A last-minute reshuffle has seen a new main event emerge for the OKTAGON Halloween special this weekend.
Georgian phenom, Amiran Gogoladze (18-3), now competes against UFC veteran, Jessin Ayari (19-6), for the vacant welterweight championship at OKTAGON 96 this Saturday, October 31. Felix Klinkhammer was originally scheduled to fight for the title but fell out of the lineup earlier today due to an injury. Ayari was set to face Ion Surdu in a feature matchup on the card but ‘Dracula’ also withdrew because of an injury, so Ayari now has a golden opportunity to claim gold on late notice.
Gogoladze has made a big impact since joining the organisation, maintaining a perfect record with four successive wins against high-level opposition, including former UFC fighter, Leandro ‘Apollo’ Silva. His defining performance came in Poland in April, when he delivered a spectacular first-round knockout of former champion, Ion Surdu, announcing himself as one of the promotion’s best talents. Now firmly established as a key player in the division, ‘The Sniper’ is hungry to build on that statement victory and lift the strap above his head in Munich on Saturday.
Throughout his 17-year career, Ayari has tested himself against elite opposition, including Kerim Engizek, Abus Magomedov and Darren Till. Since making his OKTAGON debut last year, he has impressed with a stoppage victory over Andreas Stahl, followed by a submission win against Niklas Stolze just three months later. Following all of the last-minute changes to OKTAGON 96, can Ayari step up and win the belt in front of his roaring German crowd?
Elsewhere on the card, former pound-for-pound king, Ronald Paradeiser, takes on rising star, Tyron Pfeifer, in another welterweight battle and previous title challenger, Lazar Todev, locks horns with heavy hitter, Simon Biyong, at heavyweight.
