Hemsworth fighter Scott Askham back on winning trail on OKTAGON debut

The MMA star had appeared to be on a downslope with back to back inside the distance defeats at the hands of Mamed Khalidov – three years apart – but he vowed to come back and took the first step on that road with a victory over Marc Doussis at Manchester’s AO Arena.

While by his own admission it was not his best performance Askham did more than enough to get a unanimous decision from the judges to take his record to 20 wins and six losses.

He was not top of the bill in his comeback fight – that honour going to a celebrity fight between comedian Paul Smith and reality star and one-time Frickley Athletic footballer Jake Quickenden – but it was a good start to rebuilding his career.

That career is a stellar one in MMA circles as the Hemsworth man has fought in UFC, BAMMA and more recently the Poland-based KSW.

Now he is signed to OKTAGON and it is onwards and upwards with them after beating Doussis in his first fight with this promotion.

He enjoyed the experience and is looking forward to more contests under their banner in 2024 after winning his first bout since 2019.

“I don’t think you are ever happy with your performance and there’s always room for improvement, but obviously I was happy with the win,” said Askham.

"It’s been four years since my last win and I feel I had that in the back of my mind.

"It’s good to get a win under my belt and move onto the next one.

"It was a great opportunity in Manchester, OKTAGON are putting on great shows. They really make an event of it and I’m really happy to be a part of it.

"I took this opponent very serious. I knew I had more experience than him and I thought I would have dealt with him better, but credit to him he put up a great fight.”

Askham fought a weight higher as the match was made at light-heavyweight and he felt good going into it, although he was critical of his display.

He added: “Back in 2019 I feel like my fights were looking like my spars and at the minute that click’s just not happening. It’s a key component I need to figure out.

"There’s room to improve and get better.

"It’s a long time to have been out. When boxers come back they have warm-up fights. I went straight into a massive fight.

“But I’m happy to get a good solid three rounds in the bag, build on the gas tank and get ready for a big year next year.”