Oktagon
MMA’s new “Stand and Bang” rules will certainly be a treat for
bloodthirsty combat sports fans.
Oktagon MMA is scheduled to host its next event on April 11 at the
Enea Arena in Szczecin, Poland. The main attraction of the card
will be a matchup between Poland’s Michal
Materla (33-11) and Germany’s Christian
Jungwirth (16-9), under the promotion’s new “Stand and Bang”
rules. Co-founder Ondrej Novotny recently explained that the new
rules include boxing with MMA gloves, clinching, but no kicks or
takedowns.
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“Our new rules, ‘Stand and Bang,’ between Materla and Jungwirth,
that would be something special,” he told MMAjunkie.com. “… Now it’s basically gonna be boxing
with small gloves, with elbows also, clinch on the fence, but no
takedowns, no kicks. And I believe this will be something
special.”
‘Everybody Wants to See Fights Like That’
Novotny explains that the new “Stand and Bang” rules are an upgrade
of the older Underground rules, which included shorter 3-minute
rounds, and allowed kicks and takedowns. The name “Stand and Bang”
is an original from longtime Oktagon MMA presenter Bryan Lacey.
Novotny wants to give a chance to those fighters who just want to
trade fists without having to worry about the grappling part of
MMA. Novotny also believes that the new rules will ensure
fan-friendly bouts.
“It came out from underground rules, what we invented for Covid,”
Novotny said. “To give a chance to standup fighters also to make
some money, and to MMA fighters. So we were looking for rules which
could be suitable for both sides. And here we are with ‘Stand and
Bang’ rules, the name is original from Bryan Lacey. Sometimes we
got fighters who want to really fight without all these different
BJJ, grappling, wrestling styles. And they just want to stand and
bang. And this is something people basically like, everybody wants
to see fights like that.”