The groundbreaking Octagon 62 event in Frankfurt attracts more fans than any other MMA event in Europe and America. Christian Eckerlin is crowned “King of Germany”.
Almost 60,000 spectators in Frankfurt on Saturday evening witnessed a historic event – and two German martial artists played the leading role.
In front of over 59,000 fans in the Eintracht Stadium, MMA fighter Christian Eckerlin won the long-awaited fight against fellow countryman Christian Jungwirth and took the unofficial crown as “King of GErMMAny”. With this mega-event, the Czech Oktagon league made its name in the annals of its sport: it was not only the most-attended MMA event in Germany, but also in the entire Western world (only a few events in Japan around the turn of the millennium were better attended).
Even the market leader UFC has never attracted more fans than Oktagon 62, not even when superstar Conor McGregor entered the cage.
Octagon 62: Eckerlin beats Jungwirth
The atmosphere in Frankfurt was correspondingly hot: although the fight took place in the “living room” of Frankfurt’s Eckerlin, both fighters were able to count on their large fan base, who loudly supported their role models.
Prominent friends of the two fighters were also involved, both in front of and behind the scenes: while the rapper GZUZ gave a live performance as Eckerlin entered the ring, Jungwirth received mental support from the Bundesliga football league, and his friend Andreas Beck texted him: “His brother, Arthur Beck, is my manager.” Deniz Undav and Waldemar Anton also sent me a video message.”
However, Jungwirth’s support from the DFB stars was of no use in the ring. The former VfB Stuttgart goalkeeper prospect was outclassed by his opponent (who also has a background in football with Darmstadt 98) over five rounds and lost unanimously on points.
“Should I be crying about this?”
“Today is the best day for me since my wedding and the birth of my two children,” said Eckerlin, but he also paid tribute to his opponent: ”Huge respect to him. He doesn’t go out of his way for anyone and always leaves everything in the cage.”
“To fight my way up with my life story, first failing and then having bad company like drugs, alcohol and parties: I’ve been through all that shit. And then I started boxing at 28 and MMA at 30. To then still manage to have a career like that is a great achievement. I’m very proud of myself.”
From Jungwirth’s point of view, the story with Eckerlin may not be over: “Why not a rematch? Maybe in Stuttgart.”
Engizek wins middleweight title, Dalisda loses
Another local matador had no luck on Saturday: Katharina Dalisda from Frankfurt lost her title in the strawweight division to Mallory Martin from the USA. “It wasn’t meant to be today,” explained the clearly marked Dalisda.
Things went much better for Turkey’s Kerim Engizek. The Düsseldorf native won the middleweight title against Patrik Kincl. The 33-year-old extended his winning streak to 14 consecutive victories and has now been unbeaten for over ten years.
The only downside: Engizek injured his foot during the fight and had to be pushed out of the press conference room in a wheelchair.