Wow! The Czech talent fought most of the fight with a fracture, Keita and promoter Novotny paid tribute to him. Tichota can be a champion, says Panther

It didn’t work the second time either. And unfortunately, it was much clearer now than in December. Twenty-three-year-old Jakub Tichota challenged the undefeated Comet in Bratislava for the interim title, but Losene Keita didn’t give him a chance. Still, the talented Czech fighter earned a lot of respect, as he fought most of the fight with a fracture.

The most talented Czech fighter. Even after his second loss in a row, Jakub Tichota undoubtedly deserves this status. At the age of 23 he shows great potential against really good fighters.

In December, in a close fight, he lost to Mate Sanikidze, who is now the featherweight champion. Now he was beaten by Losene Keita, the lightweight champion and a man who could easily be in the UFC by now.

Black Panther wanted a second title and now he has it. Instead of the injured Georgian, it was Tichota who stood in his way, and his belt is only provisional. He’ll still have to fight for the rightful one. However, against the Czech talent, he showed that he has a great chance, unless Sanikidze made a huge progress.

It was more or less a one-sided fight from Keita against Tichot. The hard bombs in the stance clearly showed on the face of the Czech rising star. The André Reinders loyalist, who took the fight just under two weeks before the bout, tried to lure Keita to the ground. Unsuccessfully.

Tichota earned boos in the arena for his takedowns, but even he was able to threaten at times. He didn’t appear at the press conference afterwards because he had to go to the hospital, but he was given a lot of respect during it.

He was also praised by his conqueror Keita. Promoter Ondřej Novotný revealed that Tichota had already broken his collarbone after the first or second round and fought with a significant handicap for the rest of the fight until the fourth round.

“Hopefully he will be fine soon. Now he has to recover and then he will be able to show how much he can still improve. In my eyes, his position is even better now than before that fight and I think that’s how others see it,” Novotny said at the press conference.

And what did the two-time champion say? “Tichota is 23 years old. I don’t want to say I’m old, but my punches are hard and he fought three rounds with a fracture. Imagine someone fighting three rounds like that. He’s a real fighter and a champion. To me, he’s a winner and a champion. He can definitely be an Octagon champion. He would have to beat me, which is not going to happen, but I really respect him.”

Source: Octagon MMA