Oktagon 36 took place on Saturday evening from the iconic Festhalle Frankfurt in Germany and was billed as one of the biggest events in Europe this year. A capacity crowd of 9,500 sold out the venue for the second time since June and once again gave unwavering support to their sporting heroes. New contenders emerged and divisional hierarchy was clarified as some of the best talent from the territory competed on the loaded fight card.

In the main event, the biggest star in German MMA, Christian Eckerlin (15-5), settled the score against his rival, Denilson Neves de Oliveira (16-9), putting to bed all controversy from their original no contest earlier this year. Both men had bright spots on the feet, but it was Eckerlin’s well-timed takedowns that turned the contest in his favor. He got the ultimate revenge in the fourth round, when he sunk in a rear-naked choke and forced the tap from the Brazilian, much to the delight of his hometown crowd. Eckerlin proved once again that he is an absolute superstar in the city and mentioned that after competing at catchweights in his last three bouts, he now wants to make a run at the welterweight title.

Hatef Moeil (13-4) picked up a statement, second-round TKO victory over UFC veteran Jeremy Kimball (18-10) in the co-main event of the evening. Despite displaying great takedown defense in the opening frame, Kimball was quickly taken to the mat in round two before “Boss” delivered some devastating ground-and-pound, giving the referee no choice but to wave off the contest. Powerhouse Moeil is now riding a nine-fight winning streak, with seven of those victories coming via TKO, and demanded a shot at the vacant Okatagon MMA heavyweight title inside the cage.

Much of the international media attention surrounding Okatagon 36 centered around the remarkable comeback story of the U.K.’s John Hathaway (18-2). He had not fought for eight years due to a series of serious health issues and just being able to compete again was a victory in itself. However, he turned in an utterly dominant performance against Andre Ricardo (11-6-2), showcasing his smothering top game on the way to a unanimous decision win. In his post-fight interview, “The Hitman” stated he wanted to return to competition quickly so he can continue his resurgence.

Stephan Puetz (22-5) cemented his position as the top contender at light heavyweight when he dispatched of Karlos Vemola‘s training partner, Milos Petrasek (12-7), over three rounds. The victory means that a highly anticipated “Terminator” vs. “Terminator” showdown could be edging ever closer. To top his evening off,  “T-800” proposed to his now fiance in the cage, meaning it was a cause for celebration all round.

Elsewhere on the card, Mate Kertesz (13-5) defeated Christian Jungwirth (12-6) for the second time in an exciting welterweight rematch and Leandro “Apollo” Silva (26-10-1) bested Bojan Velickovic (21-12-2) in a close split decision at 170 pounds. “Apollo” expressed an interesting in fighting Kertész next to decide the next title challenger in the division.

In a strawweight bout, Katharina Dalisda (7-3) overcame Mallory Martin (7-6) in the first ever Okatagon MMA women’s fight to take place in Germany and Alexander Poppeck (15-4) made an impressive return to the promotion when he quickly finished Nermin Hajdarpasic (4-1) at a catchweight of 218 pounds. Poppeck later called for a matchup with national MMA pioneer, “King Kong” Martin Zawada, which would be an intriguing clash for the country and continent.

During the evening, the organization announced that they are expanding further across Germany early next year when they kick off their 2023 schedule. Okatagon 39 will take place at Audi Dome in Munich on February 11 and will feature some of the biggest stars in Europe. The story and mission continues.

Okatagon 36 results include:

• Christian Eckerlin def. Denilson Neves de Oliveira via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 4, 4:37
• Hatef Moeil def. Jeremy Kimball via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 1:04
• Stephan Puetz def. Milos Petrasek via unanimous decision (30-26, 29-27, 29-27)
• Leandro “Apollo” Silva def. Bojan Velickovic via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
• Samuel Kristofic def. Zdenek Polivka (8-6) by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Mate Kertesz def. Christian Jungwirth via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• John Hathaway def. Andre Ricardo via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-24)
• Alexander Poppeck def. Nermin Hajdarpasic via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:53
• Hojat Khajevand def. Vaclav Mikulasek via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 1:03
• Ebrahim Hosseinpour def. Marek Bartl via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
• Katharina Dalisda def. Mallory Martin via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Jakub Bahník def. Jamie Cordero via disqualification (illegal kick) – Round 2, 0:20

The next Okatagon MMA event, Okatagon 37, takes place on Saturday, December 3 and sees welterweight champion David Kozma (30-11) defend the belt against his most dangerous challenge to date, Kaik Brito (15-4). The show in Ostrava, Czech Republic will also crown a new featherweight king after Ivan Buchinger had to be stripped of the title due to an injury he suffered. Georgian Mate Sanikidze (8-2) takes on the undefeated Jakub Tichota (5-0) in a championship meeting between two top prospects.