By Murdo Todd
Former IMMAF World Champion Alina Dalaslan (Germany) made a successful professional debut this past weekend, winning by third-round TKO stoppage.
Representing Germany, Dalaslan claimed gold at the 2024 IMMAF World Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The 24-year-old overcame amateur MMA standouts Marianna Skuba (Ukraine) and Esmira Mammadova (Azerbaijan) before landing a stunning finish over Demi-Shaye Thomas (South Africa) in the final. Having reached the pinnacle of amateur MMA, Dalaslan made the switch to professional MMA, immediately signing with Czech-Slovak organization OKTAGON MMA.
Despite being less than a decade old, OKTAGON MMA has made a significant impact on professional European MMA, holding well-attended events in Germany, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia. In October 2024, OKTAGON 62, held in Frankfurt, Germany, recorded a record-setting attendance of 59,000. The promotion continues to tap into the blossoming German MMA scene, bringing a show to Dalaslan’s hometown of Stuttgart, with 15,000 fans in attendance.
Dalaslan took full advantage of having such a platform for her debut. Coming up against Kamila Simkova, a Czech bantamweight with six pro fights to her name, questions were raised as to whether Dalaslan was ready for such an occasion. The former IMMAF World Champion answered these questions with a showcase display of striking, culminating in a flurry of knees in the third round that forced the referee’s intervention. With such an impressive showing in front of a passionate home crowd, Dalaslan’s performance firmly established her status as a frontrunner to be the next MMA star competing out of Germany.
If Dalaslan continues to climb the ranks, she could well find herself matched up against current Women’s Bantamweight Champion Cecilie Bolander (Norway), a fellow IMMAF alum and former European champion. Bolander’s amateur record stands at a sensational 7-1, with each victory coming via submission. She is also not averse to taking on fellow IMMAF alumni, having defeated former IMMAF World Champion Nina Nikolija Milosevic (Serbia) at Superior Challenge 26 in 2023.
While the prospect of a superfight with Bolander is undoubtedly at the back of Dalaslan’s mind, she still has some way to go. However, at just 24, Dalaslan has marked herself as an exceptionally talented prospect with an incredibly bright future ahead.
