One step away from prison. I was a good boy, but a madman, recalls the hitman nicknamed the Inquisitor

It wasn’t long before we could talk about your upcoming Stanley Cup game here. How close were you to the NHL?

Together with Michal Neuvirth, I was nominated for the 18 World Championship. This means for the tournament, which then plays a big role in drafts. There was some interest in me overseas, but an injury came and Kuba Kovář went in my place, after which Philadelphia reached out. I always say I was close to the draft, but nowhere does it say it ended up being that way. However, I had a good footing.

You started against Neuvirth in the junior extra league, in one of your last matches for Slavia you drew with Sparta 2:2. How do you remember that period?

I have been training with guys in Slavia since I was 15 years old. When there was an NHL lockout, I went to the ice with Pálffy, Stümpel or Špaček. Coach Růžička drove me from school to the O2 arena, because I was still in the ninth grade and didn’t have a car.

But then came the fatal injury.

First it was pneumonia. I returned to training after two months and I had gained a few kilos, because at that time life management had not yet been dealt with so much. I went on the ice and the first move I did was the split. Without warming up. I tore a muscle and that meant half a year off.

At this age, a fatal break.

Yeah, I just missed the train. When you are fifteen or sixteen, you are still a child, so it is very difficult. You keep hearing that you have a shot at the NHL and suddenly you realize that it won’t happen. When your life’s dream, for which you sacrifice absolutely everything, collapses… I wasn’t on skis, I wasn’t anywhere.

Were you able to cope with it?

I was pretty bummed. I continued, I went to the first league, to Hradec Králové, to Vrchlabí. But I was determined to catch at the highest level. Maybe in the future I could have made it to the extra league, but it was very much in the stars and I wanted to have some certainty. Then I started fighting and it was clear.

You are religious, you belong to the Protestant Church. It’s probably not the first time you’ve heard that question. How do your faith and MMA go together?

I think I’m pretty humble. And above all: it’s a sport.

It is written in the Bible that when you are struck, you should turn the other cheek. You probably wouldn’t do much in MMA with that, would you?

There, too, you have an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. In the Bible, it is very figuratively stated that if someone hurts me, I should not repay him, but try to forgive him. But as I say: this is a sport in which we go into the opponent with respect for each other.

What about your nickname Inquisitor?

I’m a protestant, so for me it’s the worst possible nickname. (laughter) My coach came up with it when I was still doing Muay Thai. He told me in sparring sessions that he couldn’t understand how someone religious could be so evil. (smile)

are you evil

I tend to be very aggressive during sparring. As I wrestle, I also train.

And in life?

The period when I finished playing hockey was very wild, very problematic. I was one step away from going to sit down. It took about three years. Three years of drinking while struggling with anxiety. Because of the injury, I was mortified that no one held me. I had nothing else, I was sad and pissed off. I started fighting, going to parties and being aggressive.

One fine day I realized that it couldn’t go on like this. I ended the day and started training at home. I’ve been riding a clean trail ever since.

What does God mean to you?

For me, it is the basic building block around which I build everything. Family: I will be a better partner, I will be a better husband, I will be a better father. If you knew me before, I was a good guy, but I was just a dork. Thanks to faith, I have calmed down and have completely different priorities.

Let’s get to the wrestling. How prepared are you for Frankfurt?

I did everything to be 100% ready for him. It’s my last fight, so I gave it my all. When injured, I trained through the pain. Thank God I’m holding it together, I’m going to enjoy it because every second there could be my last. I did say that I would say goodbye somewhere in Prague, but I don’t know that anymore. I have to take a year off after all these injuries.

Christian Eckerlin, who is described as eccentric, awaits you. What do you know about him?

A German billionaire who wrestles just for fun. He owns some nightclubs, is a member of the Hells Angels biker gang. At first I thought he was quite arrogant, but now that I perceive his various expressions, he seems completely cool to me.

Eckerlin will be at home in Frankfurt. You’re probably in for a real buzz – how can you deal with it?

I’m used to it and on the contrary, it can turn me on. I’m an exhibitionist, so if people are there, I don’t care if they’re rooting for me or the opponent.

But what you have problems with are the comments on social networks.

Yes, that was true. But now I work with the mental coach Petr Žídek and with his help I worked a lot on it. I wanted to quit wrestling when I was almost 8-0 and the first defeat came, then the second. Suddenly a lot of people started hating me. I didn’t understand it.

What bothered you the most?

The dude will write to you that you’re worth shit, what are you doing there if you can’t throw a punch – and at the same time he has such a belly button that he can’t even catch the tram. You just don’t want to deal with that. I learned it myself. Social networks and various discussions are the evil of today. Every moron on the internet can hate you. Nobody knows anything about you, they have no idea what you are going through. But he likes to spit.