Igor Severino retained the Oktagon bantamweight title at Oktagon 97 on Saturday, November 7, 2026, stopping unbeaten Max Holzer by TKO at 0:54 of Round 1 at the ZAG-Arena in Hanover, Germany.
Oktagon has been pushing into the German market, and Max Holzer looked like the ideal headliner for it: unbeaten at 12-0, fighting at home, in his first Oktagon title fight. Igor Severino did not follow that script.
The rest of the card took longer but was just as decisive. Eight of the 11 bouts ended by knockout, TKO or submission, one more ended in a disqualification, and only two went to the judges. Gjoni Palokaj strengthened his featherweight contender case with a triangle choke in the co-main event, and Matheus da Silva Severino, no relation to the champion, scored one of the cleanest knockouts of the night on the prelims.
Oktagon 97 full results
| Fight | Winner | Method | Round | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Igor Severino vs. Max Holzer | Igor Severino | TKO | 1 | 0:54 |
| Gjoni Palokaj vs. Zafar Mohsen | Gjoni Palokaj | Submission | 2 | 3:12 |
| Ozan Aslaner vs. Denis Frimpong | Ozan Aslaner | TKO | 1 | 4:16 |
| Justin Detzel vs. Kacper Frątczak | Justin Detzel | Decision (unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 |
| Karol Ryšavý vs. Samuel Bark | Karol Ryšavý | DQ | 1 | 2:49 |
| Petr Bartoněk vs. Daniel Makin | Petr Bartoněk | Submission | 3 | 2:29 |
| Haci Akseker vs. Jonatan Kujawa | Haci Akseker | TKO | 1 | 1:25 |
| Islam Djabrailov vs. Kenji Bortoluzzi | Islam Djabrailov | Submission | 2 | 0:49 |
| Josefine Lindgren Knutsson vs. Yasmin Guimarães | Josefine Lindgren Knutsson | Decision (unanimous) | 3 | 5:00 |
| Matheus da Silva Severino vs. Mohammed Walid | Matheus da Silva Severino | KO (left hook) | 1 | 1:48 |
| Poliana Albuquerque vs. Kathrin Haberle | Kathrin Haberle | TKO | 1 | 2:29 |
Main event: Severino silences Hanover
Holzer had the setup for a storybook night: a 12-0 record, a home crowd and a title on the line. Severino, 23, had something more useful: experience, including a UFC stint and two earlier Oktagon title fights.
Severino pressed from the opening seconds and finished it with punches inside the first minute, with the referee stepping in at 0:54. The crowd barely had time to react (fight analysis).
The win continues a rebuild. Severino's UFC run ended in March 2024 with a disqualification loss to André Lima for biting, and he was released afterwards. In Oktagon he beat Khurshed Kakhorov by fifth-round TKO in a title fight in March 2026, and his June title fight with Zhalgas Zhumagulov ended in a no contest. Against Holzer he left no doubt, with his fastest title-fight finish in Oktagon so far. His record now stands at 11-1 with one no contest.
Holzer (now 12-1) takes his first professional loss with no easy excuses: stopped quickly, in his home country. What comes next for him, whether at bantamweight or back at featherweight, where Pugna MMA ranks him No. 2, depends on how he responds.
Co-main event: Palokaj stays in contention
Palokaj came in as the No. 1 featherweight in Pugna's Oktagon rankings, but off a title-fight knockout loss. He answered by submitting Zafar Mohsen with a triangle choke at 3:12 of Round 2.
He controlled the grappling from the first exchange, kept Mohsen from building any offense and worked to the finish methodically. It was a composed, technically clean result from a fighter who needed one, and it keeps him in the featherweight title picture.
Main card
Ozan Aslaner stopped Denis Frimpong by TKO at 4:16 of Round 1 in a catchweight bout. Justin Detzel beat Kacper Frątczak by unanimous decision over three rounds at middleweight. Karol Ryšavý won by disqualification at 2:49 of Round 1 after Samuel Bark landed an illegal knee. Petr Bartoněk ground through three rounds with Daniel Makin at welterweight before finishing him with a rear-naked choke at 2:29 of Round 3.
Prelims
Matheus da Silva Severino, again no relation to the champion, knocked out Mohammed Walid with a left hook at 1:48 of Round 1, one of the cleanest finishes on the card. Islam Djabrailov submitted Kenji Bortoluzzi with a guillotine choke just 49 seconds into Round 2. Haci Akseker stopped Jonatan Kujawa by TKO at 1:25 of Round 1.
Josefine Lindgren Knutsson took a unanimous decision over Yasmin Guimarães at women's strawweight after controlling the pace for all three rounds. Kathrin Haberle stopped Poliana Albuquerque by TKO at 2:29 of Round 1 at women's bantamweight.
What's next
Severino has no next fight announced yet. Oktagon returns on Saturday, November 21, with Oktagon 98: Legierski vs. Buchinger at the Werk Arena in Třinec, Czech Republic, headlined by a lightweight title fight between Mateusz Legierski and Ivan Buchinger.
Oktagon 98 is next: follow it live, round by round, in the free Pugna MMA app and make your picks in the free no-money prediction game.
This article was generated with AI and may contain errors.