🤯 BUSINESS JUST PICKED UP 🤯
Lazar
Todev 🇧🇬 and Will Fleury
🇮🇪 get their hands on each other tomorrow night at OKTAGON 68.Advertisement
Who will leave Stuttgart as the baddest man in OKTAGON MMA?
đź“ş https://t.co/TVP7NaDRbZ &
RTL+ pic.twitter.com/wMdXzwfnYh— OKTAGON MMA (@OktagonOfficial)
March 7, 2025
MMA and
Professional Fighters League, it took Will Fleury
only three fights to cement himself as a force in Oktagon
MMA.
Since wrestling the light heavyweight title from Karlos
Vemola last December, the new champ has set his eyes on another
prize. On Saturday, he’ll look to add the heavyweight strap around
his waist when he challenges No. 1-ranked challenger Lazar Todev
for the vacant belt at
Oktagon 68 at the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer Hall in Stuttgart,
Germany.
Fleury (14-3, 1 NC) will ride a seven-fight win streak into
Saturday’s main event. A year ago, he was looking for a home
promotion after a stint with PFL; now, he’s headlining a
significant card with the chance to become a two-division
champion.
“I feel very lucky that I signed with Oktagon at the right time,”
Fleury told Sherdog. “They’re providing huge opportunities here. I
fought in front of 60,000 people in October, then I fought for the
title in a packed stadium in Prague in December, and now I’m
getting a chance to fight for a second belt. It’s pretty incredible
in that sense.
Fleury has been a promising fighter since he turned pro in 2016.
The Tipperary, Ireland, native trains out of
SBG Ireland and hasn’t lost a fight in nearly five years.
Despite Fleury’s success, the 35-year-old’s career was in limbo. He
was suspended for nine months due to multiple failed drug
tests.
While Fleury’s arrival to Oktagon has been triumphant, it hasn’t
been the warmest. In all three of his fights, Fleury has embraced
the role of the villain. He never planned on being a crowd enemy,
but he’s growing fond of the heel role.
“In Central Europe, it’s very different; the crowd’s always going
to support the hometown guy, so you come in as the heel, and I’ve
embraced that role,” Fleury said. “If this is how I have to make a
career and be that guy, then that’s cool. I walked out in Prague
and as soon as my music started I heard boos non-stop. I loved it
because they get to watch me smash their boy.”
Smashing Todev will be Fleury’s most arduous task since signing
with Oktagon. The No. 1 heavyweight challenger has been eagerly
waiting for another shot at the title since falling short in 2023.
After back-to-back stoppages in 2024, “The Punisher” could be the
most dangerous fighter that Fleury has faced.
“He’s a very underrated fighter,” Fleury said. “He’s 11-6 overall,
but 9-1 in his last 10 fights, so those first few losses were early
in his career when he needed some experience. I respect him and
think he’s a dangerous fighter and the toughest guy I could’ve
fought in Oktagon, but I still have the skillset to break guys down
like that, and I’ll do it pretty stylishly.”