Oktagon 38: Interim title clash headlines packed card for Prague

Oktagon MMA brings the curtain down on a big year for the Czech-Slovak promotion with Oktagon 38, and they’ve stacked the deck with crowd-pleasing matchups for their final show of 2022 on December 30.

The O2 Arena in Prague, Czech Republic will be packed to the rafters with a crowd of around 20,000 expected for the show, which features 11 MMA bouts, plus two all-striking matchups.

The headline bout of the night will crown an interim bantamweight champion, with Czech contender Filip Macek facing former Combate Americas 135-pound champion and former UFC fighter Gustavo Lopez for the vacant strap.

Macek was originally booked to challenge for the full version of the bantamweight title, but when reigning 135-pound champion Jonas Magard was forced off the card due to injury, Oktagon officials moved swiftly to book an interim bantamweight title bout, with Lopez drafted in on just one week’s notice to make his first appearance on European soil.

Both men are proven finishers, with 35 stoppage victories from their 39 combined career wins.

The co-main event features Oktagon lightweight champion Losene Keita, but his non-title assignment is somewhat different to his usual matchups. That’s because Keita is set to take on Milan Minci Pales in what’s being billed as an “underground rules” bout. The matchup will be a striking-only bout, with no takedowns allowed.

Also set for action is England’s Lee Chadwick. The former Cage Warriors middleweight champion had recently plied his trade in Bellator’s light heavyweight division, but now he has arrived after signing a three-fight deal with Oktagon.

Chadwick will compete in a 202-pound catchweight bout against No. 2-ranked light heavyweight contender Rafael Xavier in a bout that could propel “The Butcher” toward a title shot at either 205 or 185 pounds. The Englishman has stated his intention to drop back down to middleweight, but the lure of a light heavyweight title shot might prove too much to resist if he claims a decisive win over the 205-pound contender in Prague.

There’s also a boxing contest on the card, as Gabor Boraros and Vaclav Mikulasek face off in the cage under boxing rules. Both have bounced back into the win column in their MMA careers, but they’ll be throwing hands only as Boraros and “Baba Jaga” throw leather in what should be an exciting scrap at 190 pounds.

Oktagon 38 streams live globally on Friday, December 30 via Oktagon.tv