The challenger walked out to a sold-out arena that wanted a title to stay in Germany. He left the cage with his first professional defeat and a corner trying to steady him on his feet.

Igor Severino, the 23-year-old Brazilian known as “The Hannibal,” pressed forward from the opening bell, cornered Max Holzer and unloaded a short combination that put him down. Referee Josef Louc stepped in with 54 seconds gone in round one.

Holzer had arrived in Hannover unbeaten through 12 professional fights and was the local favourite on an Oktagon 97 card that his promotion had built around him.

From a UFC ban to a title defence

Severino’s path to the main event was anything but ordinary. In March 2024 he was disqualified on his UFC debut for biting opponent André Lima at UFC Fight Night in Las Vegas, the first bite-related disqualification in the promotion’s history.

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Dana White released him within hours. The Nevada State Athletic Commission followed with a nine-month suspension and a $2,000 fine.

Oktagon signed him once the ban expired. Since arriving in the European promotion he has gone on an unbroken run, winning the vacant bantamweight title in March 2026 against Khurshed Kakhorov and now defending it for the first time.

Severino had framed the comeback as a straightforward choice.

“I picked the second option, to keep moving forward, focus on my dream, and shoulder all the pressure,” he told talkSPORT before the Hannover fight.

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Holzer’s night cut short

The 24-year-old German had spent the build-up talking about winning the belt in front of his own fans and turning Oktagon 97 into the biggest night of his career. The fight was over before many of them had finished their opening cheer.

The event streamed internationally on Oktagon.tv from a sold-out ZAG Arena, with Severino’s first-round finish taking the main event barely a minute off the clock.

The win is Severino’s first successful title defence and keeps him unbeaten inside the Oktagon cage.

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