The MMA World Cup Expand into Czech Republic & Slovakia with Oktagon MMA

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA  March 21, 2017  Europe continues to rally around The MMA World Cup, fielding another impressive team with Oktagon MMA. Oktagon MMA is officially the twenty-third team to join this prestigious event, represented in nineteen countries on six continents. Oktagon MMA will be fielding a team featuring fighters from two countries, Czech Republic and Slovakia. (The two nations formerly comprised what was known as Czechoslovakia). The might of these two proud countries will pool together to prove that they are the very best that the world has to offer.

Oktagon MMA is a young and ambitious organization, having been founded just last year by their owners, Pavol Neruda and Ondrej Novotny. Their premise is one that “The Ultimate Fighter” fans have certainly related to, by building their promotion based on their fighters’ stories. They have focused on destroying old myths about “blood sport” and showing the world that MMA fighters are unique athletes, deserving of fame and glory, by producing a hit reality TV show “Oktagon Výzva” (Oktagon Challenge). This show quickly became a ratings success in their home countries and immediately attracted thousands of new fans to the sport.

Pavol Neruda added, “We knew that “Oktagon Výzva” was going to be a huge endeavor, but we believed in this project from the very beginning. We spent two and a half years of preparation, filming, and building up the crew. The show brought the story of our MMA fighters to the public. By showing fighters as humans, we attracted masses of new fans. That was our idea for the whole project and it went well. Oktagon MMA immediately becomes one of the biggest MMA promotions in Czech and Slovak Republic. Now, thanks to our weekly TV Oktagon Magazine, we are still growing bigger. We know that by also becoming a partner of WSOF Global Championship’s platform, it places us on the world map of MMA. We are very exciting about this relationship. We believe it will make MMA more popular here and will give local fighters interesting opportunities to compete with other guys from all around the world, and show the world what Czech and Slovak fighters are capable of. Our team is ready for The MMA World Cup. We hope they are ready for us.”

Current discussions foreshadow a huge World Cup event to take place in Prague on July 29. This event will feature fighters from around the world flying in to represent their organization and countries to compete against Oktagon MMA.

You have to admire Oktagon’s business model. They saw something that worked (‘The Ultimate Fighter’), implemented some noticeable changes, and successfully marketed it to sports fans in their region,” states WSOF-GC President, Shawn Wright. “They put a lot of hard work into it and it quickly paid off. I love that they focus their efforts on promoting their fighters, not just the fights themselves. They earned this opportunity because they grasp a true understanding of the competitive spirit. And that all starts with the competitors themselves.

Last year in Tokyo Japan, we found a viral sensation in Slovakia’s Miroslav Strbak, when he landed a crushing face-first knockout blow to former UFC fighter and MMA legend, Akihiro Gono,” added WSOF-GC Vice President of Operations, Jason Lilly. “Eastern Europe is an area of the world that is underappreciated in the MMA world. They have a lot of great talent that has yet to be seen beyond their borders. It’s exciting to bring these athletes to the forefront of such a big event. We are looking forward to finding the next big star from their region and we know they won’t disappoint.

Oktagon MMA’s first season of their hit reality show, “Oktagon Výzva”, will be making its way into The MMA World Cup Fight Library, which will be the exclusive online home for The MMA World Cup in 2017. Watch The MMA World Cup, Oktagon MMA, and all of the World Cup Teams’ LIVE and previous events at TheMMAWorldCup.com! 

World Series of Fighting Global Championship is dedicated to growing the international brand of World Series of Fighting throughout the world by adding affiliate organizations to develop their athletes and provide them with opportunities to compete on larger platforms for the advancement of the sport of MMA. Media inquiries should be sent to Jason Lilly, Vice President of Operations of World Series of Fighting Global Championship, at jlilly@wsof.asia. Follow them on Twitter and Instagram @wsofglobal

The MMA World Cup’s ultimate mission is to bring together the best athletes from organizations and countries across the world to compete for a true, globally-recognized world champion. Media inquiries should be sent to Darren Owen, Chief Operating Officer of The MMA World Cup, at dowen@themmaworldcup.com. Follow them on Twitter and Instagram @themmaworldcup