After the controversial first meeting between the pair, Christian Eckerlin and Denilson Neves de Oliveira will do battle for a second time.

The pair will meet in the main event of Oktagon 36, which takes place on Saturday, October 15 at Festhalle, Frankfurt, where the duo will return to the same arena to settle the score after their first bout was shrouded in controversy.

In that first fight, Oliveira appeared to have former professional footballer Eckerlin finished with a huge body kick that folded up the German fan-favourite. But the kick was incorrectly ruled as an illegal strike, and Eckerlin was gifted a second chance through an injury timeout.

Eckerlin then made a spirited recovery to finish Oliveira in the second round via ground and pound TKO.

The fight gave the German fight fans the result they’d hoped for, but the manner of Eckerlin’s victory was far from satisfactory and, after the bout was reviewed by the governing body of MMA in Germany, GEMMAF, the result of the matchup was changed to a no contest.

Eckerlin immediately called for a rematch to be booked, now the pair will face off again with both men returning to Frankfurt with a point to prove.

The co-main event will feature a light heavyweight clash between two 205-pounders with championship ambitions as Stephan Puetz and Milos Petrasek face off for a possible shot at light heavyweight champ Karlos Vemola.

Also set for action are welterweights Mate Kertesz and Christian Jungwirth, who face off in an eagerly-anticipated rematch at 170 pounds, while former UFC athletes Bojan Velickovic and Mallory Martin get set for action under the Oktagon MMA banner.

Velickovic takes on Leandro Silva as he looks to earn himself another shot at the welterweight title, while Martin makes her promotional debut in a strawweight bout against fellow newcomer Katharina Dalisda.

The event also marks the return of English former UFC welterweight John Hathaway, who returns to the cage for the first time since 2014.

Oktagon 36: Eckerlin vs. Oliveira – Fight Card

  • Christian Eckerlin vs. Denilson Neves De Oliveira
  • Stephan Puetz vs. Milos Petrasek
  • Jeremy Kimball vs. Hatef Moeil
  • Jakub Bahnik vs. Jamie Cordero
  • Mate Kertesz vs. Christian Jungwirth
  • Andre Ricardo vs. John Hathaway
  • Katharina Dalisda vs. Mallory Martin
  • Vaclav Mikulasek vs. Hojat Khajevand
  • Marek Bartl vs. Ebrahim Hosseinpour
  • Alexander Poppeck vs. Nermin Hajdarpasic
  • Bojan Velickovic vs. Leandro Silva
  • Samuel Kristofic vs. Zdenek Polivka