By: Frank Hyden, MMATorch Senior Columnist
No events this past week as we approach Christmas so I’ll just touch upon some news stories. Merry Christmas everyone and happy holidays.
Hatef Moeil (15-4) was scheduled to defend his OKTAGON Heavyweight
Championship earlier this month at OKTAGON 64 against Lazar Todev (11-6). The day before the fight there was a press conference with both men present. Things got heated and Moeil threw his title belt at Todev.
However, OKTAGON co-founder Pavol Neruda was in between the fighters
and suffered a cut on the top of his head from the flying belt.
OKTAGON informed Moeil that he would be fined a percentage of his fight purse as a result of his actions.
This caused Moeil to pull out of the planned rematch against Todev hours before it was scheduled to start.
As a result of all of this, Moeil and OKTAGON have parted ways.
Antics involving shoving and throwing things sometimes happen at
combat sports press conferences but usually don’t lead to injuries.
This one did and it’s led to some major changes for OKTAGON. This strikes me as similar to times where the fighters talk of tearing each other apart but when the fight starts they have a glorified sparring match. Or times where there’s a dull fight except for the last ten
seconds and then the referee has to pull them apart after the final bell rings.
Maybe this was legit but I’m cynical about this kind of stuff. It
feels like things just went too far and each side had enough and
figured it was best to go their separate ways.
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Three weeks before his fight against Vitor Petrino (11-2), Dustin
Jacoby (20-9-1) suffered a dislocated right big toe during training
that put the fight in danger. According to Jacoby, the toe was
completely ripped off and only dangling “like a door hinge” off his foot.
That’s crazy and it’s an enormous testament to his toughness and tenacity that he was able to fight. And not only did he fight but he scored a huge knockout in the third round.
The doctors told Jacoby after the right big toe was put back into
place and stitched up that it would be “uncomfortable” for a week or
two but I imagine it was more than that. I’m sure it was extremely
painful but Jacoby’s toughness allowed him to keep his streak of never
pulling out of a fight alive.
Between MMA and Kickboxing, Jacoby has never pulled out of a fight that he was scheduled for. It’s something he takes great pride in, as he should. It takes a lot of toughness, a lot of grit, to answer the
call that many times without something stopping you.
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Aleksandre Topuria (5-1), the older brother of UFC Featherweight
Champion Ilia Topuria (16-0), will face Cody Haddon (8-1) at UFC 312 on February 9th, 2025 in Australia.
UFC 312 will be headlined by UFC Welterweight Champion Driscus du
Plessis (22-2) defending his title against Sean Strickland (29-6) and UFC Strawweight Champion Zhang Weili (25-3) defending her title against Tatiana Suarez (10-0). I would expect both champions to retain their titles in close fights but either challenger winning wouldn’t be a big surprise.
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Oleksandr Usyk (23-0) successfully defended his WBA (Super), WBC, WBO,
IBO, and The Ring Heavyweight Titles against Tyson Fury (34-2-1) last
weekend by unanimous decision.
It’s too early to tell who Usyk fights next but IBF Heavyweight
Champion Daniel Dubois (22-2) has called out Usyk for a rematch of
their fight in August 2023, which Usyk won.
Usyk was the IBF Heavyweight Champion but was stripped of that title
not long after winning it and becoming the undisputed world
heavyweight champion.
Dubois won the vacant IBF Heavyweight Championship in June of this year by defeating Filip Hrgovic (17-1).
My new epic fantasy book is out. It’s called Kingdom of Zarias: The End’s Beginning. The exciting epic fantasy series Kingdom of Zarias
returns with the 4th book in the series. After the harrowing events of Book 3 the residents of the Kingdom of Zarias continue on their paths.
Serena Summers continues to learn and grow as a fighter, desperately seeking to become stronger before she loses anyone else in her life.
Daniel Summers discovers new parts of the world that open his eyes to just how little he truly knows. A new hero, Lamar Abeers, arrives to
join the fight against evil. Plus, Zach Summers, Tiana Highsmith, and Xavien Ekens continue their journeys with their friends, and a new ruler of Vhaharen is crowned. The world has found a little peace.
However, that peace is only temporary. In a shocking act of violence,
the monstrous villain Galren strikes from the shadows and changes the
world forever. This is Book 4 in the series. There’s lots of action,
magic, and monsters in the Kingdom of Zarias. It’s like a tabletop game in novel form. It’s on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and many other places. If you’re interested, I would greatly appreciate it if you would check it out and support me. Also, here’s the link to my Compendium book about the Kingdom of Zarias series-
Comments and suggestions can be emailed to me at
hydenfrank@gmail.com and you can follow me on Twitter at @hydenfrank.
Thanks for reading and have a good day. Merry Christmas.
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