manchester, and my friends and family have been there for me ever since I was a beginner. Manchester supporters and I haven’t performed together in the UK in a long time,
As for the biggest current promotion, possibly even in the entire world, Cartwright praised OKTAGON, saying that “it’s selling out arenas, putting on really good shows, and signing good fighters, and I’m really excited to get involved and fight on all these shows and fight their best guys.”
The 29-year-old emphasized that, considering the fighting tradition in his region, he has always tried to entertain and will be “going for the stoppage or the knockout” as usual. He even went so far as to claim that he is the best in his weight class in all of Europe. We’ll just have to wait and see, I suppose.
Smith and Quickenden haven’t attempted anything quite like this before, despite both of them having dabbled in sports and fight training in the past, respectively.
Both DAZN and Channel 4 have acknowledged that “would rather die than lose” after devoting the better part of a year to preparing for this exhibition and having the entire journey filmed by the event in an online YouTube series (which will be broadcasting the fight night in full).
The promotion’s first flyweight championship fight between Aaron Aby, one of Europe’s top flyweights, and Elias Garcia, who has never lost outside of the UFC, will also take place. Other highlights include the eagerly awaited England vs. Ireland match. There will be some great talent in Manchester.
The complete fight schedule is shown below:
There’s still plenty of time to have your choice of view and obtain a ticket for a UK-first fight night to remember, with tickets starting at £49 and the priciest seats going for a staggering £599 to sit right next to the Oktagon.
The key issue is who among the famous people will we be seeing: Jake Quickenden from X-Factor and the Jungle or Paul Smith from Liverpool?
On November 4, OKTAGON 48 begins at 5 p.m., and perhaps we’ll run into a few of you ringside.
