Zebaztian Kadestam Explains ONE Exit Before Big Dominik Humburger Oktagon 87, Enemy Territory Bout
Zebaztian Kadestam clashes with Dominik Humburger at Oktagon 87: Szabová vs. Fernandes on April 25th in the co-main event in a middleweight match. Humburger is someone who has a large level of cache in Oktagon MMA, and Kadestam is excited by entering enemy territory for this one, as Humburger is the partisan favorite in the Czech Republic. When giving his thoughts on the machinations of this matchup, Zebaztian Kadestam said [via Bowks Talking Bouts],
“Yeah, it feels good. I’ve been having some big fights over at ONE and it feels appropriate that I should have big fights moving on. It’s a big task and I’m up for it. I’m ready. I’m excited.”
In terms of how competing on enemy soil informs his composure and general temperament, if at all, Zebaztian Kadestam stated [via Bowks Talking Bouts],
“I never performed good at home. Most of my fights have always been away. But I think this is going to be one of the biggest. Like probably I’m going to feel that. I’m in his hometown and I don’t know, I kind of like the idea of that. So, I’m going to feed off that energy. So it’s going to be good.”
Touching on how the former ONE welterweight champion came to depart from ONE Championship and sign with Oktagon MMA, Kadestam quipped [via Bowks Talking Bouts],
“They’re doing good in Europe. They’re doing big, big shows, big arenas, and they got good fights. We have a few teammates signing up. Yeah, it seems like a good step going forward.”
Zebaztian Kadestam has a balanced take on ONE departure but wants to get active in oktagon MMA
After holding gold in ONE Championship, as mentioned, when asked about if he wants to add some Oktagon MMA hardware to the mantle place down the line, Kadestam said [via Bowks Talking Bouts],
“Yeah, pretty much [laughs]. I want to get that welterweight gold in Oktagon as well. But we’re doing a middleweight fight now and we have a tough opponent. So let’s see. Let’s get this one cleared out first.”
As he is taking this fight at a higher weight, when asked why he is fighting at 185 pounds after specifically looking to map out a path toward a welterweight championship opportunity down the line, Zebaztian Kadestam stated [via Bowks Talking Bouts],
“In ONE, I always fought at 185, but the weight, how they measure the weight classes, are a little bit different. My last one in MMA was at ONE at light heavyweight though. So I kind of got to get used to cutting the weight again. Cuz I’ve been with ONE since 2017. So, I kind of have to get used to cutting weight again in a normal way. So, I think middleweight is good, but I feel like welterweight is where I [am] supposed to be.”
With common complaints from ex-ONE talent of inactivity stretches and the perception that the Asian promotion is phasing out of the MMA promotion piece to focus on other combat sports under their umbrella, when questioned about what ultimately led to him not re-signing with ONE and moving onward with Oktagon MMA, Kadestam quipped [via Bowks Talking Bouts],
“Yeah, pretty much activity. I had one MMA fight in the last three years. So it feels like I got to get moving. I got to get going. But I’ve had good years over there. Very good years. It’s been a hell of a ride and good memories. But I got to get active and yeah, fighters fight. That’s what we do. So, I got to get active.”
