Czech-Slovak promotion Oktagon MMA is ready to kick off its biggest-ever year with a 16-man welterweight tournament set to take center stage.

The one-million-Euro Tipsport Gamechanger tournament will feature 16 welterweight fighters, who will compete in a single elimination tournament throughout the year.

Eight established Oktagon fighters will be handed each of the eight seeded spots, with a further eight athletes set to be matched against them in the opening round of the tournament.

Oktagon officials have confirmed to Fighters Only all 16 fighters for the tournament, including clarification of which fighters will be seeded for the competition.

Tipsport Gamechanger tournament: Seeded fighters

  • David Kozma (30-12 career / 10-1 Oktagon), Czech Republic, former welterweight champion
  • Bojan Velickovic (21-12-2 career / 3-2 Oktagon), Serbia, former welterweight title challenger, six-fight UFC veteran, six-fight PFL veteran
  • Christian Jungwirth (12-6 career / 4-4 Oktagon), Germany, eight-fight Oktagon veteran
  • Christian Eckerlin (15-5, 1 NC career / 2-0 1 NC Oktagon), Germany, former pro soccer player
  • Mate Kertesz (13-5, 1 NC career / 8-4 Oktagon), Hungary, 12-fight Oktagon veteran
  • Samuel Kristofic (16-4 career / 10-3 Oktagon), Slovakia, 13-fight Oktagon veteran, middleweight contender
  • Leandro “Apollo” Silva (26-10-1 career / 3-1 Oktagon), Brazil, eight-fight UFC veteran, four-fight Oktagon veteran, former welterweight title challenger
  • Louis Glismann (9-2 career / 0-0 Oktagon), Denmark, three-fight Brave CF veteran, new Oktagon signee

Tipsport Gamechanger tournament: Unseeded fighters

  • Amiran Gogoladze (14-3 career / 0-0 Oktagon), Georgia, Contender Series prospect, new Oktagon signee
  • Andreas Michailidis (13-6 career / 0-0 Oktagon), Greece, four-fight UFC veteran, new Oktagon signee
  • Alex Lohore (22-8 career / 3-3 Oktagon), England/France, six-fight Oktagon veteran, two-time middleweight title challenger, former BAMMA welterweight champion
  • Ion Surdu (12-4 career / 0-0 Oktagon), Romania, new Oktagon signee
  • Melvin van Suijdam (13-5 career / 0-0 Oktagon), Netherlands, LFL welterweight champion, new Oktagon signee
  • John Hathaway (18-2 career / 1-0 Oktagon), England, nine-fight UFC veteran
  • Lukasz Siwiec (8-1 career / 0-0 Oktagon), Poland, new Oktagon signee
  • Tato Primera (18-12 career / 2-2 Oktagon), Spain, four-fight Oktagon veteran, fan vote winner

The first-round bouts for the Tipsport Gamechanger tournament will take place at Oktagon 40 in Ostrava on March 4.