About the project

The biggest game-changing project ever on the European MMA scene. This is Tipsport and OKTAGON's Tipsport Gamechanger project, which was presented on December 1 at a press conference in the auditorium of Ostrava's Gong hall. It is a pyramid tournament that will feature a total of 16 fighters from all over the world in the main part of the tournament, with 7 names already revealed at the press conference in December and the remaining fighters thoroughly selected by OKTAGON over the following two months, with the last two spots being taken by fan-voted Tato Primera and Radovan Úškrt. The final list of fighters, including fight cards, can be found here. The packed sixteen fighters also included names like Iaonnis Palaiologos, Matúš Juráček and Andrej Kalashnik, who will fight in the so-called reserve bouts.

Prize money

Along with the prestige, prize money will also be up for grabs, the kind of money that has no precedent at tournaments in the Czech Republic. In total, 1,000,000 euros will be fought for, 300,000 of which will go to the winner, and even the least successful fighters will make nearly half a million crowns for one fight. „Tipsport played a huge part in making this project a reality“, said the betting agent’s brand manager Martin Filip. „In comparison to tennis, golf or other tournaments co-organized in the Czech Republic, MMA offers the highest sums of money an individual can stand to make. We believe the fans are going to really appreciate the format OKTAGON has come up with, it’s going to be an amazing event which will entertain fans throughout the year, and obviously, it’s going to be exciting for bettors.“

"In cooperation with Tipsport, we wanted to make it clear that, even with our European expansion, there is something that has never been here before, something that everyone needs to see and something that is really the Gamechanger on the European scene. I dare to say that this is an unofficial European championship with huge rewards," added OKTAGON co-founder Ondřej Novotný. "Communication with the wrestlers went smoothly and even though it means a certain change of plans for them, they were excited about the opportunity. Besides the prestige of winning the pyramid, money is also a big motivation. Let's face it, no wrestler in Europe has ever earned over 300,000 Euros, albeit for 4 fights, in one year. The inspiration for this format for us was the K-1 tournaments at its peak, but we wanted to bring as much of ourselves to it as possible. This is reflected in the completely original element of the 'lucky draws' and spectator involvement, which we anticipate will add to the appeal of the tournament and keep fans watching with interest all year round."

Deployment of fighters

The fans are the key element of the tournament. In addition to the aforementioned tournament participant selection, they can bring back losing wrestlers in a wild card for a "lucky loser". The tournament will take place over a total of five dates. In the first part, which will take place on March 4 in Ostrava, we will see 8 main matches and 1 reserve match, the quarterfinals will take place during two tournaments in Prague and Oberhausen, followed by the semi-finals in Frankfurt and the final in Prague's O2 Arena. There will also be a reserve match on the final date. The reserve match will be played by the aforementioned "lucky losers", who can return to the main part of the tournament in case of injuries to the finalists.

General partner

„Gamechanger will stand outside of the title fight rankings and will offer the under 77kg division another different rivalry and will feature all the major stars of the weight class.“ Ondřej Novotný attracts the audience. „We are grateful that this project could come into being and we thank Tipsport for going along with it. It is a signal that both parties are satisfied with the current cooperation and it makes sense for us in the future. We are proud that two domestic companies can grow together.”

„Currently, we’re the general partner of OKTAGON, and we were looking for a way to emphasize and highlight this connection,“ adds Tipsport's brand manager. „We think we are making the right move with the project we are launching, and not only because it will bear our name. International representation brings the tournament a lot of prestige, and we will also benefit from attention Tipsport Gamechanger is going to receive, so we believe OKTAGON has made a great decision in taking these steps.”