OKTAGON HYPE episode 18 featuring Shem Rock and John Hathaway is online now

OKTAGON 41 takes place this Saturday night so Bryan Lacey and Josh Gudgeon are back with another episode of OKTAGON HYPE ahead of the top European promotion’s first ever show in the Czech city of Liberec.

On this week’s show, the pair break down all of the latest news and notes from the organisation including a withdrawal from the Tipsport Gamechanger welterweight tournament. They also highlight some bouts and fighters to watch out for at OKTAGON 41 as well as look back at the best knockouts from recent months.

One of the hottest fighters coming out of the UK, Shem Rock (8-1), gives an exclusive interview before he makes his highly anticipated promotional debut at OKTAGON 42 on April 29. The Liverpudlian fighting out of Next Generation MMA discusses his troubled past, the charity he is working with to help local youths and some notable names he has an eye on. Significant quotes from the interview and the full episode can be seen below.

Rock: “I’m looking to run through this guy in the first round and then I’m coming for the winner of Sanikidze vs Keita. Hopefully Keita wins because I feel he’s a dangerous a guy and he’s explosive. People come to watch him and people come to watch me. I think if him and I fought in a main event it would be crazy. That’s my plan. Run through this guy and then called him [Keita] out!”

John Hathaway (18-2) also joins the show after it was announced that he would face Babilon MMA champion, Łukasz Siwiec, in a Tipsport Gamechanger reserve bout in Oberhausen, Germany on June 17. ‘The Hitman’ talks about having to pull out of the tournament earlier this year, his upcoming opponent and OKTAGON MMA’s first ever show in England. Significant quotes from the interview can be seen below.

Hathaway: “The nice thing about Tipsport Gamechanger is that a whole year is set out. Then I felt like I had blown the year [after my injury]. I’ve got a chance to get back in there now but I’m not going to necessarily worry about the rest of the tournament. I’ve got this one opponent in front of me and I’ve got to deal with that. Then I can move on with the rest of the year after this.”

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Roberto Villa is the CEO, Founder, Executive Writer, Senior Editor of FightBook MMA. Has a passion for Combat Sports and also a podcast host for Sitting Ringside. He’s also a former MMA fighter and Kickboxer.