Whilst the UFC might be the king of the hill in North America, Mixed Martial Arts here on the European continent is often dominated by another promotion, Oktagon MMA.
The Czech Slovak organization recently hosted an event for 59,000 screaming fans in Frankfurt, Germany, and has now teased plans to sell out the Allianz Arena and Santiago Bernabéu – all before a big-money offer from the UFC comes across their table.
Santiago Bernabéu views during the LaLiga Santander match between Real Madrid CF and Atletico de Madrid at Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on February 25...
Photo by Maria Jimenez – Real Madrid/Real Madrid via Getty Images
Oktagon MMA reveals plan to sell out Bayern Munich and Real Madrid stadiums
Oktagon MMA was founded in 2016 by entrepreneurs Pavol Neruda and Ondřej Novotný; the promotion has since experienced a meteoric rise in mainland Europe, culminating in that insane 59,000-seater show in October.
However, as TV rights deals and online viewership continue to skyrocket, the two founders are planning something even bigger in the hopes of eventually being bought out by the UFC.
“We want to go to the Bayern Munich football stadium, the Allianz Arena, we promised ourselves we would definitely do that,” stated Novotný in an interview with Czech Crunch, adding: “The Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid could also be filled.”
Oktagon had hoped to add a UK stadium show to that list, but after losing around 2.5 million Euros on its last British venture, it’s safe to say that Wembley isn’t on the cards: “Not Wembley, I don’t like England, it’s ugly there.” Harsh, but true.
Whilst the monolithic UFC have so far been unable to pull off a stadium show, the Czech-Slovak duo hopes that proving their worth with a 70,000+ event (both Allianz and the Bernabéu hold a 75,000+ capacity) could result in the Las Vegas-promotion making an offer.
“They either have to destroy us or acquire us… Oktagon is still our baby, which we can still equip for the future somehow. But the end is inevitable.
“Honestly, the best thing would be to build it up nicely so then the UFC would come in and buy us. Unlike some other organizations in the UFC, they’re not cocky. They are the kings of our world.”
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The two founders believe that a deal could be brokered within the next three years, with Novotný claiming that the TV rights for Oktagon MMA could be worth up to one billion Czech Crowns by 2028 – that’s approximately $41 million on the current exchange rate.
“When we were at the sports business conference in Monaco last year, nobody really talked to us [but] when we came there this year, brands like ESPN or Sportradar and other global companies were interested in us… Suddenly it was meetings and dinners with their bosses. That’s what you want to experience.
“We’re selling a billion crowns worth of TV rights in three years – it would actually be a disappointment for me if we only took a billion crowns in three years [as] the potential is three times bigger.”
Bloody Elbow’s James Sweetnam has been lucky enough to attend multiple Oktagon MMA shows in the past, including some of their bigger stadium events, and was keen to share his thoughts on the promotion.
“In European combat sports, nobody creates an atmosphere quite like Oktagon MMA. With an emphasis on story-telling and production, the promotion has taken over Eastern Europe, delivering blockbuster stadium shows in the Czech Republic and Germany.
“The promoters always go above and beyond to create a spectacle that fans will never forget, with awe-inspiring light shows and halftime musical performances, in pursuit of their ultimate goal of ‘dreaming bigger’.”
If you are interested in watching an Oktagon MMA event, there are two shows left of this calendar year: Oktagon 64 on December 7 in Munich, and Oktagon 65 on December 29 at Prague’s O2 Arena.
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