The past several years have not been kind to [autotag]Makwan Amirkhani[/autotag], and that trend continued for him on Saturday.
After losing five of six fights to close his UFC tenure, Amirkhani moved to budding European promotion OKTAGON MMA earlier this year. He was knocked out in the third round of his debut, dropping him into an ugly 1-6 slump overall dating back to October 2010.
🇫🇮 ‘Mr Finland’ is here
Makwan Amirkhani is the first fighter to make the walk to the cage inside Eden Stadium #OKTAGON58
📺 https://t.co/TVP7NaDRbZ & DAZN pic.twitter.com/OpbedX0d54
— OKTAGON MMA (@OktagonOfficial) June 8, 2024
Amirkhani (17-11) returned to action at OKTAGON 58 at GMC Arena in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, and although it wasn’t pretty, he managed to outwork [autotag]Attila Korkmaz[/autotag] (15-8) for the majority of the fight and do well.
Just when it looked like “Mr. Finland” was on the cusp of victory as time winded down in the third round, Korkmaz picked up Amirkhani and slammed him into the mat, immediately took the back and locked in a rear-naked choke that quickly forced the tap at the 3:37 mark of Round 3 (via X):
SLAM and SUBMIT 🌪️ #OKTAGON58 is off to a crazy start!
📺 https://t.co/TVP7NaDRbZ & DAZN pic.twitter.com/uslhdeEZVD
— OKTAGON MMA (@OktagonOfficial) June 8, 2024
It was a devastating result and wild change of fortune for Amirkhani, who is now on a four-fight skid and a loser in seven of his past eight contest. Korkmaz, meanwhile, has won three of four.