ITS JUST OVER 3 WEEKS UNTIL OKTAGON 56

On the card sees the return of the exciting Liam „Bad Boy“ Etebar as he makes his 2nd appearance for the promotion. It takes place in Birmingham on April 20th at the Resorts World Arena as it holds host to a stacked card.

Liam joined Kieran(The Combat Wizard) this week to discuss his upcoming bout.

Below is a written interview.

Kieran -
Before we get into anything mate, how have things been with you?

Liam -
Yeah, very well man. Um, obviously deep into camp now. Training hard and uh, yeah just really prepping for April 20th.

Kieran -
Obviously, you were at the Oktagon event this past weekend. How was that?

Liam -
Yeah, it was really good man. Obviously a sold out arena, atmosphere was really good man. The crowd chanting and um, yeah was a really busy, good event.

Kieran -
To come to yourself now then, you made your Oktagon debut on OKTAGON 43 in Prague. 4 days notice. Talk to me of how that opportunity come up and what that opportunity was for you.

Liam -
Well, I was scheduled to fight, to make my official debut in April, but my opponent ended up pulling out on fight week and I was left without an opponent. They tried to get me matched but couldn’t do so.

My manager said, you know, «there’s a couple shows coming up, but they said they’re full and you probably won’t be able to get matched.»

So I sort of took it easy maybe for a couple of weeks and then I got a call 4 days out for OKTAGON 43, and they offered me a chance to fight for the Tipsport reserve fight.

I couldn’t really turn down the offer, I mean there’s a chance of getting the euro million tournament, I took it, but yeah, 4 days notice. I would have liked a bit longer but yeah.

Kieran -
We mentioned you were at the Oktagon event this weekend. It was a sold-out arena. Obviously you walked out in front of 20,000… what was that feeling like and is that the biggest crowd that you’ve ever walked out to?

Liam -
Yeah 100%. Biggest crowd I’ve ever fought in front of. That’s why its nice obviously to become a spectator on the weekend, but yeah it was a mad experience. Yeah man it’s good.

Kieran -
A couple days after that show you put up, «going to war on 4 days notice. Wait until you see what I can do with a full camp behind me.»

Talk to me about having a fight camp behind you for this one and what you’re sort of expecting going in there this time.

Liam -
Yeah, obviously I’ve got all this time to prepare and I know who I’m preparing for. So, it’s a lot better for me, I’m going to come in at full fitness and with a gameplan ready to execute. It’s gonna be good come April 20th.

Kieran -
What’s the - just to go back to that Oktagon 43 fight, taking it on 4 days notice - what’s the mental space in that? Obviously, you haven’t had time to prepare, you’ve taken an opportunity, what is a fighter’s mental space in that moment going in with somewhat no preparations?

Liam -
Yeah, I mean it’s… in a way you haven’t got like all the build-up that you normally would have in a camp. So, it’s sort of sprung on you and your just taking the fight.

There is a bit less pressure in that sense. You know, I didn’t really get time to look at my opponent properly and stuff like that, so I didn’t really know what I was walking into. It was exciting and because of the opportunity it was that’s why I sort of took it on short notice.

Kieran -
Oktagon came to the UK last year and you were rumored to be on the Manchester card, of course, didn’t happen and you’re on this one in April. That’s like a year between the last fight and this fight.

Is it frustrating when you can’t get straight back in there and right those wrongs? Is there an urge as a fighter to get straight back in there?

Liam
I mean, I did want to get straight back in there but I was dealing with a couple of injuries after the fight.

Yeah, I was scheduled to fight on the last UK show but that didn’t end up happening so… it’s nice to have a little break in between and let your body recover so you can really attack that next camp.

Kieran -
This is the third event now in the UK. Would you have liked to have been on the other two or do you think this is the perfect one for you?

Liam -
I think it’s worked out to be perfect this one. You know, I’m already up in Birmingham training now as well, the timing, it’s all just fitted perfectly into place I would say.

Kieran -
With this one you’ve said you’ve been able to look at your opponent more. Can you give me your thoughts on him and do you see this going the distance?

Liam -
Yeah, obviously he’s a tough guy as well. He’s, on paper, coming off two losses also, but you know, like me he’s a real fighter.

He fights the guys, he’s fought top competition throughout his career so… obviously I know his background and what he likes to do, so it should make for an interesting fight but, I’ll be coming in looking for the finish.

Kieran -
Does that sort of, not play on your mind but, obviously first time back in the UK for yourself - in Birmingham, you said your training down there now - is there any pressure on you to go out and get that finish?

Liam -
Not too much. I mean, I’ve just got to go out there and do what I do best which is fight. You know, I don’t really talk sh*t, I don’t do all that stuff, I just let my fighting do the talking a lot of the time.

I don’t feel like that sort of pressure on me. I just know I’ve got to go out there and perform and do what I do.

Kieran -
You were at the press conference and Pavol and Ondrej were speaking about the impact they want to have in Europe and UK being a big part of it.

They seem like realest to me, like where they are at now, they know their impact could be bigger. For you, in UK and Ireland particularly, how much of an impact do you think Oktagon can have with what they’ve done in the meantime?

Liam
Yeah, I mean this is the third UK show they’ve done so I guess it’s going to take time for them to build in the UK just like they’ve done in Germany.

I guess it would have started similar to how it’s started here. Now, they’re selling out arenas and doing all that. I guess it would take a bit of time but I think this show coming up is gonna be the biggest one to date in the UK.

From there, people are really going to see what it’s about and it’s only going to get bigger from there.

Kieran -
Talk to me about training with Diedrick and how good it is to share the card with him as well.

Liam -
Yeah, it’s really good man. I train with Ammari and I train with all the other guys that are in that gym. It’s top level.

Kieran
How long have you been there for and will you be there full-time?

Liam -
A couple of months now. Couple months training out there but it’s gonna be like a regular thing now.

It’s been talked about. It’s just finding the right time to do that. Obviously, get this fight done, then look at that in the future.

Kieran -
Last one. Back in action, April 20th in Birmingham. Let everyone know what they can expect come fight night.

Liam -
So you can expect a fast-paced, explosive performance from me. As always, I’ll be looking for the finish on April 20th.

Liam is just one of the exciting fighters on the stacked Oktagon 56 card. Make sure you get your tickets and don’t miss this event that promises to be Oktagon’s biggest UK card.

Tickets available for purchase on the official Oktagon website.