Lukasz Siwiec was a huge outsider in the match with David Kozma, the favorite of the Ostrava audience. However, in the end he more than tormented the biggest favorite of the entire Tipsport Gamechanger and showed a really tough root. But he doesn’t feel like a loser. What did he discuss next in the interview with Ruik?
Congratulations on an excellent performance. Although David Kozma is the darling of the audience, immediately after the match, quite a few people leaned more towards your side. How did you feel immediately after the end of the match, i.e. before the announcement of the winner?
Thank you very much. A lot of people congratulated me after the fight and I’m very happy that the fans appreciated our last fight as much as the skills I showed in it from the moment I stepped into the cage.
Immediately after the final gong, as I walked to my corner, I felt unsatisfied and somewhat angry with myself for not being able to finish the fight the way I had planned. But I definitely didn’t feel like a loser.
What feelings in you on the contrary reigned after the verdict? Did you feel you did enough to win?
Despite all that, I still had a glimmer of hope that the judges would give me the win, even though I knew before the match that I had to finish the match to win. But I was active in stance and on the ground. In wrestling, when I was defending takedowns, David didn’t deal with me either. I haven’t felt threatened in a single aspect of MMA and I don’t feel defeated.
It was your first professional match that went all the way to the point judges. To what do you attribute the fact that you failed to finish off your opponent?
David was passive after the takedowns and just focused on keeping me on my back. Maybe he was pressured or threatened by me. Today, however, we don’t see such verdicts very often. Referees should take into account active work and David should strike more often than once every half a minute.
But I didn’t allow him to do that and at the end of the match I even had better stats. It’s hard to fight someone who holds back and fights for sure. Every second of the match then played against me.
Did Kozma surprise you by withstanding your strangulation? How close was it to quitting? Kozma said he felt you didn’t have enough strength for it anymore.
Honestly, David endured a lot, but I have many sparring partners who also don’t knock that quickly, and the motivation to fight in front of their own fans played a role here. I’d rather be put to sleep too. Especially when the whole hall is chanting your name.
The neck hold was well caught and it wasn’t far from ending, but I only had one hook caught on my legs. Just as I was about to grab the second hook for better stability, the grip on the neck loosened momentarily.
David took advantage of this moment and I started to change my grip, which was unnecessary at that point. Strength no longer played a role in this. When he then got me under him, it was David who didn’t have the strength judging by the fact that he just passively waited for the end of the round.
Before the match, it was expected that you would want to take Kozma to the floor and try for submissions there. However, you were a worthy adversary to your opponent, even in attitude. What was your gameplan anyway? And did you follow it?
After watching his previous fights, I expected a tough stance war and was ready to finish my opponent. We knew I was faster and more relaxed than Kozma. But he really surprised me that he fought completely differently than in his previous fights. Especially since he had a bigger margin than me.
You could tell by my posture that I was ready to go into exchanges. I was pushing him and sinking deep into my thrusts. I stuck to my gameplan until the very end, which my opponent took advantage of. He threw me off the pace when he took advantage of my timing mistakes.
As for my takedowns, I only used them to finish my opponent, I didn’t want to just bother him on the ground.
Although you lost, you really left an impression on the Czechoslovak scene. What are your plans for the future? Have you dealt with Octagon yet? Will we see you in the organization in the future?
I really don’t feel like a loser. The result of the match could have turned out either way. I am very happy that we did a great show and that the audience enjoyed it. That’s what it’s all about, for me to enjoy the fight and for the audience to enjoy it.
I am truly blessed to have had the opportunity to fight in such a great organization and at such an amazing gala like OKTAGON 40 where every fight was the match of the night. Moreover, the spectators appreciated my skills and at the end of the match I felt respect from them. Such moments crown hard preparation and are a dream come true for every athlete.
Personally, there has been no contact with the organization yet, although I know that a few of my colleagues from Poland have already fought under the Octagon. But I really liked the environment and background of the organization. He does his job 100 percent, and above all, they take really good care of their fighters, and that’s the most important thing.
I don’t know what the future will bring, I watch it calmly. But I’m open to any suggestions and my manager sees it the same way.
How did you feel going into the match? Until recently, Kozma was the undisputed welterweight king of the Octagon. He is a big star on the Czechoslovak scene. Did you see him as your toughest opponent so far?
Before the match itself, I had some health problems and the illness seemed to eat away at me, but I tried not to think about it. At that moment, all I could think about was the fight, and I tried to focus all my thoughts on it.
Yes, I knew Kozma was a tough and experienced fighter, as he had shown in previous matches, but I didn’t feel at a disadvantage regarding his fighting experience.
I expected him to be the toughest opponent of my career. But my attitude was that I was thinking about how I could deal with him rather than letting myself get carried away by some fears.
How do you even take a loss? It is only the second time in your career that you have known this feeling. For example, would you like to ask Oktagon for retribution when Gamechanger ends?
Like I said, I don’t feel like a loser. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger and I can only take a lesson from this experience. I know that I will be an even better, stronger and more dangerous fighter than before. But if there was an opportunity, I would like to share it with David again.
You can still be returned to the Tipsport Gamechanger by fans who vote for “lucky loser”. They can choose two fighters. If you want, you can message them here and explain why they should vote for you.
Everyone enjoyed the match, you could see that I fought even and that I was a permanent danger to my opponents. I have a rich arsenal of fighting skills that I can use to surprise my opponent in battle. If you want to see a great show, you know I can give it to you. So please vote for me and when I return to the tournament, we will all enjoy this beautiful sport together.
How do you rate the Oktagon organization? Can you offer a comparison with Poland’s Babilon, where you were the champion?
Oktagon is a superbly run organization that focuses on sports and fighters. Everything is running as it should. Babilon, where I am the champion, is certainly a smaller organization, but its fighters are also very tough. Octagon champions with Babylon champions, that’s what I’d really like to see and experience.
As a father of two young daughters, I have to ask you how difficult it is for you to combine the life of the father of a young daughter with the life of a fighter? It must be really hard for you and I admire you for that.
It’s really challenging to put it all together, especially when it comes to the time I have to devote to training. My daughter is growing up so fast and you can never turn back time. It’s hard to come tired from training and not go to rest, when in the morning you have to get up again, go to work again and find time to study in between.
Fortunately, the child’s smile and the joy of returning home make up for it all, and you no longer think about fatigue, but about your child, about fun and the time spent with him. Those moments when he hugs you and pulls your hand to the toys, nothing in the world can replace that feeling. Everything makes much more sense with my wife and daughter, they are my motivation and support.
How did you enjoy the atmosphere of the Ostrava fans? Although you were the opponent of the home favorite, you were not particularly booed and you even deserved the applause of the spectators before and after the match.
I have never wrestled in front of so many fans, it was a new experience for me. It’s beautiful how everyone here enjoys it and lives the sport. The respect before and after the fight, the appreciation of the fighter and his skills, and it doesn’t matter where he comes from, just the applause… All this is a huge motivation. To stand in that cage and hear it all, I would like to experience it one more time.
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