Sixteen fighters representing fifteen different countries will battle it out for their share of €1 million in the Tipsport Gamechanger – the most prize money ever awarded in a European MMA tournament. OKTAGON MMA stars will compete alongside UFC, Bellator and PFL veterans in the Champions League of MMA at Oktagon 40 on Saturday, March 4. Ostravar Arena in Ostrava, Czech Republic will play host to the entire eight-fight opening round of the welterweight bracket as well as two reserve bouts on a truly landmark card in the history of the top European promotion.
In the main event, David Kozma (30-12) looks towards a new challenge after losing his OKTAGON MMA title in December when he faces Babilon MMA welterweight champion Lukasz Siwiec (8-1) in the Tipsport Gamechanger. “Pink Panther” was the longest reigning belt holder in the promotion and defended his crown five times, fending off all challenges until he ran into Kaik Brito at Oktagon 37. Kozma remains one of the biggest stars in the organization, but Polish finisher Siwiec wants to prove he can make the step up to the summit of the European food chain and silence his opponent’s adoring crowd. Will Kozma begin his path back towards the top while flying the flag for the Czech Republic or can Siwiec cause a huge upset?
Former interim OKTAGON MMA middleweight champion Samuel Kristofic (16-4) was enjoying his run at 185 pounds, but the draw of the life-changing cash prize in the Tipsport Gamechanger has made him drop back down to the welterweight division. At Oktagon 40, “Pirat” will represent Slovakia in the co-main event opposite Bellator veteran Alex Lohore (22-8), who was born in France but raised in the U.K. “Da Killa King” cemented his place in the bracket after a vicious knockout of Matus Juracek in his last outing and after joining Great Britain Top Team, he feels that now is the time to achieve his sporting potential. Can Lohore become the first man to finish Kristofic or will “Pirat” sail through to the quarterfinals?
Also on the main card, German warrior Christian Jungwirth (13-6) enters the tournament after picking up a victory over Denilson Neves de Oliveira in Munich three weeks ago. He will square off with Tato Primera (18-12) who was awarded a place in the bracket after winning the final participant fan vote with big support from his home country of Spain.
In arguably the best matched contest of the opening round, lethal submission artist Louis Glismann (9-2) travels to Ostrava from Denmark to try and progress in the project over Georgian prospect Amiran Gogoladze (14-3). Furthermore, Leandro “Apollo” Silva (26-10-1, 1NC), is the only non-European in the Tipsport Gamechanger and will proudly fight for Brazil against Greek athlete Andreas Michailidis (13-6).
Elsewhere in the field, the best Hungarian welterweight, Mate Kertesz (13-5), clashes with Germany’s Marcel Grabinski (22-7), and UFC veteran Bojan Velickovic (21-12-2), will represent Serbia when he takes on the man known as “Dracula,” Ion Surdu (12-4), from Moldova. Slovakian knockout machine, Radovan Uskrt (7-3), won the fan vote to replace the injured Christian Eckerlin in the bracket and looks to continue his 100 percent first-round finishing streak when he faces LFL welterweight champion and top Dutch fighter Melvin van Suijdam (13-5). John Hathaway has had to withdraw from the opening round due to an injury he has suffered.
No matches in the €1 million Tipsport Gamechanger tournament can end in a draw so if the points are even after three rounds, the judges must decide who the overall winner of the bout is. Once the opening round has been concluded in Ostrava, the eight fighters who progress to the quarter finals will randomly draw numbers from 1-8 and place themselves in the next round of the bracket. Therefore, some competitors will decide who they face in the quarter finals.
Fan interaction is a vital component of the project, as they will vote between eight “lucky losers” from the first-round bouts and two winners from the reserve contests. Out of these 10 options, the two competitors who receive the most votes will take part in reserve fights in the quarterfinal round against two athletes selected by OKTAGON MMA. In the case of an injury, the “lucky loser” or reserve bout winner who received the most votes would replace the hurt fighter in the bracket and jump into the tournament. As a result of this, if a participant from the tournament is defeated, they may still get a chance to later re-enter the field.
The complete rules for the tournament can be found on the official Tipsport Gamechanger website.
Oktagon 40 will be broadcast live around the world on Oktagon.tv and kicks off at 12 p.m. ET.
