European MMA promotion Oktagon MMA is set to stage one of the biggest events in MMA history, with a crowd of around 60,000 set to pack Deutsche Bank Park for Oktagon 62, a huge stadium show in Frankfurt, Germany.

It’s an event that has captured the imagination of the European MMA scene as the emerging Czech-Slovak fight promotion has made a meteoric rise from domestic shows to huge arena events and stadium shows. Now they’re set to make history with the biggest show ever held in Europe. Here’s everything you need to know.

Who are Oktagon MMA?

Owned and run by longtime friends Pavol Neruda and Ondrej Novotny, Oktagon MMA is a mixed martial arts promotion that has focused its efforts on building an organization for European fighters to compete on home soil, in front of their own fans, in their own timezone.

With the big global promotions focusing on other markets, Oktagon quickly established itself as a brand leader in that part of Europe and has started to expand across Europe, with the promotion enjoying notable success in Germany.

Their events typically play to packed houses, and their production value and excellent storytelling has helped make their shows must-see events in the European MMA calendar. They’ve sold out major arenas, such as Prague’s O2 Arena, and earlier this year, held an event in front of 28,000 fans at the Eden Stadium, home of Slavia Prague FC. Now they’re set to top that with a huge event, Oktagon 62, in Frankfurt, Germany.

Oktagon MMA

Where will Oktagon 62 be held?

Oktagon 62 is set to take place at Deutsche Bank Park, the home stadium of Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt. The stadium has hosted FIFA World Cup matches and UEFA European Championship matches and will now play host to mixed martial arts, with a huge crowd expected to be in attendance for the event.

How many fans will be at Oktagon 62?

After a huge take-up in interest when tickets first went on sale, the promotion quickly passed the 40,000 mark in ticket sales, and promotion officials have confirmed to The Sporting News that they are optimistic that they will reach the 60,000 mark by fight night in Frankfurt.

If the Oktagon 62 attendance figure does manage to hit 60,000, that will put Oktagon 62 second on the all-time attendance list, eclipsing the 57,776 mark set by KSW 39 as the biggest event held on European soil, and surpassing the UFC’s largest attendance of 57,127 for UFC 243 in Melbourne, Australia.

The only MMA-specific event to draw a bigger crowd is PRIDE Final Conflict 2003, which saw a crowd of 67,451 pack the Tokyo Dome. Other Japan-based events have drawn comparable crowds, but they were hybrid cards that featured professional wrestling or kickboxing alongside MMA.

Oktagon MMA

Who is headlining Oktagon 62?

The main event of Oktagon 62 will see two German welterweight rivals do battle for the honor of being dubbed “The King of Germany.”

Frankfurt’s Christian Eckerlin and Stuttgart’s Christian Jungwirth have both built huge fanbases in their homeland. Both men started out as soccer players but went on to find fame inside the MMA cage. 

Oktagon MMA

The pair have comparable records – Eckerlin record reads 16 wins, six losses, while Jungwirth has 15 wins and eight losses – and both men have packed arenas in Germany as they have developed into Oktagon’s two biggest German stars. Now they’ll do battle in the promotion’s biggest-ever show to determine Germany’s number one at 170 pounds.

In addition to the main event, Oktagon 62 also features two championship bouts. Reigning middleweight champion and Oktagon’s number-one pound-for-pound fighter Patrik Kincl will put his 185-pound title on the line in the co-main event against German contender Kerim Engizek. Also, women’s strawweight champion Katarina Dalisda will look to successfully defend her 115-pound belt on home soil against American Mallory Martin.

Oktagon MMA

Who’s on the fight card at Oktagon 62?

Here is the full fight card for Oktagon 62 on October 12:

Main Card

• Christian Eckerlin vs. Christian Jungwirth – welterweight, for “The King of Germany”
• Patrik Kincl (c) vs. Kerim Engizek – for middleweight title
• Max Coga vs. Antun Racic – lightweight
• Niko Samsonidse vs. Daniel Torres – featherweight
• Lazar Todev vs. Adam Palasz – heavyweight
• Max Holzer vs. Mohammed Trabelsi – featherweight
• Katharina Dalisda (c) vs. Mallory Martin – for women’s strawweight title

Preliminary Card

• Mago Machaev vs. James Hendin – featherweight
• Pavol Langer vs. Will Fleury – light heavyweight
• Hafeni Nafuka vs. Arijan Topallaj – lightweight
• Denis Ilbay vs. Michael Deiga-Scheck – featherweight