Oktagon 52: Jonas Magard and Jack Cartwright set for explosive bantamweight title eliminator
They've gone toe to toe in a war of words since November. Now former Oktagon champion Jonas Magard and former Cage Warriors champ Jack Cartwright will settle the score in Newcastle.
Less than three months removed from their first visit to these shores, Oktagon MMA returns to the UK to kick off their 2024 schedule, with a dynamite bantamweight clash at the top of the card.
Oktagon 52 will take place on Saturday, January 27 at Newcastle’s Utilita Arena, where duelling bantamweight rivals Jonas Magard and Jack Cartwright go head to head for the chance to fight for the promotion’s 135-pound title later in the year.
It’s a matchup that has had plenty of heat since the pair first faced off inside the cage following Cartwright’s victory on his promotional debut Oktagon 48 in Manchester, and the momentum has continued to build ever since. Now the pair will face off in an eagerly-anticipated headline clash.
The story so far
For Denmark’s Magard, it’s the opportunity to earn a rematch with the man who dethroned him last year. The Dane captured the promotion’s 135-pound belt back in November 2021 with victory over Filip Macek, then defended it with an emphatic second-round TKO finish of Gustavo Lopez at Oktagon 41 in March 2023.
But, with “Shark” looking to claim back-to-back title defenses, he ran into Brazil’s Felipe Lima, who edged a unanimous decision after an all-action scrap at Oktagon 45. Magard may have hoped for a rematch, but instead he finds himself in a title eliminator bout with the newest contender to arrive in the promotion.
After building an impressive resume on the UK regional circuit, Cartwright blasted his way to the Cage Warriors bantamweight title with two stunning knockouts in one night. A 49-second finish of Scotland’s Scott Malone was followed later the same evening with a 3:31 KO of Marko Kovacevic as Cartwright captured the Cage Warriors belt in spectacular fashion. Three successful title defences followed before Cartwright suffered his only career loss, to Jose Johnson, on Dana White’s Contender Series.
That defeat put Cartwright at a career crossroads. He made a change, signed for Oktagon and, after his original opponent Antun Racic was forced to withdraw, the Bolton man made an eye-catching debut with a first-round v-lock finish of Junior Assis at Oktagon 48 in Manchester.
Immediately after his win, Cartwright’s post-fight interview descended into a face-to-face shouting match after Magard entered the cage. The face-off, and the trash talk that accompanied it, set the stage perfectly for a future matchup, and the pair were swiftly booked to headline in Newcastle this weekend.
Styles clash
They may compete in the same weight class, but the differences between the two fighters are pretty stark. Both men like to push the pace and exert pressure on their opponents, but they tend to do so in different ways.
While both men are comfortable standing up, their striking styles are very different. Cartwright looks the noticeably more explosive puncher, but Magard’s boxing style is more compact. The wrestling exchanges will make for fascinating viewing, too, with Magard’s relentless chain wrestling going up against Cartwright’s sprawling takedown defence and swift single-leg entries.
Boiling it down to its simplest terms, Cartwright’s advantages would appear to be in the stand-up, while Magard’s main threat may come via his volume and pressure. Both men are more than capable of finishing the fight, with both preferring to get the job done on the mat. More than half of Cartwright’s wins have come via submission, while Magard’s record includes a 47 percent submission rate. Also worth noting: four of Magard’s six career defeats have come via submission, while Cartwright has never been finished.
Team rivalry
In addition to the rivalry between the fighters, the matchup will also see two of the UK’s top MMA gyms going head to head, with Magard’s Manchester Top Team taking on Cartwright and SBG Manchester.
Led by head coach Carl Prince, Manchester Top Team has been developing a host of talent through the UK scene, and now that talent is starting to make an impact on the international stage. Undefeated featherweight Lerone Murphy is climbing the ranks in the UFC, Dakota Ditcheva captured PFL Europe gold last December, and Lewis McGrillen has marked himself out as a high-octane star of the future for PFL Europe. Another of the gym’s rising stars, Kiru Singh Sahota, recently signed with Oktagon, but his planned bout with Pietro Menga in Newcastle was scratched from the card due to injury.
The team will also have Ireland’s Denis Frimpong in action on the night, as “The Menace” will look to pick up his first professional win against 29-fight veteran Jan Siroky.
Headed up by Jordan Desborough, SBG Manchester boasts a plethora of notable names, including three former Cage Warriors champions. Matt Inman, Alex Enlund and Cartwright have all captured Cage Warriors gold, while Martin Stapleton claimed the BAMMA lightweight title during his career. Aaron Wilkinson and Saul Rogers both have extensive experience on The Ultimate Fighter, as well as inside the Bellator cage. Both Rogers and Stapleton could feature in Cartwright’s corner on Saturday night.
Outside of the main event, here are some key questions we could get answers to on fight night in Newcastle.
Who’ll be the next contender at 185?
The night’s co-main event should deliver another action-packed matchup, as 8-1 Czech contender Matej Penaz takes on former Cage Warriors middleweight champion Matt Bonner in a pivotal bout for both men.
Penaz’s rapier-like striking, utilising his remarkable 83-inch reach, has helped him to seven stoppage wins from his eight career victories. The 27-year-old’s lone career defeat came in the UFC Apex on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2022. But now “Money” is back on stellar form once again, and back-to-back first-round finishes have put him on the cusp of a title shot at 185 pounds.
But standing in Penaz’s way is one of European MMA’s most well-rounded middleweights. Matt “The Beast” Bonner had a remarkable run during the COVID-19 pandemic as he rose to the top of the Cage Warriors middleweight division with four wins in the space of nine months, capturing the 185-pound title with a display full of guts and determination to dethrone knockout artist Nathias Frederick.
Bonner recently signed a multi-fight deal with Oktagon and made a winning start to life in his new promotion with victory over previously undefeated prospect Cihad Akipa at Oktagon 49. Now the Next Generation MMA Liverpool fighter he returns to fight on home soil as he takes on the dangerous No. 3-ranked Penaz in a bout that could propel the winner towards a shot at the middleweight title currently held by Patrik Kincl.
Can Aby make his case undeniable?
Oktagon’s first foray onto UK soil saw Wales’ Aaron Aby suffer the cruellest of defeats as he was stopped on cuts in his title bout against American Elias Garcia at Oktagon 48. After an impassioned press conference appearance from Aby after the fight, an immediate rematch seemed like a near certainty. But before Aby can get another shot at flyweight gold, he has to pass one final test.
Aby will take on American Christopher Daniel, who arrives in Newcastle looking to make an instant impact on his promotional debut. Daniel has won five of his last six, with each of his last four victories coming via first-round submission. The dangerous grappler will present a serious threat to Aby’s hopes of earning a second title shot, but if there’s one thing we know about Aby already, it’s that he never knows when to quit, inside or outside of the cage.
Who’s next up for a heavyweight title shot?
Also on the main card, England’s Stuart Austin has the opportunity to gatecrash the heavyweight title picture when he faces top-ranked contender Adam Palasz.
Poland’s Palasz stands at the top of Oktagon’s heavyweight rankings, and sits in pole position to challenge for the heavyweight title currently held by Germany’s Hatef Moeil. But No. 2-ranked Austin has the opportunity to leapfrog Palasz by defeating him in Newcastle on Saturday night.
Moeil’s most likely next matchup will be a title rematch with Lazar Todev, who he edged on the scorecards after a razor-close clash at Oktagon 49. But a decisive victory for Palasz or Austin in Newcastle could see them jump to the front of the queue to face “The Boss” later this year.
How will the UK’s young guns fare on home soil?
The fight card in Newcastle also features a handful of rising UK stars looking to make an impact on home soil.
Featherweights Shoaib Yousaf and Corey Fry both face stern tests against German opposition. Yousaf takes on 9-1 Eduard Kexel, while Fry takes on undefeated Max Holzer.
Local heroes Nathan Haywood and Daniel Bainbridge are also set for action on the preliminary card, with Haywood facing former Oktagon Challenge winner Roman Paulus, while Bainbridge takes on Hamza Dagdeviren.
There’s also a rematch from Oktagon Challenge: England vs. Ireland, as Jake McHugh looks to bounce back from his quickfire defeat to Armand Herczeg in their rematch.
Oktagon 52 streams live on DAZN, Channel 4 streaming, and via Oktagon.tv.
Oktagon 52: Official fight card
MAIN CARD
Jonas Magard vs. Jack Cartwright
Matej Penaz vs. Matthew Bonner
Aaron Aby vs. Christopher Daniel
Adam Palasz vs. Stuart Austin
Shoaib Yousaf vs. Eduard Kexel
PRELIMINARY CARD
Corey Fry vs. Max Holzer
Jan Siroky vs. Denis Frimpong
Roman Paulus vs. Nathan Haywood
Jake McHugh vs. Armand Herczeg
Daniel Bainbridge vs. Hamza Dagdeviren
Photos: Oktagon MMA