INJURY OKTAGON 96: Ayari replaces Klinkhammer vs Gogoladze; Runge in for Samsonidse

OKTAGON 96 lost its top two fights in fight week and has patched both with days to spare. The vacant welterweight title fight now has a different challenger than the one fans were sold, and the Oct. 31 show in Munich is rebuilt around him.

Felix Klinkhammer, 33 and unbeaten, said he was hurt in one of his last training sessions before travelling to Munich. He described it as an ordinary session, not a reckless one, and said a specialist confirmed what he feared. He apologised to his opponent, the promotion, his team, sponsors and ticket buyers. He did not name the injury or say whether the fight could be rebooked. Before the explanation came out, Gogoladze posted that opponents "keep running" from him, even in fight week. After the replacement was announced he wrote that he does not care who stands in front of him.

For Gogoladze, the number-one contender, it is another disrupted title chance. The promotion's own preview said he had twice lost a title fight without entering the cage. Ayari is 34, a UFC veteran who has fought Darren Till, and sits seventh in the division. He has won both OKTAGON fights, a TKO of Christian Stahl and a rear-naked choke of Niklas Stolze. He gets the upgrade after being booked first against Ion Surdu, who withdrew injured, then against Kevin Pastran, the FFC interim champion making his OKTAGON debut.

The lightweight co-feature was hit too. Niko Samsonidse, ranked fourth in the promotion and coming off a knockout of Denis Frimpong, is out injured. Runge, a former We Love MMA lightweight champion listed at 14-8-1, takes the fight against Aksu at 73 kg. Aksu is a former title challenger whose 14 wins all came before the limit, according to FightBuzz. With a lightweight title fight between Mateusz Legierski and Ivan Buchinger set for next month, Samsonidse had been close to a title shot of his own.

Separately, Fayaz Haqparast, a German with a 3-0 record from Munich Allstars Gym, withdrew from his home-city flyweight bout with Shawn da Silva, which is cancelled. Brian Manning vs. Marek Bartl and Lazar Todev vs. Simon Biyong remain booked.

Watch for whether Pastran gets a new opponent, whether da Silva gets a replacement, and whether the Gogoladze-Klinkhammer fight is rebooked.