MMA fighter is punched out of the cage by his beaten opponent after HUMPING and KISSING his rival in a blindside celebration following triumph

• Tensions boiled over after a featherweight bout on the Oktagon 69 card
• Max Holzer defeated Deniz Ilbay via submission before taunting his rival 
• Holzer was then sent flying out of the cage after his opponent retaliated

By JAMES COHEN

Published: 11:07 BST, 6 April 2025 | Updated: 11:19 BST, 6 April 2025

A European MMA event descended into chaos on Saturday night after one fighter appeared to taunt his rival with a lewd gesture before being tackled out of the cage. 

At Oktagon 69’s event in Dortmund, Germany, tensions boiled over at the end of the main event – which saw Max Holzer defeat Deniz Ilbay via rear-naked choke in the fourth round. 

After feeling his rival tap, featherweight star Holzek quickly rose to his feet and performed a bizarre celebration which drew new life out of the defeated Ilbay. 

Holzek appeared to kiss the back of his rival’s neck before then seeming to hump his opponent, who was still grounded, before getting up to celebrate further. 

However, Ilbay quickly rose to his feet and chased after Holzek around the cage, while wildly swinging in his direction. 

Eventually, he caught up to his rival and forced him through the cage walls and onto the floor of the arena.

An MMA fighter appeared to kiss his opponent after beating him on Saturday night

The fighter, Max Holzer, then appeared to hump his rival in a bizarre celebration

His rival then charged at him and sent him flying out of the cage in an act of retaliation

Members from both teams attempted to diffuse the situation, with Hozlek’s coaching staff jumping to his defence and eventually forming a barrier around him. 

Footage showed Holzek rising to his feet and standing on the floor of the arena, shouting back at Ilbay after the fiery, post-fight exchange. 

By winning on the night, Holzer improved his record to 11-0, following the ninth stoppage of his career. Meanwhile, Ilbay’s pro MMA record moved to 8-2, ending a three-fight win streak.

Holzer is not the first MMA fighter to perform the bizarre celebration, with UFC legend Israel Adesanya doing similar after he defeated rival Paulo Costa back in 2020. 

With referee Jason Herzog moving in to end the bout five years ago, Adesanya added insult to injury by pretending to hump Costa before moving away to celebrate the victory at UFC 253 in Abu Dhabi.

The humiliating moment caused fury in Costa’s camp and, after coming in for huge criticism, the middleweight champion later admitted he couldn’t care less what people think.

‘I couldn’t give a f*** what they think to be honest,’ Adesanya told MMA Fighting. ‘I didn’t even think about it. I didn’t even plan it. It was just justified. 

‘Like you know when you’re on “Call of Duty” and you smoke someone with a head shot and then you go over them and then press circle, down, up, down, up, kind of tea bag them. That’s kind of what I did. 

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MMA fighter is punched out of the cage by his beaten opponent after HUMPING and KISSING his rival in a blindside celebration following triumph

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