I don’t feel like a loser, says Polish underdog Lukasz Siwiec after close fight with David Kozma

Congratulations on an excellent performance. Although David Kozma is a crowd favourite, immediately after the match quite a few people were leaning more towards your side. What were your feelings immediately after the end of the match, before the winner was announced?

Thank you very much. After the match a lot of people congratulated me and I am very happy that the fans appreciated our last match as well as the skills I showed in it since I entered the cage.

Immediately after the final bell, 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 certainly didn’t feel like a loser.

What feelings didyou have after the verdict? Did you feel that you had done enough to win?

Despite all this, I still had a spark of hope that the judges would give me the win, even though I knew before the fight that I had to finish the fight to win. But I was active in the stand-up and on the ground. In wrestling, when I was defending takedowns, David didn’t handle me either. I didn’t feel threatened in one aspect of MMA and I don’t feel like a loser.

This was your first professional fight that went to the judges’ scorecards. To what do you attribute your failure to finish your opponent now?

David was passive after those takedowns and just focused on keeping me on my back. Maybe the pressure or the threat from me got to him. But we don’t see that kind of verdict much these days. Judges should take into account active work and David should hit 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 had even better statistics. It’s hard to fight against someone who holds back and fights on the safe side. Every second of the fight played against me.

Did Kozma surprise you by withstanding your choke? How close was it to being over? Kozma said he felt you weren’t strong enough anymore.

Honestly, David lasted a lot, but I have many sparring partners who also don’t tap out that quickly, and the motivation of fighting 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.

That underhook hold was well caught and it wasn’t far from the finish, but I only had one hook on my legs. Just as I was about to grab the second hook to get better stability, the neck hold loosened for a moment.

David took advantage of this moment and I started to change my grip, which was unnecessary at that point. Strength no longer played any role in this. When he then got me under, it was David who had no strength judging by the fact that he was just passively waiting for the round to end.

Before the fight you were expected to take Kozma to the ground and try for a submission there. However, you were a worthy opponent even in stance. What was your gameplan anyway? And did you stick to it?

After watching his previous fights, I was expecting a tough stand-up war and was ready to finish my opponent. We knew I was faster and more relaxed than Kozma. But I was surprised that he fought completely differently than in his previous fights. Especially since he had a bigger wingspan than me.

You could already tell by my posture that I was ready to go into the exchanges. I pushed him and dove deep into my punches. I stuck to my gameplan until the very end, which my opponent took advantage of. He threw me off the pace by taking advantage of my timing errors.

As for my takedowns, I was only using them to finish my opponent, I didn’t want to just torture him on the ground.

Even though you lost, you left a real impression on the Czechoslovakian scene. What are your plans for the future. Have you negotiated with the Octagon? Will we see you in the organization in the future?

I really don’t feel like a loser. The outcome of the fight could have gone either way. I’m very happy that we put on a great show and that the audience enjoyed it. That’s what it’s all about, to enjoy the fight and the audience enjoyed it.

I’m really happy that I got the opportunity to fight in such a great organization and at such an amazing gala like OKTAGON 40, where every fight was the fight of the night. Moreover, the audience appreciated my skills and I felt respect from them at the end of the fight. Moments like that crown hard preparation and for every athlete it is a dream come true.

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 the background of the organization. They do their job one hundred percent and above all they really take perfect care of their fighters, and that’s the most important thing.

I don’t know what the future will bring, I’m watching it with peace of mind. But I’m open to any suggestions and my manager sees it the same way.

What were your feelings going into the game? Kozma was until recently the undisputed welterweight king of the Octagon. He’s a big star on the Czechoslovakian scene. Did you see him as your toughest opponent yet?

I had some health problems before the fight and the illness was eating me up, 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 fights, but I didn’t feel at a disadvantage with his fighting experience.

I expected him to be the toughest opponent of my career. But my attitude was that I was thinking how I could deal with him rather than letting myself get carried away by some fears.

How do you even take losing? It’s only the second time in your career that you’ve known this feeling. Would you like to ask the Octagon for a rematch when Gamechanger is over?

Like I said, I don’t feel like a loser. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger and I can only take away a lesson from this experience. I know I’ll be an even better, stronger and more dangerous fighter than I already am. But if there was a chance, I’d like to take on David again.

Everyone enjoyed the fight, you saw that I fought to the limit and that I am permanently dangerous to my opponents. I have a rich arsenal of fighting skills that I can use to surprise my opponents in a fight. If you want to see a great show, you know I’m capable of delivering it. So please vote for me and when I return to the tournament, we will all enjoy this beautiful sport together.

How do you feel about the Octagon organization in general? Can you offer a comparison with the Polish Babylon, where you were the champion?

Oktagon is a well run organization that focuses on the sport and the fighters. Everything runs as it should. Babylon, where I am champion, is certainly a smaller organization, but its fighters are also very tough. The champions of the Octagon with the champions of Babylon, that’s what I really want to see and experience.

As a father of two young daughters, I have to ask you, how difficult is it for you to combine the life of a father of a young daughter with the life of a fighter? It must be really difficult for you and I admire you for that.

It’s really challenging to juggle it all together, especially with the time I have to devote to training. My daughter is growing up so fast and you can never get the time back. It’s hard to come in tired from training and not go to rest when you have to get up in the morning, go to work again and find time to study in between everything.

Luckily, that child’s smile and the joy of coming home makes up for it all, and you’re no longer thinking about the fatigue, but about your child and having fun and spending time with them. Those moments when he hugs you and pulls your hand to the toys, nothing in the world can make up for that feeling. With my wife and daughter it all makes so much more sense, they are my motivation and support.

How did you enjoy the atmosphere of the Ostrava fans? Even though you were the opponent of the home favourite, you were not particularly booed and you even earned the applause of the spectators before and after the match.

I have never played in front of so many fans, it was a new experience for me. It’s nice how everyone here is enjoying it and living the sport. The respect before and after the fight, the appreciation of the fighter and his skills, no matter where he comes from, just the applause… All this is a huge motivation. Standing in that cage and hearing all that, I’d like to experience that again.