Romani kickboxer wins quarter-final of cage match on Czech-Slovak OKTAGON MMA show, withdraws after injury

Václav Sivák, the Romani community member who has represented the Czech Republic to become the amateur kickbox world champion, made his first appearance yesterday evening in a cage match organized the mixed martial arts (MMA) show produced by the OKTAGON pay per view channel in a show called “UNDERGROUND: Last man standing”. Eight fighters competed for victory in what the show calls a pyramid.

Although Sivák won the quarter-final, he had to withdraw from the rest of the competition due to injuries. In an interview for OKTAGON TV after winning against British contestant Bailey Sugden, he said: “I was determined to win the pyramid and show I’m made of. I’ve got three stitches, an injured foot, and unfortunately I have to withdraw.” 

Sivák then posted to social media that the main reason he withdrew was because of the stitches in his eyebrow. He also left the match with a bruised hand. 

“This is the most feared sports challenge of all time. The eight-sided pyramid concept takes us back to the very basis of martial arts. In order for a fighter to become the champion, he must defeat three competitors in a row during a single evening,” said Ondřej Novotný, the owner and promoter of OKTAGON, on the OktagonMMA.cz server. 

At the age of 20, Sivák became the 2019 world champion of the contests organized by the World Association of Kickboxing Organizations and is the world number one in amateur kickboxing. At the end of 2020 he also became the Czech Republic’s champion in classical boxing.