While German trash TV stars step into the boxing ring on Saturday at Fame Fighting 2025, Oktagon 78 in Cologne is hosting a real martial arts event, featuring a real showdown between Eckerlin and Truscek.
Here is all the information you need about the Oktagon 78 spectacle: time, TV and stream broadcast, fight card, and predictions with betting odds for Eckerlin vs. Truscek.
Eckerlin vs. Truscek: Broadcast & Time
Date and location: When is Oktagon 78 with Eckerlin vs. Truscek?
After his defeat in June against Robert Pukac, Germany’s MMA hero Christian Eckerlin is now returning to the cage at Oktagon 78. His opponent is Croatian MMA icon Ivica Truscek.
Oktagon 78 will take place on October 18, 2025, in Cologne at the Lanxess Arena. The headliner with Christian Eckerlin vs. Ivica Truscek will start at 11:00 p.m.
The first preliminary fights will start at 6:00 p.m. MMA fans can look forward to a long and action-packed evening of combat sports. A total of 12 fights are on the program.
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Oktagon 78 TV & stream broadcast: Who is showing Eckerlin vs. Truscek?
The broadcast of Oktagon 78 with Christian Eckerlin vs. Ivica Truscek will be live and exclusive on RTL on Saturday, October 18.
RTL will broadcast Eckerlin vs. Truscek live on free-to-air TV starting at 10:45 p.m.
The Oktagon 78 broadcast on RTL will be hosted by Anna Kraft, with experienced MMA pro Max Coga at her side as an expert. Sophia Thomalla will be on hand as a VIP reporter. The commentator is Andreas Kozocsa.
If you want to see even more punches and kicks, you can tune in a few hours earlier. RTL’s Oktagon 78 broadcast will start at 5:30 p.m. on the paid online portal RTL+. The first fight will begin at 6:00 p.m.
RTL+ will show a total of ten fights in its Oktagon 78 broadcast. From 10:45 p.m., RTL will also join in live, and Oktagon 78 will then be shown on free-to-air TV with Eckerlin vs. Truscek.
Eckerlin vs. Truscek prediction – who will win at Oktagon 78?
In June, Christian Eckerlin suffered a TKO defeat against Slovakian Robert Pukac at Oktagon 73. Now, however, the “King of GerMMAny” wants to get back on the road to success.
Before the defeat, the 38-year-old celebrated two victories in a row. First, in his comeback in October 2024 at the Frankfurt soccer stadium (!) against Christian Jungwirth, he won on points after five tough rounds. Before that, in May 2024, he knocked out Czech Miroslav Borz in round 2.
According to the Eckerlin vs. Truscek prediction in the Interwetten app, Germany’s MMA hero is the big favorite. The odds for Eckerlin to win are just 1.16.
The 37-year-old Croatian with the lovely nickname “Terror” has already completed a total of 83 MMA fights. Truscek’s record, on the other hand, looks less intimidating: 44 wins compared to 39 losses.
What’s more, Truscek has only been in the cage twice so far in the highly competitive Oktagon MMA league. The first time was in June 2022 against Christian Jungwirth and most recently in February 2024 against Cihad Akipa. He lost to Jungwirth and won against Akipa.
What speaks in Eckerlin’s favor, apart from the home advantage in the Cologne Arena?
He combines precise technical boxing with great punching power and is also extremely dangerous on the ground, as evidenced by eight wins by submission. However, Germany’s MMA king won his last two victories by TKO and decision.
Oktagon 78 Fight Card for Eckerlin vs. Truscek on October 18
Ahead of the blockbuster between Christian Eckerlin and Ivica Truscek, there are several other highly interesting fights scheduled on the Oktagon 78 fight card.
The self-proclaimed “Neanderthal” Frederic Vosgröne continues to chase the light heavyweight title. He has won all five of his professional fights to date, four of them by submission. At Oktagon 78, he will face Jesus Samuel Chavarria.
The German women’s duel between Alina Dalaslan and Katharina Lehner, which is even scheduled as the co-main event on the Oktagon 78 main card, is also guaranteed to be exciting. Dalaslan is undefeated in her MMA career with three wins from three fights, while Lehner is a two-time title holder.
There’s also a title on the line on Saturday! Germany’s Khurshed Kakhorov (record: 9-1) will fight UFC veteran Igor Severino of Brazil for the bantamweight gold belt.
Other German MMA stars will also be in action, including Kasim Aras and Patrick Vespaziani (ranked No. 2 and No. 3 in the heavyweight division), Deniz Ilbay in the featherweight division, and Cihad Akipa vs. David Piechaczek in their middleweight duel.
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Are there still tickets available for Oktagon 78?
A total of around 15,000 tickets are available at Cologne’s Lanxess Arena for Oktagon 78 and the Eckerlin vs. Truscek fight. However, most tickets for the MMA event have been sold out for months.
You can find out if there are any tickets left at Oktagontickets.de.
Prices for the remaining Oktagon 78 tickets start at €49 for seats in the upper tiers (category X). For those who want to treat themselves to a very special evening with catering and the best seats, VIP Platinum tickets are still available for up to €1,499.
