{"id":533630,"date":"2026-03-13T11:59:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T11:59:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/533630\/"},"modified":"2026-03-13T11:59:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T11:59:08","slug":"kerim-engizek-defends-middleweight-crown-in-high-stakes-krzysztof-jotko-rematch-at-oktagon-91","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/533630\/","title":{"rendered":"Kerim Engizek Defends Middleweight Crown In High\u2011stakes Krzysztof Jotko Rematch At OKTAGON 91"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kerim Engizek will get the chance to avenge the lone blemish of his OKTAGON run when he puts his middleweight title on the line in a rematch with Krzysztof Jotko at OKTAGON 91 on July 11 in Cologne. The championship clash headlines a return to the 18,000-plus capacity Lanxess Arena, widely billed as the largest indoor arena in Germany and already a key stop on the promotion\u2019s German calendar<\/a>.<\/p>\n

OKTAGON 91: Middleweight king Kerim Engizek welcomes Krzysztof Jotko to hostile territory in Lanxess Arena<\/p>\n

The first meeting between Engizek and Jotko in January at OKTAGON<\/a> 82 in D\u00fcsseldorf flipped the script on the promotion\u2019s long-running narrative around its middleweight king. Engizek arrived in the Tipsport Gamechanger final with a 24-4 record and an unbeaten stretch at middleweight that had lasted for years across Germany\u2019s regional scene and OKTAGON, including wins over names like Dominik Humburger, Kamil Oniszczuk and former KSW<\/a> champion Patrik Kincl. Jotko, who built his name over a 17-fight UFC stint before signing with OKTAGON, entered the tournament as the most experienced fighter in the field and carried the label of the \u201cPolish veteran\u201d with a 29-6, 1 NC record.<\/p>\n

\"Kerim<\/p>\n

That night in D\u00fcsseldorf, the bout ended in a shock first-round submission when Jotko took Engizek\u2019s back and forced the tap with a rear-naked choke<\/a>, snapping the German-Turkish champion\u2019s long winning streak in front of his home fans. The finish secured Jotko the \u20ac300,000 winner\u2019s cheque from the Gamechanger bracket and the tournament trophy, but crucially the middleweight belt was not on the line in that tournament final. In the weeks that followed, Engizek spoke about going into the fight while coming off a serious hand injury and feeling his preparation was compromised, a theme that has framed the buildup to the rematch as a chance to show what he can do at full health.<\/p>\n

Jotko\u2019s road to that first win over Engizek helped cement his status as one of Europe\u2019s most reliable middleweights. Training out of American Top Team<\/a>, he moved through the \u201cEuropean MMA Champions League\u201d style Gamechanger pyramid with decision victories over Ion Surdu and Marek Maz\u00fach, then imposed his top game on Hojat Khajevand to punch his ticket to the final. Since arriving in OKTAGON last year, he has yet to taste defeat in the promotion and has leaned on his experience from facing elite names during his UFC tenure to guide him in five-round preparations.<\/p>\n

\"Kerim<\/p>\n

Engizek, meanwhile, remains the official OKTAGON middleweight champion and one of the promotion\u2019s key German stars. Representing UFD Gym in D\u00fcsseldorf, he has become known in OKTAGON for his stopping power, introducing himself to the fanbase with knockouts of Matias Juarez and Adam Horvath before grinding out longer wins as he transitioned into championship fights. At 34 years old, he carries a 24-5 record into Cologne and has spoken about using the rematch to reassert himself as the division\u2019s main attraction now that his hand is fully healed and his camp has run without interruptions.<\/p>\n

Promoter and co-owner Ond\u0159ej Novotn\u00fd has framed OKTAGON 91 as one of the biggest rematches in the organization\u2019s history, stressing that the matchup \u201cmakes sense from every angle\u201d given the mix of revenge, validation and title stakes at play. Engizek gets another chance to defend his belt on home soil in Germany, while Jotko has the opportunity to leave Cologne with both the Gamechanger trophy on his resume and the undisputed OKTAGON middleweight title around his waist.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kerim Engizek will get the chance to avenge the lone blemish of his OKTAGON run when he puts…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":533631,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[444],"tags":[49,48,641,638,82],"class_list":["post-533630","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mma","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-fighting","tag-mma","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/533630","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=533630"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/533630\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/533631"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=533630"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=533630"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=533630"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}