Lazar Todev and Martin Buday will collide in a high-stakes heavyweight bout at OKTAGON 89 in Bratislava, a matchup that might reshape the highest of the division in a single night time. The three-round contest is ready for Saturday, June 6, on the Tipos Aréna – Ondrej Nepela Winter Stadium, as a part of OKTAGON MMA’s ten-year anniversary celebrations in Slovakia.
Lazar Todev squares off with Martin Buday in heavyweight collision at OKTAGON 89
OKTAGON 89 takes place on June 6, 2026, on the Tipos Aréna in Bratislava, Slovakia. The promotion has confirmed the present as a flagship cease on its tenth-anniversary tour, with a robust home-nation presence and a number of divisional storylines in play. Heavyweights Lazar Todev and Martin Buday are booked in a three-round bout at 265 kilos, with Todev coming into at 13-7 and Buday at 16-3. The matchup has been introduced as a conflict between the promotion’s No. 1 and No. 2 ranked heavyweights, underlining its implications for future title rivalry.
Past the heavyweight headliner, OKTAGON has flagged OKTAGON 89 as a showcase night time for Slovak expertise. Middleweights Vlasto Čepo, Robert Pukač, and Marek Mazúch are all confirmed for the cardboard, positioning the occasion as a key date for each the heavyweight and middleweight rankings within the area. With Bratislava already a daily host metropolis for main OKTAGON occasions, the expectation is {that a} robust dwelling crowd will probably be behind former champion Buday whereas additionally responding to Todev’s latest surge in kind.
Lazar Todev
Bulgaria’s Lazar Todev arrives in Bratislava holding a 13-7 skilled file and recognition as one in every of OKTAGON’s most harmful heavyweights. 9 of his wins have come by knockout, underscoring his choice for stand-up engagements and his skill to finish fights early when he finds his vary. His standing within the division grew after a memorable title struggle in opposition to present two-division champion Will Fleury, a aggressive battle that Todev misplaced on the scorecards however which considerably raised his profile and confirmed his place among the many elite in OKTAGON’s largest weight class.
Since that defeat, Todev has responded with back-to-back victories over UFC veterans Luis Henrique Barbosa and Josh Parisian. He outworked Henrique Barbosa of their 2025 assembly beneath the OKTAGON banner, utilizing stress and output to safe the win and get his title push again on observe. Todev then confronted Parisian, one other identify acquainted to UFC followers via his Contender Collection appearances and Octagon run, and secured a second consecutive victory over a former UFC fighter. Talking earlier this 12 months, Todev framed these wins as key steps in his route again to a title shot and acknowledged that beating a number of ex-UFC opponents strengthens his case within the eyes of followers and matchmakers.
Todev has already challenged for the OKTAGON heavyweight belt twice, first within the interval following the departure of former champion Hatef Moeil, and later in his conflict with Fleury. That have at championship degree, mixed together with his latest streak in opposition to UFC veterans, units the stage for this bout with Buday as a possible closing eliminator. If he can lengthen his run to a few straight victories over former UFC heavyweights by defeating Buday in his opponent’s dwelling nation, Todev could have a robust argument for one more shot at Fleury and the title.
Martin Buday
Slovakia’s Martin Buday returns to Bratislava with one clear goal: to revive his place within the heavyweight title dialog. Buday was the first-ever OKTAGON heavyweight champion earlier than leaving the promotion to signal with the UFC a number of years in the past. Throughout his UFC tenure, he compiled a formidable 7-1 file, together with a win over former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski, and rose as excessive as No. 12 within the official UFC heavyweight rankings. Regardless of that file, the UFC selected to not re-sign him following a choice victory over Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida in July 2025, a transfer that shocked many observers given the division’s ongoing depth points.
After his UFC exit, Buday re-signed with OKTAGON and was rapidly matched with Fleury for the heavyweight title at OKTAGON 81, held in late December 2025. That night time didn’t go to plan for the Slovakian contender, as Fleury stopped him by TKO in simply 100 seconds to retain the belt, handing Buday solely the second lack of his profession and his first since returning to the promotion. The end result strengthened Fleury’s standing as a dominant champion and created a right away rebuild situation for Buday, who had entered the bout off a major UFC win streak and with excessive expectations again dwelling.
Buday’s file nonetheless reads 16-3 with seven knockouts and two submissions, and he stays some of the skilled heavyweights within the OKTAGON roster. The matchup with Todev now provides him a chance to erase the reminiscence of the Fleury defeat in entrance of a house crowd, and a victory over the Bulgarian contender would re-establish him because the main challenger to the belt he as soon as held.
OKTAGON has framed Todev vs. Buday as a battle between the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked heavyweights on its roster, and that label displays what’s at stake in Bratislava. On one facet stands Todev, the Bulgarian knockout artist who has sharpened his sport via title fights and consecutive wins over former UFC names, and who brazenly targets one other shot at Fleury after studying from their first encounter. On the opposite stands Buday, the previous OKTAGON champion and ex-UFC top-15 contender who returns to his dwelling market in search of to point out that his setback in opposition to Fleury was an exception fairly than an indication of decline.
A powerful efficiency from both man will possible carry significant affect in matchmaking discussions for the rest of 2026, notably if Fleury continues to defend his championship efficiently. Whether or not it ends with an announcement from Todev on enemy territory or an announcement comeback from Buday at dwelling, OKTAGON 89’s heavyweight showdown is poised to play a central position in shaping the subsequent chapter of the division.
