Zebaztian Kadestam is set to face Dominik Humburger in the co-main event of Oktagon 87 on April 25th, a middleweight contest that sees Kadestam entering what he describes as “enemy territory” in the Czech Republic, where Humburger is a strong local favorite. Kadestam expressed his enthusiasm for this significant matchup, particularly after his tenure with ONE Championship.
Regarding his mindset when competing away from home, Kadestam shared that he often performs better in unfamiliar environments, stating, “I never performed good at home. Most of my fights have always been away. But I think this is going to be one of the biggest. Like probably I’m going to feel that. I’m in his hometown and I don’t know, I kind of like the idea of that. So, I’m going to feed off that energy. So it’s going to be good.”
When asked about his transition from ONE Championship to Oktagon MMA, Kadestam indicated that Oktagon’s growth and prominent events in Europe were a significant draw. He noted, “They’re doing good in Europe. They’re doing big, big shows, big arenas, and they got good fights. We have a few teammates signing up. Yeah, it seems like a good step going forward.”
Having previously held the ONE welterweight championship, Kadestam confirmed his desire to capture Oktagon MMA gold as well. “Yeah, pretty much [laughs]. I want to get that welterweight gold in Oktagon as well. But we’re doing a middleweight fight now and we have a tough opponent. So let’s see. Let’s get this one cleared out first,” he said.
Kadestam also explained his decision to compete at middleweight in this bout, despite his aspirations for a welterweight title in Oktagon. He clarified that his experience in ONE Championship involved different weight class measurements and that his last MMA fight was at light heavyweight. “In ONE, I always fought at 185, but the weight, how they measure the weight classes, are a little bit different. My last one in MMA was at ONE at light heavyweight though. So I kind of got to get used to cutting the weight again. Cuz I’ve been with ONE since 2017. So, I kind of have to get used to cutting weight again in a normal way. So, I think middleweight is good, but I feel like welterweight is where I [am] supposed to be,” he explained.
Kadestam cited inactivity as the primary reason for his departure from ONE Championship. He stated, “Yeah, pretty much activity. I had one MMA fight in the last three years. So it feels like I got to get moving. I got to get going. But I’ve had good years over there. Very good years. It’s been a hell of a ride and good memories. But I got to get active and yeah, fighters fight. That’s what we do. So, I got to get active.”
English Translation:
Zebaztian Kadestam is set to face Dominik Humburger in the co-main event of Oktagon 87 on April 25th, a middleweight contest that sees Kadestam entering what he describes as “enemy territory” in the Czech Republic, where Humburger is a strong local favorite. Kadestam expressed his enthusiasm for this significant matchup, particularly after his tenure with ONE Championship.
Regarding his mindset when competing away from home, Kadestam shared that he often performs better in unfamiliar environments, stating, “I never performed good at home. Most of my fights have always been away. But I think this is going to be one of the biggest. Like probably I’m going to feel that. I’m in his hometown and I don’t know, I kind of like the idea of that. So, I’m going to feed off that energy. So it’s going to be good.”
When asked about his transition from ONE Championship to Oktagon MMA, Kadestam indicated that Oktagon’s growth and prominent events in Europe were a significant draw. He noted, “They’re doing good in Europe. They’re doing big, big shows, big arenas, and they got good fights. We have a few teammates signing up. Yeah, it seems like a good step going forward.”
Having previously held the ONE welterweight championship, Kadestam confirmed his desire to capture Oktagon MMA gold as well. “Yeah, pretty much [laughs]. I want to get that welterweight gold in Oktagon as well. But we’re doing a middleweight fight now and we have a tough opponent. So let’s see. Let’s get this one cleared out first,” he said.
Kadestam also explained his decision to compete at middleweight in this bout, despite his aspirations for a welterweight title in Oktagon. He clarified that his experience in ONE Championship involved different weight class measurements and that his last MMA fight was at light heavyweight. “In ONE, I always fought at 185, but the weight, how they measure the weight classes, are a little bit different. My last one in MMA was at ONE at light heavyweight though. So I kind of got to get used to cutting the weight again. Cuz I’ve been with ONE since 2017. So, I kind of have to get used to cutting weight again in a normal way. So, I think middleweight is good, but I feel like welterweight is where I [am] supposed to be,” he explained.
Kadestam cited inactivity as the primary reason for his departure from ONE Championship. He stated, “Yeah, pretty much activity. I had one MMA fight in the last three years. So it feels like I got to get moving. I got to get going. But I’ve had good years over there. Very good years. It’s been a hell of a ride and good memories. But I got to get active and yeah, fighters fight. That’s what we do. So, I got to get active.”
