Max Holzer has not lost in 12 professional fights, and 10 of those wins ended before the judges had to decide. The 24-year-old German, ranked number two at OKTAGON featherweight, drops to bantamweight to fight Igor Severino for a title in the main event of Oktagon 97 on 7 November 2026.
Max Holzer's record: 12-0 with an 83 per cent finish rate
Holzer fights under the nickname "Stifler". He was born in Germany in January 2002, turned professional on 29 February 2020 and stands 170 cm tall. His record is 12-0-0, he is on a 12-fight win streak, and he is 5-0 over his last five.
The finish rate here is the share of his wins that came by KO, TKO or submission. For Holzer that is 83 per cent: seven submissions, three KO or TKO wins and only two decisions. OKTAGON ranks him number two at featherweight, the same place he held in the previous ranking.
How Holzer wins: the submission game first
Seven of his 12 wins are submissions, more than half. He caught Corey Fry in round 2 at Oktagon 52, Eemil Kurhela in round 2 at Oktagon 57 after 1:53, and Deniz Ilbay in round 3 at Oktagon 69 with 4:14 on the clock. Before OKTAGON, both of his listed NFC wins at lightweight also ended in submissions: Ahad Sardari to a brabo choke in 2022 and Mohammed Walid to a rear-naked choke in 2023.
In the six fights with measured stats he averages 2.33 takedowns and 2.17 submission attempts per fight, which fits a fighter who goes looking for the mat.
The striking finishes are rarer but real. Mohammed Trabelsi was stopped with punches in round 3 at Oktagon 62, and Khalid Taha went in round 1 at Oktagon 88 after 3:14, Holzer's only first-round finish in his last five fights. The one time he went the distance in that stretch was against Eugen Black-Dell at a catchweight, when the bout reached the end of round 3.
Last five fights
| Date | Opponent | Result | Method | Round |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 May 2026 | Khalid Taha | Win | TKO | 1 |
| 5 Apr 2025 | Deniz Ilbay | Win | Submission | 3 |
| 7 Dec 2024 | Eugen Black-Dell | Win | Decision | 3 |
| 12 Oct 2024 | Mohammed Trabelsi | Win | TKO (punches) | 3 |
| 4 May 2024 | Eemil Kurhela | Win | Submission | 2 |
The one long pause in the list sits at the top: more than a year passed between the win over Ilbay and the win over Taha.
Lightweight, catchweight, featherweight
Holzer has not stayed in one weight class. His two NFC wins in the list were at lightweight, his fights against Fry, Trabelsi, Ilbay and Taha at featherweight, and his bouts against Kurhela and Black-Dell at catchweight. His last fight was at featherweight again, the division where he is now ranked. A bantamweight title fight is the first booking in this list that sits below that weight.
Next fight: Igor Severino for the bantamweight title
Holzer is booked to meet Igor Severino, who is 9-1-0 with one no contest, at Oktagon 97: Severino vs. Holzer on 7 November 2026 in Hanover, Germany. The bout is the main event and a title fight at bantamweight, a division below the one where Holzer holds his ranking.
Severino is the one with a loss and a no contest on his record, and Holzer is the one with neither. The matchup sets a submission specialist with 10 finishes in 12 wins against a bantamweight who has been through both. A win keeps the unbeaten record intact and puts a title next to it.
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This article was generated with AI and may contain errors.