Van Suijdam ran over Úškrt and four days later he was teaching children again. I have a great chance to win the Tipsport Gamechanger, says the Dutchman

Congratulations on the win. You went into the fight as an underdog, many fans underestimated you and didn’t trust you much. However, you showed a great performance. How do you feel about your victory? What are your feelings?

I’m really extremely happy for this win. And I’m equally happy with my performance. I think I showed some fighting skills, both in the stance and on the ground.

Rado Uskrt was a big fan favorite. They were supporting him the whole fight. How much did that motivate you? Did you feel it at all?

Yes, I heard that Rado was a much bigger favourite than me. I love being the underdog, the underdog, because you can only get a lot more fans if you win the match.

Speaking of fans, this was actually your first fight in the Octagon. And in Ostrava, which is famous for its atmosphere. How did the whole event impress you?

This Oktagon tournament had the best atmosphere I have ever tasted. It’s hard to describe it. It was something special. You just have to taste it and experience it for yourself.

You were originally supposed to fight Christian Eckerlin. But he withdrew and your preparation for Úškrt was a little shorter. How much did the change of opponent suit you? How did you react to it at all? Did you think Úškrt was a better opponent?

Eckerlin and Úškrt are totally different fighters, both have completely different skills. Christian has great takedowns, so I focused a lot on wrestling in preparation for him.

When my opponent changed and it was decided that I would go with Radovan, I had to adapt to that in my preparation. A lot.

Eckerlin may have been a tougher opponent than Ushrt on paper, but I don’t think anyone has a better knockout punch than Rado in this tournament. That made him a very dangerous opponent.

But now to the match. What were your feelings going into it? How did you have Úškrt staged? What were your tactics?

I think I prepared well. I trained less MMA, but I paired more kickboxing, because that was probably the only way Úškrt could beat me.

In the first round, Úškrt was able to hit you well, even scoring a knockdown. But you shook it off quickly. It’s the hard punches that are Uskrt’s greatest strength. How much did she catch you by surprise?

I was as prepared as I could be, but I’m really glad I have an iron chin. I knew he had hard bombs. That’s why he’s a dangerous opponent for any fighter.

Did you feel threatened at any point during the fight?

I didn’t feel like I was in any significant danger during the fight. No more than in other fights. You’re always landing punches in the cage, and you have to take into account that any fight can end at any second.

Have you seen the fight on tape? What do you think decided it in your favour? Was it the high kick midway through the second round? And what do you think of Úškrt? Did he surprise you with anything? Like how much he lasted?

I’ve seen snippets of our match and I really think that high kick made the difference. Then I was amazed at how many hard shots Stumpy survived. He’s got a good guard and, as mentioned, a hard bomb.

How are you health-wise? Do you have any issues that arose in the match that you need to make up for before the next fight?

Yes, I had an accident just before the fight with Stubble, so I’ll be recovering from that this month. I’ve started training, but I can’t pair up for four weeks. After that, however, I’ll have another seven weeks to be 100% ready for my next opponent.

That opponent will be Louis Glismann. What were your feelings when he immediately approached you? You’ve fought once before. How will the second fight be different? And how confident are you? After all, Glismann is seen as one of the favorites in the pyramid.

I was really surprised when Louis picked me. Stylistically, I’m a really unpleasant opponent for him. I think he did it because he beat me once before, but that was a long time ago. I’m much better now than I was five years ago.

And Glismann is the pyramid favorite? It doesn’t matter. It’s all about who leaves the cage with their hands up.

Have you seen the Glismann-Kalashnik fight? If so, what did you think of it? What about the other fights? Who impressed you in the first round?

I saw parts of their fight and I think Glismann’s plan was the same as always. Take the fight to the ground. He handled the fight very well tactically with a lot of control on the ground. I thought it was a great match stylistically because Kalashnik is a very good and technical wrestler.

I can’t help but ask… What did you actually do after you won the fight? We know you’re a school teacher. Did you go to work after you got home?

First of all, I started training again on Monday. I had to, but I had to. I’m just addicted to this sport. On Wednesday, I started work to teach physical education to children aged 5 to 13. As always.

How do the kids perceive that you’re a fighter? What about parents’ opinions? Have you ever had a problem with that? After all, it’s not usual for someone to teach kindergarten who has, say, a broken face from a fight.

I think as an MMA fighter I’m a good role model for what MMA should be. It’s a sport with a lot of respect. I can shut somebody down, or somebody can shut me down, and after the fight we’ll talk like friends. A lot of people don’t understand that MMA as a sport and cage fighting are different things. So is trashtalk. I hate it.

Yes, sometimes I show up at work with a black eye, a facial laceration, but why is that a problem? While I have bruises on my face, football players have them on their legs. It’s the same problems, just on different parts of the body.

Thanks for the answers and good luck for the next game, just don’t get hurt! The fans quickly changed their minds about you and really enjoyed your game. Is there anything you would like to say to them at the end?

I think and hope that is why it will be so attractive to watch my fights. There will be fights everywhere.