Sam “Urai” Creasey (19-5) is enjoying a new lease of life under the Oktagon banner. The veteran flyweight made the move to the Czech-based organization at the beginning of 2024 and in his promotional debut beat Aaron Aby to win the vacant 125 lb title.
As he prepares to make the first defense of that belt later this month against Beno Adamia at Oktagon 67, Creasey has been reflecting on his career. From 2016-2023, he fought in the famous yellow Cage Warriors gloves 18 times and became a world champion.
“It was nice to freshen things up” says Creasey of his move to Oktagon. “To not know the schedule, not know exactly what was happening when I turned up on fight week and to see the way they do things differently there.
“I love Cage Warriors, there’s some great people there but it was all so routine to me. I’d been there for so long. Going with Octagon was a nice change, they looked after me really well. I've really enjoyed my time with them so far”.
Creasey won the Cage Warriors title when he submitted Luke Shanks in October of 2021. He lost an immediate rematch to “The Apocalypse” and ranks those 2 fights as some of the toughest of his career.
“My toughest tests were probably against Luke” he admits, “probably dealing with the rematch, and having close connections with him previously. We had trained together quite a lot his gym, and trying to deal with those kind of emotions that come along with fighting anyway, but then also fighting somebody who's not a teammate, but close enough”.
A New Chapter
Creasey was pitted against another fighter he knows all too well in his Oktagon debut last April. He had already faced and beaten Aaron Aby at Cage Warriors 123 back in 2021 and when the pair met in the main event at Oktagon 56 last year, Creasey delivered one of the best performances of his career as he outshone the Welshman over 25 minutes.
“I'm happy” said Creasey as he looked back on his title-winning performance. “I got to show that I can fight my friends. That was quite important for me. I felt very comfortable in there. I felt Aaron had done quite a lot of research and negated a lot of my wrestling, which was very effective in the first fight, which then allowed me to display more of my striking. It was a good test and I think the most important thing for me was really to show I could keep my concentration for those five rounds”.
On the eve of his 25th professional fight, Creasey now finds himself preparing to compete for 5 rounds on a regular basis, something the Londoner has no problem doing, even at 36 years of age. “It's more about just the pacing of the fight and the rounds now” he states when asked if he has had to change how he trains for championship bouts. “I'll need to be aware that if I sprint too hard too early, I'm gonna gas out hard if I over commit on things. Perhaps that's gonna lead to trouble in the later rounds. So, just within my own training, I'll make sure that I've got those moments to sprint, to slow down, to recover and make sure that I'm getting high-paced guys giving me good work, but not a great deal changes in the actual training, just perhaps my intentions during those workouts”.
Creasey’s Next Challenge Awaits
Creasey’s opponent on February 22nd, Beno Adamia (11-8-2), has also started brightly since signing with Oktagon. The Georgian beat UFC veteran Gustavo Lopez in his promotional debut late in 2023 before picking up a victory over a former opponent of Creasey’s, Stipe Brcic, in May of last year.
“He looks really good” says Creasey of Adamia. “I've watched his fights. His boxing looks really nice. He's been around a long time. His wrestling, his grappling is a very good standard. I'm expecting him to come in there and bring it. He looked so good at bantamweight against Lopez.
“I’m going to win by using my experience” he says when asked for a prediction ahead of the fight against Adamia. “I think I'm well-rounded. I don't have an area which I figure is a weak area. I can take the fight wherever I need to, and I expect to win. I expect to have my hand raised at the end of the five rounds”.
It’s rare to see a fighter in the lower weight classes continue to perform at the peak of their abilities into their late-30s but having now won major titles in 2 of the world’s most well-known organizations, Creasey is in no mood for slowing down just yet.
“My genetics, I guess, allow me to carry on playing this game at the minute”, he surmises. “My speed, my athleticism hasn't really diminished, or not noticeably anyway. When it does, then I'll have to have a think about things. But for the moment, I'm still moving like I'm 20 years old. And as long as that continues, then God willing, nothing happens to make me have to take a step back from the game”.
Sam Creasey faces Beno Adamia in the main event at Oktagon 67 which goes down at the Werk Arena in Trnek, Czech Republic on Saturday Febraury 22nd.
