Oktagon 48: First names announced for Oktagon’s debut UK event in Manchester

Oktagon 48 is heading to the United Kingdom, with the largest arena in the country set to play host to the promotion’s debut event in England.

The event on Saturday, November 4, will take place at the AO Arena in Manchester, where a packed crowd will be in place to watch a host of UK stars competing under the banner of the Czech-Slovak promotion, which has made huge strides in their European expansion over the last 12 months.

A number of names have now been confirmed for the Manchester fight card, including new signing, former Cage Warriors bantamweight champion Jack Cartwright, who is set to face an opponent to be named in due course. The Manchester Top Team man joins a growing cast of UK-based fighters who are set for action on November 4.

Sixth-ranked heavyweight contender and former BAMMA champion Stuart Austin is set to feature as he takes on Poland’s former KSW heavyweight title challenger Michal Andryszak, while No. 15-ranked welterweight James Lewis faces off against Germany’s former UFC veteran Niklas Stolze.

Also set for action in separate matchups are lightweights Shem Rock and Akonne Wanliss. The two 155-pounders both produced impressive performances at Oktagon 45 at Stvanice, Prague this past weekend, and both have their sights set on ranked opposition after making a splash in the promotion’s lightweight division.

Additionally, featherweight Shoaib Yusaf has also signed to the promotion, and will make his Oktagon debut in Manchester.

The event will also see the worlds of showbiz and sport collide as top UK stand-up comedian Paul Smith takes on reality TV personality Jake Quickenden. Both men have been in training for several weeks already as they prepare to step into the cage to compete. Their journey will be chronicled in the show “Stage To The Cage,” when their bout set to complete their respective journeys from the world of showbiz to the world of MMA.

Finally, the Manchester card will also feature the grand finale of the upcoming reality TV show, Oktagon Challenge: England vs. Ireland.

The show, which will feature two teams of fighters going head to head in a series of challenges designed to take them out of their comfort zones, will come to a conclusion in Manchester with the top fighters from each team going head to head with the prize of a five-figure Oktagon contract and the title of “Oktagon Challenge Champion” awaiting the winner.