I can live without the UFC, but I would like to go there, Kozma admitted. Will a win over Buchinger help him do that?

David Kozma is the longest reigning champion of the Octagon. He has never lost under the cover of the biggest Czechoslovakian organization and has ruled the Welterweight division for more than 1000 days. How does he perceive his reputation as a champion and what is his dream?

He started out with judo, and even his mom didn’t know about his first three amateur MMA fights. Today, David Kozma is one of the most prominent figures in our fight scene and his mom comes to cheer him on at every fight.

In order to fulfill his dream, he had to move to Prague, where he worked at KFC and for a while he was a door-to-door salesman.

But now he’s been the welterweight king of the Octagon for a long time. Thousands of people come to the tournaments where he fights. He’s very modest himself. Fame hasn’t gone to his head. But he’s gotten used to the reputation of being a champion.

“When I started, I certainly didn’t imagine I would be selling out arenas like this. Not just me, but in general I didn’t think that so many people would come to see the sport. I started out in gyms with 500 or 1,000 people at the most, so I can say it’s a dream come true,” Kozma expressed in an interview for the Oktagon Without Gloves series.

He doesn’t go out with people much, according to his words he is mostly either at home or in the gym. But when he does go out, people recognize him and understandably he enjoys it. But he doesn’t want to get to the point where the attention is too much.

In December, the champion will have another defense. He will be challenged by the legendary Ivan Buchinger, who is the Octagon champion in two weight classes. However, the effects of his last fight with Leandro Silva are still showing on his nose. He’s had surgery to mend new fractures. However, his nose is crooked and he can only breathe through one nostril.

And his other goals, besides a successful defense? “I can still make it to the UFC, but I have to get a few more wins. I beat Apollo, now I have another big name coming up, and I think even after those three wins, the UFC could come calling. It’ s not that I can’t live without it, but I’d like to see it,” Kozma let it be known.

Source: Octagon MMA, Without Gloves