MMA | The Czech talent silenced the audience and won the title. He was being a dude and had a mouthful of bullshit, he’s hitting on a rival

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From the viewer’s point of view, it was nothing extra one-sided. Zoula and Val most often had matches at the mesh or on the ground, where decisions were made about absolute details. The second-named was also helped by a fantastic third round, in which he was not far from ending the match and took a huge amount of strength from his opponent. And those were missing in the end. Although Val found himself on the floor of the cage a few more times, nothing spoiled his post-match joy. The champion’s belt has its owner, much to the displeasure of the Kladno audience.

Did you feel in the third round that you could finish your opponent?

But yeah. He packed a lot, me, when I collect such blows, it kicks me even more. He was packing, hiding, afraid. He kept being a jerk and had a mouth full of bullshit. It’s his problem.

How do you prepare?

I train mostly every day, but it’s about what and how. You can’t go to the maximum every day, the body wouldn’t be able to regenerate. I’m smart.

Photo: IAF

Matěj Val with the belt of the featherweight champion of the IAF organization

What about recovery and diet?

Everything at the most professional level. I’m a big fan of diet and regeneration. I have everything figured out, food, training, I don’t even know that I’m actually losing weight. I have great people around me, I am fully immersed in this journey of mine, nothing else interests me. Although not everything will work out, because I probably didn’t eat well before this match, maybe I didn’t eat well, so I sat on the toilet in the evening and today, but it was not noticeable in my performance. Simply, only when you go through the worst, you can then be the best.

Even after the fifth round you looked fresh, what do you do for your indomitable physical condition?

I’m still fighting, I’m doing demanding training sessions where I’m really hungry. I just come to the gym, get through the pi.. and go home again. The match itself is then a reward for me.

You got your IAF belt, which you say is just the beginning. Where do you see yourself in a few years?

In a few years, I see myself in another organization for a lot of money, where I can wrestle for a full-time living. I still have to choose the weight, whether up to 66 or 61 kilograms. I’m losing a few kilograms, I had 73 kilograms in preparation, there’s still room to take. But the question is whether to sharpen it at 61 and lose strength, or to stay at 66 and really feel as comfortable as today. As for the possibilities, KSW is a certainty, yesterday a friend told me about another possibility, but I didn’t want to deal with this before the match, I was fully focused on this mission. But I see myself abroad, on the highest goals. I don’t want to compete only on Czech soil.

What does the belt mean to you?

It’s the first strip, I’ll sleep with it. It’s a great memory for me, I’ll watch the match, learn from my mistakes and work even harder than before. Five rounds, great experience, really nice. Anyway, I have a shelf ready for him at home. Not just for this belt, but for others to come.

Do you have a pattern?

I don’t have anyone in particular, I just follow the best in the UFC and try to draw from them. I learn from everyone.

Pressure from the very beginning. David Popovič literally ran over Jan Mudraninc in a duel according to IAF Striking rulesVideo: O2 TV Sport

Back to the match itself, you were lying in your corner waiting for Zoula to come to the cage…

He claimed that his platform and the roaring arena would break me, so I just lay there, looked at the coach and said: “Look, it’s here, it’s coming.” I didn’t like standing anymore. I was on my feet for a long time today, in the locker room before the game, so I just lay down for a while.

On the contrary, he hit you well in the first round. Could this have caused any problems?

I agree, he hit me with something, that’s true, but even so, I could deal with it somehow. I experience it sometimes in training. If the opponent doesn’t shut you down, I can handle it, and I even think I work even better then. Overall, I was confident. There was never a moment when I decided to get up that I didn’t succeed.

And that’s another thing that surprised many. Your opponent was only able to keep you on your back in the fourth round, otherwise you were constantly running away from takedowns or turning them to your advantage.

He just has no power at all, he had no way to threaten me. I train with guys who are completely different than David. Everyone thinks I’m training in the woods and stuff, but that’s just a pose. If David knew how I train and what I’m really like, he wouldn’t even go to that match. It’s just a game.

Before the match, did you verbally attack your opponent, did you feel that you were slowly and surely destroying him mentally?

I don’t know, if so, he has no business in the world. I wouldn’t mind if some clown in a bathrobe came there. He was still rough, an awful lot of bullshit…

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The article is in Czech

Tags: MMA Czech talent silenced audience won title dude mouthful bullshit hes hitting rival

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