Fights on Friday

Everything is ready for the MMA spectacle

Florian Aberger (left) is at the start, as is veteran Harry Fischer (right).

(Bild: CFS, Krone KREATIV)

The Cage Fight Series 13 at Schwarzlsee kicked off on Thursday evening with the weigh-in and match-up of the opponents at the Amedia Airport Hotel near Graz! On Friday, the MMA spectacle in the Octagon will get down to business. PLUS subscribers will once again be able to watch the preliminary fights exclusively on krone.at from 6 pm - with a veteran awaiting in the main fight.

He is 52 years old, has been fighting in the octagonal cage since 2003 - and still hasn't had enough of the tough mixed martial arts sport: Harald Fischer! "As long as I can still call up my performance in sparring, my fights are still respectable and I don't have to get into the cage with my walker, I'll keep going," says the MMA veteran with a wink.

Fischer continues to train at the Ettl brothers' Champions Gym in Graz, who have chosen him for the main fight of the Prelims at their 13th Cage Fight edition. His Croatian opponent Ivan Vladimir is a good 20 Lenze younger "and is fully in the soft", warns Austria's MMA President and event organizer Gerhard Ettl. "It could get bloody." Fischer nevertheless remains cool: "We oldies are often underestimated."

Event organizer Klaus Leutgeb (left) and MMA zampano Gerhard Ettl have often crowned Fischer the winner. In sporting terms, however, "Harry" doesn't want to tighten his belt just yet.

(Bild: MARIO MAINDL)

Routine as a trump card
Experience and routine in the Octagon are the local hero's greatest assets. Officially, he has twelve wins and five defeats to his name as a professional, "but there are more fights, in the past many were not even officially scored". A different time, when MMA was still in its infancy in Europe.

"At my first fight in Hungary, when I had a lot more on my ribs at 92 kilos, things were still pretty wild," recalls the current welterweight (-77kg). "A construction fence formed the cage and headbutts were allowed, you were allowed to kick your knee against your head on the ground. I wouldn't want to see that kind of brutality now. There is a clear set of rules, the sport has developed a lot and is much more technical. In any case, I always wanted and still want to defeat my opponent first, but not really hurt him."

The 13th edition of the Cage Fight Series at a glance. Plus subscribers can watch the pre-fights again at krone.at.

(Bild: CFS)

Fischer is a sportsman and believes in "fair play" - like the majority of the MMA scene: "99 percent of people are nice people and shake your hand after the fight. That's how it should be," says the father of five, who only works night shifts on the street at the holding company. "It's easier to combine with childcare!"

"100 years is not enough"
Speaking of children: those of old acquaintances and friends now train with him. "It's kind of nice when everyone sends you love from dad," Fischer winks. His "favorite hobby" is and remains mixed martial arts, which combines techniques from wrestling, kickboxing, jiu jitsu and so on. "The sport is so diverse that you could live for 100 years and still not know everything."

Incidentally, he doesn't see a significantly higher risk of injury than in other, "bigger" sports in Austria - on the contrary: "I find skiing much more dangerous. And in soccer, you don't expect to get hit by an outstretched leg." Very much so in MMA.

Of course, Fischer has also taken a number of "impact hits" in his long career. "I've broken ribs, noses and toes, but I count those as minor injuries. However, thanks to good preparation, sufficient stretching and strengthening exercises and the necessary luck, I have thankfully been spared major injuries such as broken hands or legs or torn ligaments, which force you to take a longer break from training." Let's keep it that way!