Dvorak after first loss in UFC: Head and heart wanted to fight, but body didn’t work. The doctor has now forbidden me everything. What’s next?

David Dvorak had his fourth fight in the UFC, but unfortunately it didn’t end in victory. This snapped an incredible streak of 10 years without a loss. How does the Czech fighter approach it, how does he see the fight in retrospect and what are his plans?

One of the best fighters from the Czech Republic has his fourth fight in the UFC under his belt. David Dvorak wanted to win, he could have scored his 17th win in a row, however, he ended up losing for the first time in 10 years when Matheus Nicolau defeated him on points.

The loss was disappointing, his opponent surprised with his toughness

Although David Dvorak is not used to losses, he accepted the one he suffered with complete humility and professionalism.

“My mind is always going through the same thing as everyone’s when something goes wrong. What could I have done differently, what could have been changed… I keep thinking about it. I’m still sorry I didn’t win, I’ll always be sorry, but I have to get over it, even if it’s hard,” he said at the press conference.

Dvořák was not surprised by Matheus Nicolau. He and his team counted on the strategy with which the Brazilian entered the match. The only surprising thing was his hardness and a bit more speed than the Czech fighter and his team had counted on.

The former Octagon fighter hasn’t watched footage of the fight yet. However, by the end of the week he will list things he would like to change that he didn’t like. He revealed that it’s not any big things, more just specific skills he needs to improve on and various little things.

He commended his team for doing an excellent job. He went into the game with a great mind set, felt good in the game and was hardly nervous in the locker room. So he has nothing to criticize. He only criticized himself for his lack of toughness and accuracy.

His head and heart wanted to keep fighting, but his body wasn’t working

Probably the most important moment of the fight with Matheus Nicolau came towards the end of the second round when David Dvorak was sent to the ground. But he managed to defend the whole crisis minute.

“I remember I got bombed, I fell, I tied it up, I survived, came back to the corner and the first thing I told the coaches was that we lost this round and now we have to work to turn it around. That was the only thing. Then they said something, but I don’t know,” Dvorak admitted that he was shaken by the blow.

He remembers only fragments of the third round. ” My legs didn’t work either. My head and my heart wanted to keep fighting, but my body didn’t quite work. I don’t know what the coaches told me and how I kept to what they wanted me to do.”

Aside from the knockdown, the fight was evenly matched, and his team even thought they could potentially win. They didn’t know how the first round went, however, and even Dvorak felt he could have taken the third round. In the end, however, it was the Czech fighter taking the first round and losing the next two. However, in his own mind when the result was announced, the knockdown was the reason why he lost.

It’s worth mentioning then that the crowd wasn’t very enthusiastic about the fight. They even decided to boo in the first cautious round. Dvorak, however, was not fundamentally upset by this, even though he perceived it.

“It’s just the Yanks. Nothing happens for twenty seconds, so they boo. Then the first exchange came and they started chanting. You can’t perceive it like that. I wanted to be active, but what are you supposed to do when your opponent wants to run, really moves and is just waiting to run to the side and trick you with a back counter?” he commented on the atmosphere.

Many health problems, doctor’s orders

David Dvorak now wants to get himself back together after his loss, especially medically, so that he can resume his preparations. April, however, will be more free. Also because he has more than enough health problems.

The Czech fighter was given a one-month stoppage by the UFC, however, as he admitted himself, he has broken both legs, maybe even a broken finger. He also has a severe concussion. After returning home he had a CT scan, he is going to have an MRI of his head and legs, overall he will have to undergo several more tests, on Monday he will visit Motol.

The East Bohemian fighter also admitted that the doctor has forbidden him to do everything. He is not allowed to listen to loud music or loud noises. So he will have to rest for a week. After that, he would like to start cycling, swimming and going for walks in the woods.

“That’s the way it always is. I’m going to get into a fight and it costs something. I’ve had fights where I was fine, but unfortunately now there are more periods where I’m more broken from fights and there’s nothing I can do about it,” Dvorak said of his condition.

But as he says, it’s not just about the match. During the six-month preparation he has to cope with one demanding day after another, he has to overcome the daily pain that gradually builds up. In a match, it is multiplied many times over. Before the match, however, he didn’t have a health problem that he had to deal with more.

What’s next?

Fortunately, the loss doesn’t mean that David Dvorak will drop in the rankings. Thanks to the fact that he went with a higher ranked opponent, he still remains in 10th position. However, he hasn’t scouted another opponent, although he and his team have been looking to see who is around him in the rankings.

“I 100% want someone in the top 15 again, ideally around the top 10. Nicolau was a great opponent, a seven-weight. It showed me that we only lost by a whisker, it wasn’t a clear cut fight. We can fight opponents from the top ten,” believes Dvorak.

“That’s the direction we’re going to take it. I hope that maybe in plus or minus six months we will have a match like this. What the UFC offers, it will offer. There’s nothing we can do about it. You can’t just say no, so I can’t say who we’ll take. But we definitely want someone in the top 15 in six months,” he added.

Source: David Dvorak, Press Conference, UFC