Igor Severino defends the OKTAGON bantamweight title against unbeaten German Max Holzer on Saturday 7 November, in the main event of OKTAGON 97 at the ZAG Arena in Hannover. Severino is 23 and OKTAGON bills him as its youngest ever male champion. Holzer is 24, 12-0, and fights out of Fightschool Hannover, so this is a title shot in his home city. He is also dropping down a division: he is No. 2 in OKTAGON’s featherweight rankings and has never fought at bantamweight in the promotion. OKTAGON lists one start time for the whole card: 18:00 in Hannover, which is 17:00 GMT, 12:00 ET and 19:00 Riga time. The title fight is the last of the night and is scheduled for five rounds.
Tale of the tape
 Igor Severino | Max Holzer | |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 10-1-0 (1 NC) | 12-0-0 |
| Age | 23 | 24 |
| Height | 170 cm | 170 cm (5’7″) |
| Status | Bantamweight champion | No. 2 featherweight, challenger |
| Nationality | Brazil | Germany |
| Team | Chute Boxe João Emilio | Fightschool Hannover |
| Wins by KO/TKO / sub / dec | 5 / 4 / 1 | 3 / 7 / 2 |
| Last fight | No contest vs Zhalgas Zhumagulov, round 2 (June 2026) | Beat Khalid Taha, TKO round 1 (May 2026) |
Igor Severino: young champion, few rounds
Severino came up through Brazil’s Jungle Fight promotion, won on Dana White’s Contender Series in September 2023 and made his UFC debut six months later. That debut against Andre Lima ended in a second-round disqualification, which is still the only loss on his record.
He has done his best work since moving to OKTAGON. He beat former champion Jonas Mågård on a split decision in December 2024, then won the vacant title in Hamburg in March by stopping Khurshed Kakhorov in the second round. His first defence, against Zhalgas Zhumagulov in Bratislava in June, ended as a no contest in round two after an accidental low blow, so he has gone into this one with a belt he has not yet defended.
Nine of his ten wins are finishes, five by knockout and four by submission. The Mågård fight is the only time he has needed the judges.
Recent form:
- 6 Jun 2026, OKTAGON 89 (Bratislava): no contest vs Zhalgas Zhumagulov, round 2, 2:26 (title fight)
- 7 Mar 2026, OKTAGON 85 (Hamburg): beat Khurshed Kakhorov, TKO (punches), round 2, 1:38 (won vacant title)
- 29 Dec 2024, OKTAGON 65: beat Jonas Mågård, split decision
- 23 Mar 2024, UFC on ESPN 53: lost to Andre Lima, disqualification, round 2, 2:52
- 19 Sep 2023, Dana White’s Contender Series: beat Jhonata Silva, TKO (punches), round 2, 2:37
Max Holzer: unbeaten, and coming down a weight
Holzer has won all 12 of his pro fights, and the numbers tell you what he is: seven of the wins are submissions, most of them rear-naked chokes. He is a back-taker who likes to grind opponents down before he finds the neck.
His last fight showed a different side. Back in Hannover in May, he stopped Khalid Taha on the feet in the first round with a knee to the body and punches. Before that he had beaten Deniz Ilbay with a rear-naked choke in the fourth round of a five-round main event in Dortmund, so he has been past the 15-minute mark and still finished.
The weight is the question. All six of his OKTAGON fights were at featherweight or at a 68 kg catchweight. Tapology lists his earlier fights, up to NFC 13 in March 2023, at bantamweight, so he has made 61 kg before, but not for more than three years.
Recent form:
- 16 May 2026, OKTAGON 88 (Hannover): beat Khalid Taha, TKO (knee to the body and punches), round 1, 3:14
- 5 Apr 2025, OKTAGON 69 (Dortmund): beat Deniz Ilbay, submission (rear-naked choke), round 4, 4:14
- 7 Dec 2024, OKTAGON 64: beat Eugen Black-Dell, unanimous decision (68 kg catchweight)
- 12 Oct 2024, OKTAGON 62: beat Mohammed Sadok Trabelsi, TKO (punches), round 3
- 4 May 2024, OKTAGON 57: beat Eemil Kurhela, submission (rear-naked choke), round 2, 1:53 (68 kg catchweight)
How the styles match up
Severino is the more dangerous striker. He is fast, he throws in combinations and he finishes when he hurts people: Kakhorov went down from a body shot and was stopped with punches on the ground. He is also a capable grappler, with four submission wins, so Holzer will not be the only one looking for the neck.
Holzer wants this fight on the mat or against the fence. His route is to close the distance, take the back and drag Severino into deep water, the way he did against Ilbay. The Taha finish shows he can hurt people standing up too, but over five rounds his grappling is the bigger weapon.
Key factors:
- The cut to bantamweight. Holzer is No. 2 at featherweight and is moving down for this shot. If the cut drains him, it will show in the later rounds.
- Five rounds. Holzer has finished a fight in round four. Severino has never gone past round three as a pro.
- Takedown defence. If Severino keeps it standing, he has the edge in speed and power. If Holzer gets to his back, the fight changes.
- Home crowd. Holzer fights in his home city, in front of the crowd that watched him stop Taha in May.
- Cage time. Severino has spent only about 14 minutes in the cage this year, across the Kakhorov finish and the June no contest.
Our pick: Severino by TKO
We are picking Igor Severino to keep his belt by TKO, in round three or four. Holzer is unbeaten for a reason and his back-taking can beat anyone who gives it to him, so a choke in the middle rounds is the way we would be wrong. But he is moving down a weight to fight the faster, harder-hitting man, and Severino has finished nine of his ten wins. We think Severino stays upright, makes Holzer pay on the way in and breaks him late.
The rest of the main card
Gjoni Palokaj (13-4) vs Zafar Mohsen (15-4), featherweight. The No. 4 against the No. 3 in the division Holzer just left. Mohsen comes in off a first-round knockout of Richie Smullen with a body punch at OKTAGON 90 in June. The winner should move closer to a title shot at 145.
Ozan Aslaner (11-6-1) vs Denis Frimpong (8-4), 72 kg catchweight. Ranked lightweights, No. 5 against No. 8. Aslaner beat Vladimír Lengál on points at OKTAGON 87 in April; Frimpong was knocked out by Niko Samsonidse at OKTAGON 90 and needs a win.
Justin Detzel (3-0) vs Kacper Frątczak (3-0), middleweight. Two unbeaten prospects, so one zero goes. Detzel submitted Mate Kola with a hamstring stretch on the Holzer vs Taha card in May.
Karol Ryšavý (15-10-1) vs Samuel Bark (13-4), featherweight. Ryšavý fought to a draw with Daniel Schordje in June. Bark has lost his last two, to Radek Roušal and to Mohsen.
Also on the card: Daniel Makin vs Petr Bartoněk at welterweight, Haci Akseker vs Jonatan Kujawa at featherweight, and Jan Holzer vs Ján Švagerko, a welterweight fight between two pro debutants.
OKTAGON added four fights on 1 November, and two of them have new opponents since. Flyweight No. 4 Matheus Severino (15-5) meets Mohammed Walid (8-6) at bantamweight. Walid replaces Abdul Badakhshi. Then come two women’s fights: Josefine Knutsson (8-2) vs Yasmin Guimarães (10-4) at strawweight, and two unbeaten bantamweights, Kathrin Haberle (1-0) vs Poliana Albuquerque (1-0). Albuquerque replaces Thais Vasconcelos. Islam Djabrailov (11-6) vs Kenji Bortoluzzi at featherweight is the last fight on OKTAGON’s list.
Where to watch Severino vs Holzer: OKTAGON 97 live stream
OKTAGON 97: Severino vs Holzer is on Saturday 7 November 2026 at the ZAG Arena in Hannover, Germany. OKTAGON gives one start time for the card (the US is on Eastern Standard Time from 1 November, and the UK is on GMT):
| ET | GMT | Hannover (CET) | Riga | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Card starts | 12:00 | 17:00 | 18:00 | 19:00 |
Severino vs Holzer is the last fight of the night, so expect the walkouts several hours after the start. OKTAGON hasn’t published a time for the main event.
How to watch: The whole card is on pay-per-view on OKTAGON.TV, OKTAGON’s own streaming service, which lists the Hannover event. OKTAGON’s event page sends viewers in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg and Liechtenstein to RTL+, and viewers in Poland to TVP Sport.
