Former Oktagon champion Magard moves up to featherweight to stay in title hunt

Former Oktagon MMA bantamweight champion Jonas Magard steps into featherweight territory on Saturday when he faces Radek Rousal at Oktagon 93, held at Winning Group Arena in Brno, Czech Republic. Magard (19-7), who has not competed in nine months, is moving up a division rather than wait indefinitely for another crack at the 135-pound title he won in 2023.

The 34-year-old Dane will walk into a hostile arena — Rousal (7-2) is a Brno native riding a run of four consecutive victories, three of them by TKO. Magard, however, says the crowd pressure is something he has learned to tune out entirely.

“I’ve always been the outside guy,” Magard told Sherdog.com. “I’ve always been the guy that has to come in and prove myself. But to be honest, I love fighting the home crowd because I don’t feel the pressure. It’s me against him, and everything else is white noise. Although I do like to silence a crowd. I’ve done it many times.”

Magard’s path to a championship was anything but linear. Two years into his career, the Copenhagen native had lost three of his first four fights. The turning point came when he relocated to England to train with Carl Prince at Manchester Top Team, a move he credits with unlocking his potential as a future champion.

“I’m very stubborn,” Magard admitted. “I may not be the most talented fighter, but I’ve always been the hardest-working fighter, and I never considered giving up. I’m very grateful for the losses I’ve had in my career because they built my character.”

Now on a two-fight winning streak and always a naturally large bantamweight, Magard says the cut to featherweight is not a concern. What does command his attention is Rousal’s muay thai-based finishing ability — and his plan is to ensure the fight never stays in that lane.

“I’m not a good matchup for him, and I will go in there and show him a whole new game,” Magard said. “Everything is different, and I know how to mix everything up. The guys he’s been fighting only come in with one style, and I’ll have options to finish the fight from anywhere.”

A win over Rousal would keep Magard relevant in Oktagon’s featherweight picture and signal that his title ambitions — whether at 135 or 145 pounds — remain very much alive.