Fighters Only : OKTAGON 74 Preview

Paul Browne

Aug 08, 2025

A European MMA giant lands in the Czech capital on Saturday as OKTAGON MMA stages its first Štvanice open-air event in two years. The picturesque Prague venue will set the stage for a championship showdown and all four quarterfinals of the €1 million Tipsport Gamechanger middleweight tournament.

In the main event, bantamweight champion Cecilie Bolander (4-1) aims to make her first title defense against unbeaten challenger Lucia Szabová (9-0). Bolander shocked the division last year when she claimed the belt in just her fifth pro bout, avenging her only career defeat by dethroning UFC veteran Lucie Pudilová. But Szabová, known as the “Silent Killer,” has spent six years carving a path to the top and isn’t about to watch her prize go elsewhere. With both women supremely confident, expect a tense battle for divisional supremacy.

The co-main event brings drama and bad blood. Reigning middleweight champion Kerim Engizek (22-4), who hasn’t tasted defeat in over a decade, meets England’s Mick Stanton (14-8) in a Gamechanger quarterfinal. Stanton chose Engizek as his opponent during the tournament draw, openly targeting the man most consider the bracket’s biggest threat. Since then, the trash talk has escalated, with Stanton predicting an easy night’s work and Engizek promising to make him regret the challenge.

Home favorite Dominik Humburger (10-2) will have the Prague crowd behind him when he faces South African Mark Hulme (13-3), a teammate of UFC champion Dricus Du Plessis. Both earned stoppages in the opening round—Humburger halting Samuel “Pirát” Krištofič, Hulme submitting former finalist Andreas Michailidis in under two minutes—and both thrive in big firefights.

The remaining quarterfinal matchups feature Polish UFC veteran Krzysztof Jotko (26-6, 1 NC) against Slovak knockout threat Marek Mazúch (9-3), returning to the bracket as a “Lucky Loser,” and ex-interim champ Piotr Wawrzyniak (14-6) against surging Iranian middleweight Hojat Khajevand (9-4).

Rounding out the card: Gamechanger reserve action between David Zawada (19-11) and Bellator alum Kamil Oniszczuk (10-5); rising prospect Daniel Ligocki (4-1) vs. newcomer Andre Langen (3-2, 1 NC) at a 192-pound catchweight; and the long-awaited pro debut of multiple-time Muay Thai world champion Niamh Kinehan, who takes on fellow first-timer Michaela Hlaváčiková in a bantamweight clash.