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OKTAGON Rankings Shake-Up After Oktagon 87: Szabová vs. Fernandes

PUGNA AI 3 min read

Oktagon 87 delivered the most significant individual title achievement in the organization's women's division. Lucia Szabová stopped Leidiane Fernandes by TKO at 2:12 of the third round at Home Credit Arena in Liberec to claim the vacant Women's Flyweight championship — and in doing so became the first woman in OKTAGON history to hold two belts simultaneously.

This week's rankings cycle also marks the first complete publication of OKTAGON standings across all twelve divisions. There are no traditional movers to report — every one of the 117 entries is a new placement — but the full picture now exists: champions confirmed, contenders formally ranked, and the divisional structure set going into the summer.

Szabová Makes History

Szabová arrived at Oktagon 87 already holding the Women's Bantamweight title, having won that belt by TKO over Cecile Bolander last August. Saturday she moved up to flyweight, pressured Fernandes for the better part of three rounds, and finished her with ground strikes to claim the vacant Women's Flyweight gold. No woman in OKTAGON had held two belts at the same time before this. One has now.

Fernandes came in at 7-3 and had earned the title shot. She never found a consistent answer for Szabová's forward pressure in the championship rounds. The finish came inside three minutes of round three.

Szabová is 20-1 overall and holds the No. 3 spot in OKTAGON's pound-for-pound rankings — the only woman in the top five, behind Will Fleury and Zhalgas Zhumagulov. The Women's Flyweight division carries five ranked contenders in this cycle but no champion slot yet. That will be corrected in the next update to reflect Saturday's result. The Women's Bantamweight title is already hers. Now the flyweight belt is too.

The double-champion status creates a scheduling question the organization will have to answer: does Szabová defend both titles on separate timelines, or consolidate at one weight? At 20-1 and holding gold in two divisions, she is the clearest argument OKTAGON has for a pound-for-pound No. 1 claim once the rankings formally reflect both belts.

Co-Main Event: Humburger Handles Kadestam

Dominik Humburger defeated Zebaztian Kadestam by unanimous decision in the co-main event at Middleweight. Kadestam, a former MMA champion with 21 professional fights, pushed the pace throughout but Humburger controlled the exchanges across all three rounds and took the decision to move to 13-3. The win adds a recognizable name to his record and positions him squarely inside the OKTAGON middleweight top ten.

Mileide Simplicio also drew attention with a first-round submission win over Josefine Knutsson, a recent UFC release who was making her OKTAGON debut at 2-1 from her UFC run. Simplicio locked in a rear naked choke and finished it quickly. The result puts her name into the women's divisional contender conversation on both sides of the flyweight-bantamweight divide.

Full Champion Landscape

OKTAGON's first complete rankings publication establishes these title holders across all twelve divisions:

  • Bantamweight (135 lbs): Igor Severino
  • Featherweight (145 lbs): Mochamed Machaev
  • Flyweight (125 lbs, men): Zhalgas Zhumagulov
  • Lightweight (155 lbs): Mateusz Legierski
  • Middleweight (185 lbs): Kerim Engizek / Makhmud Muradov (dual title holders)
  • Welterweight (170 lbs): Kaik Brito
  • Light Heavyweight (205 lbs): Will Fleury
  • Heavyweight (265 lbs): Will Fleury
  • Women's Bantamweight (135 lbs): Lucia Szabová
  • Women's Strawweight (115 lbs): Mallory Martin
  • Women's Flyweight (125 lbs): Lucia Szabová (pending update)

Will Fleury holds both Light Heavyweight and Heavyweight titles and sits atop the men's pound-for-pound rankings. Middleweight is the division to watch: Engizek and Muradov are both recognized as champions — one undisputed, one interim — and the unification fight will be one of the more consequential bouts OKTAGON can make once a date is set.

Pound-for-Pound Top 5

OKTAGON's pound-for-pound standings, now published for the first time:

  1. Will Fleury
  2. Zhalgas Zhumagulov
  3. Lucia Szabová
  4. Kaik Brito
  5. Mochamed Machaev

Three of the five hold at least one active title. Szabová at #3 makes a straightforward case for moving higher — a fighter holding gold in two weight classes outranks a fighter holding one by any reasonable measure. That is a conversation the next ranking cycle should address.