OKTAGON 74 delivers action-packed card in latest open-air event in front of bumper crowd

OKTAGON 74 is in the books and Europe's MMA leaders delivered an action-packed event at the iconic Stvanice Stadium.

OKTAGON returned to Prague, Czechia, on Saturday following June's blockbuster trilogy bout between Karlos Vemola and Attila Vegh.

In the main-event, Cecilie Bolander surrendered her women's bantamweight title as she suffered a crushing first-round defeat to Lucia Szabova, having hurt her knee in an unfortunate sequence.

But the card was highlighted by the four Tipsport Gamechanger middleweight tournament fights, including a colossal showdown between Kerim Engizek and Mick Stanton.

Engizek, the promotion's middleweight champion, put on a virtuoso performance, stopping Stanton in the first round after a ground assault.

He advanced to the semi-finals of the Tipsport Gamechanger tournament and faces Dominik Humburger for a spot in the final.

Hometown favourite Humburger produced a devastating elbow strike to knock out Mark Hulme to not only book his spot in the next round of the tournament but also the Tipsport Performance of the Night bonus.

Former UFC fighter Krzysztof Jotko stopped Marek Mazuch, while Hojat Khajevand edged out Piotr Wawrzyniak to claim next round places in the Tipsport Gamechanger tournament.

Elsewhere, Radek Rousal finished Adrian Hamerski and Niamh Kinehan, who was making her MMA debut following a decorated Muay Thai career, impressed as she secured a victory in her first appearance under the OKTAGON banner.

OKTAGON, fronted by co-promoters Pavol Neruda and Ondrej Novotny, have established themselves as the premier MMA promotion in Europe and flexed their muscles by recruiting Martin Buday following his UFC release.

Buday, who held the belt before appearing on Dana White's Contender Series, is expected to face heavyweight champion Will Fleury in what is a must-see fight.

What's next for OKTAGON?

The OKTAGON bandwagon rolls into Hannover, Germany, on September 13 when budding MMA star Max Holze meets Khalid Taha in the headline act.

The card also features former heavyweight title holder Lazar Todev and Mago Machaev, among others.