The main event of OKTAGON 65 this Sunday night is well and truly for more than just a win on either man's record.
At the O2 Arena in Prague, two of the best fighters in Europe will meet in the finals of the Tipsport Gamechanger tournament where the lightweight title will be on the line.
Ronald Paradeiser and Losene Keita have met once before back in 2022 where "Black Panther" became the last man to defeat the current champion.
Since then, "Rony" has won eight in a row to claim the title from Ivan Buchinger last year before entering this year's tournament.
In a preview of the fight on OKTAGON's YouTube channel, the champion speaks about his previous encounter with Keita where after his nose was broken in the fourth round, he couldn't keep pace with his opponent to become the interim champion.
"I wasn't strong enough mentally to keep up the tempo and my tempo wasn't as high as his. He was definitely better than me on the day. He showed me the changes I had to make. He made me leave the OFA gym for a better gym."
For the 26-year old star Keita, he knows that just because he has gotten the better of Paradeiser once before, this fight will still push him to the limit.
"One of my toughest fights in my career right now. He is very good so win or lose, he's still a good fighter, I'm never going to take that away from him. He's a good fighter but he's going to lose, that's it. Now it's Keita, it's Keita time. The only thing I'm driving is be number one."
As Keita looks to reclaim the lightweight title, Paradeiser is out for redemption in this fight and evening the score with his former foe will be the validation that he needs.
"When you think you're the best, you're one step away from being defeated and I'll never think that I'm the best in the world and I know this opponent is coming to defeat me and I'm going there knowing my opponent wants to defeat me and he might just succeed. But, I'm preparing to do whatever it takes to win. I'll give it my all to defeat this opponent and to dominate him."
Watch the full preview below:
