Fighters Only : OKTAGON 89 Preview

Fighters Only

Jun 05, 2026

OKTAGON returns to the beautiful city of Bratislava for one of the best cards we have ever staged this Saturday, June 6, inside Tipos Aréna. The absolutely stacked OKTAGON 89 lineup, which is headlined by a champion vs. champion superfight, also marks the Slovakian leg of the company's ten-year anniversary celebrations to kick off a historic summer for the organisation.

In the main event, Igor Severino (10-1) defends his bantamweight belt for the first time against flyweight king, Zhalgas Zhumagulov (19-9), in a highly anticipated battle. The Brazilian, who has embraced the character of ‘Hannibal Lecter’, looked truly devastating in his last outing three months ago, knocking out Khurshed Kakhorov to raise gold. Similarly, Zhumagulov has appeared unstoppable since joining the company, despatching the likes of Beno Adamia and David Dvořák in dominant fashion. The 37-year-old only wants the toughest challenges which is why he’s made the decision to boldly move up a weight class in an attempt to become a double champion. Can Severino prove once again he is destined for the very top or will Zhumagulov leave Slovakia with two belts?

Ronald Paradeiser (23-10) competes at home for the first time in two years when he meets PFL alumni, Jack Grant (20-9), in the welterweight co-headliner. ‘Rony’ is a former lightweight title holder who has recently finished Bojan Veličković and Geraldo Neto. However, he was unsuccessful in his championship bout against Kaik Brito but is intent on bouncing back immediately to get his hand raised once again. Grant has been one of the most talented athletes on the European scene for some time having gone the distance with the likes of Agy Sardari, Ian Garry and Abdoul Abdouraguimov. He has also finished his opponent in 19 of his 20 professional victories and hopes to add Paradeiser’s name to that list.

In an important heavyweight battle, Bulgarian tank, Lazar Todev (13-7), squares off with former top 15 ranked UFC competitor, Martin Buday (16-3). Since taking current champion, Will Fleury, to a very close split decision, Todev has rebounded by besting Luis Barbosa and Josh Parisian. Buday returned to OKTAGON (where he once owned the belt) last December but was also toppled by the aforementioned Fleury. The victor in this matchup will place themselves firmly in the title picture as they both hunt a rematch with the pound-for-pound number one.

'The Prince of Bratislava’, Robert Pukač (20-14-1), will throw down with oncoming Irish wrecking ball, Brian Manning (6-0), in a middleweight feature contest. Following a vicious first round knockout of Daniel Schwindt, Manning called out Pukač and even travelled to his hometown a few weeks ago to hunt him down for a faceoff. Pukač knows he is carrying Slovak pride to defend his home turf at OKTAGON 89 but Manning has promised another crushing stoppage.

Elsewhere on the show, rising star, Veronika Smolková (9-3), locks horns with Australian newcomer, Lisa Kyriacou (9-3), in a flyweight bout and knockout machine, Radovan Úškrt (8-6) clashes with fellow OKTAGON Challenge veteran, Ondřej Raška (11-9), at middleweight. Furthermore, lethal finisher, Patrick Vespaziani (6-3), takes on Polish warrior, Adam Pałasz (9-5), in a heavyweight collision.