One of the best championship contests in OKTAGON history will go down in Hannover, Germany.
Reigning title holder, Igor Severino (10-1, 1NC), puts his bantamweight gold on the line against top European prospect, Max Holzer (12-0), as he makes the drop down a division for the very first time. The mouth-watering matchup will take place at OKTAGON 97 on Saturday, November 7, inside Zag Arena – the home of Holzer! However, ‘Hannibal Lecter’ has no problem travelling into enemy territory to prove that he is very best in the weight class.
Severino has completed an impressive career turnaround after being controversially cut from the UFC and now feels at home on the largest stage in Europe. After running through Khurshed Kakhorov to win the title by knockout back in March, he last fought to a no contest in a champion vs. champion clash with Zhalgas Zhumagulov last month (due to an accidental groin strike) despite taking the first round. Still at only 23-year-old, he hasn’t even scratched the surface of his potential and now wants to knock Holzer from the ranks of the unbeaten.
Holzer has quickly risen to become one of the biggest stars on the continent due to his incredible arsenal of skills, entertaining walkouts and captivating personality. ‘Stifler’ started grabbing global headlines after his viral submission win of Deniz Ilbay in April of last year but then took some time away from the sport because of health concerns. However, he hadn’t lost a step in his return at OKTAGON 88, delivering an absolutely stunning performance to knock out Khalid Taha in sensational fashion. Holzer believes he will be able to reach his full athletic potential in the bantamweight division which is a terrifying prospect considering how lethal he looked a few months back.
OKTAGON 97 will be the organisation’s third trip to the German city and promises to be the most exciting yet with a host of talent from Fight School Hannover guaranteed to also be on the card.
