MMA

Back on a winning streak! Zdenek Polívka defeated the home butcher in Manchester, yet apologised for an unattractive duel

The largest Czechoslovak organisation set out to conquer the shores of Great Britain and on Saturday it presented itself in Manchester. One of the Czech fighters who went into action was Zdenek Polívka, who faced a seasoned veteran. How did he do?

Published

1 year ago

4. 11. 2023

Pavel Langr

OKTAGON 48 is the first stop for a Czechoslovak MMA organisation on British soil. It was not surprising that the program was catered primarily by British fighters, however, two Czechs were also in action, even though three were originally scheduled to appear.

The most watched duel was supposed to be the fight between Jaroslav Pokorný and Shem Rock. However, due to their brawl at the staredown after the weigh-in, Jubox was unable to enter the bout as Rock injured him.

That left only Jakub Bahník and Zdenek Polívka, with the latter going into action as the former. But he was not in an ideal position. He was coming off two losses. At the beginning of the year, he was fired from the gym and had to look for a new one.

His opponent was an experienced English veteran known as Butcher.

Polívka is back on a winning streak

Lee Chadwick is known for his qualities on the ground. It was all the more surprising that Zdeněk Polívka managed to dominate him here. He was landing hard punches, controlling the position, but it wasn’t easy.

Whenever the Czech stopped being active for a while, Butcher was able to find a way to try for a submission. But Polívka was able to get out of all of them. The remaining two rounds were mostly standing, with the fighters spending a lot of time on the canvas.

However, Polívka was more accurate in the stand-up, he was able to hit better, more and more accurately, which helped him to win the fight, even if “only” on points. An important win after two losses. And against a man who at the age of 38 had almost 50 professional fights.

At 25 years old, the Czech hope confirms his potential and a successful restart. After the duel, Polívka thanked his coach and joked about the long wait for the win.

“I tried to finish the match. But Chadwick wanted to finish it. I’m sorry it probably wasn’t watchable. I needed to protect the win,” Polívka was heard in the cage.

The Czech fighter also asked for a fight in Ostrava, where the Octagon will be in early December.