Promoters: OKTAGON 62 will break UFC attendance file with 58,000-plus in Germany

OKTAGON MMA is days away from placing on one of many highest-attended MMA occasions in historical past.

With greater than 58,000 tickets offered for Saturday’s OKTAGON 62 at Deutsche Financial institution Park in Frankfurt, Germany, the budding European-based group will draw what may very well be the most important crowed ever for an all-time MMA struggle.

The UFC’s announced attendance record sits at 57,127 for UFC 243, which occurred at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne, Australia in October 2019 with a Robert Whittaker vs. Israel Adesanya middleweight title headliner.

The one larger attendance figured have come out of the now-defunct PRIDE group in Japan. A hybrid PRIDE/Ok-1 kickboxing occasion in August 2002 claims to have greater than 91,000 seats stuffed, whereas the all-MMA PRIDE Remaining Battle 2003 present introduced 67,451. There isn’t any formal affirmation of those numbers, nevertheless.

OKATAGON MMA promoters Ondrej Novotny and Pavol Neruda declare their determine is completely genuine, and followers from all around the world have bought tickets to be on the scene.

“It’s positively numerous spots, however most of them are positively from Frankfurt and the entire of Germany,” Novotny instructed MMA Junkie on Tuesday. “A couple of thousand coming kind Czech Republic after which individuals who like massive occasions. Not simply MMA, however massive occasions, they’re coming from all around the world. Round 46 with completely different varieties of individuals from enterprise, present enterprise or additionally fighters and followers.”

Novotny mentioned there are roughly 600 tickets nonetheless remaining, and inspired followers to grab them as much as be a part of a historic present. The group goes all-out to make it a spectacle for each these on the venue and watching from dwelling.

“We have now virtually 500 completely different sorts of lights,” Novotny mentioned. “Some loopy fires and fireworks inside the sector. Positively there’s some particular entrances however we don’t need to spoil them earlier than. There might be some superstars from the German rap scene. We’ve received a halftime present with John Newman, who’s a loopy DJ who was simply in Tomorrowland. He has many hits. It’s going to be actually loopy.”

The try for OKTAGON MMA to distinguish itself from a manufacturing perspective is absolutely intentional. They need to placed on occasions that may’t be in comparison with others within the trade, and for a present of this magnitude, the ante was upped occasion additional.

“We could have a particular drone which is allowed to fly above the individuals and it’ll go into the dwell stream,” Neruda mentioned. “We have now a particular 360 diploma digicam with a VR set. It will likely be a loopy expertise. We even have cameras on the referees which might be dwell. So far as I do know we’re the one one who’s doing it dwell. You possibly can see it from an motion perspective. Plus open scoring. Lots of these parts that make to entertained for the entire evening.

“We find it irresistible. All of the members of OKTAGON crew, in case you have this ardour about one thing it’s by no means sufficient. You’re by no means glad. You obtain one thing, you need extra and to make it higher and entertain individuals extra. We’re all the time going to occasions which might be musical or one other kind of leisure all over the world or sports activities occasion, we watch what’s happening and attempt to encourage and produce it to the world of MMA.”

OKTAGON 62, which will be ordered via online pay-per-view from the corporate web site, will function 11 bouts and three championship fights. There’s a native aptitude to the headliner, with German athletes Christian Eckerlin and Christian Jungwirth combating for a particular “King of Germany” belt.

“The primary occasion is the most important factor to ever occur on German soil,” Neruda mentioned. “It’s Christian Jungwirth vs. Christian Eckerlin. Two enormous stars. Very comparable kinds of fighter. One is from Frankfurt, and one other from Stuttgart. Each was once professional soccer gamers who dreamed on sooner or later taking part in in an enormous stadium, and now it turned out the occasion they are going to be in a stadium is not going to be as a soccer gamers, however as fighters. We name this title ‘The King of Germany.’ It’s a welterweight struggle. It’s going to be loopy. We ready a particular belt.”