Will Fleury is Ireland’s newest MMA world champion.
Fleury claimed the OKTAGON MMA light heavyweight title on Sunday night following a unanimous decision victory over Karlos Vemola.
The Irishman dominated the Czech fan favourite from start to finish, with all three judges awarding the contest 50-44 in his favour.
Fleury, 35, repeatedly rocked the champion en route to victory and is now Ireland’s inaugural representative of an OKTAGON MMA world title.
Vemola is OKTAGON’s former middleweight champion and he was contesting his 46th MMA bout.
Although the 39-year-old was by far the most popular fighter in Prague’s O2 Arena, he lost every round in what may very well be his final-ever bout.
OKTAGON MMA is Europe’s biggest MMA promotion, with the highest yearly attendance figures of any other organisation in Europe.
Speaking after his world title victory, Fleury previewed what he hopes to be an even bigger 2025.
“In 2024 I’ve done absolutely everything I said I was going to do,” he said.
“I don’t know how Karlos survived five rounds. I hit him with everything I had, and he was still standing. What a fighter, what a man.
“I’ve gone and done it, but I have a lot more to do. I’ve had a big ‘24, but I’ve got even bigger plans in 2025. Karlos opened the door for me, he gave me this chance, and now I’m here to stay.”
Former UFC fighter Makhmud Muradov then stepped into the cage to face off with Fleury, teasing a future bout in 2025.
OKTAGON MMAAnd remained on the front foot, catching him with numerous brutal strikes[/caption]
OKTAGON MMA has proven itself on the European MMA scene, with high-level production value combined with competitive and engaging match-making helping them become one of the leading MMA promotions in the world.
They recently made the five-promotion shortlist for MMA promotion of the year, which Dana White’s UFC won for the 16th year in a row.
In October, the promotion founded by Ondrej Novotny and Pavol Neruda, sold out the Deutsche Bank Park, usually the home of Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt, for OKTAGON 62 as 59,000 fans packed inside the arena for the spectacle.
This broke the previous record gate for an MMA event held by the UFC, when Israel Adesanya knocked out Robert Whittaker at UFC 243 with 57,127 in attendance.
The gigantic European promotion also recently announced their 16-man lineup for a life-changing €1million tournament that takes place in its third season in 2025.
The tournament is littered with stars as current middleweight champion Kerim Engizek, top Czech talent Matěj Peňáz, welterweight title holder Ion Surdu, and promotional newcomer Krzysztof Jotko are all set to compete.
OKTAGON 65 also witnessed two other title bouts as Losene Keita made light work of his lightweight tital rival Ronald Paradeiser in the main event to secure the tournament’s €1,000,000 prize pot.
