The coaching team around Czech fighter Tereza Bledé was aware before the match that an extremely complex wrestler would be on the other side of the cage. Natalia Silva represented the prototype of universal wrestling, and at first it was impossible to say for sure which tactic the Brazilian would like to promote in the match. The Czech fighter, on the other hand, was suggested a plan in the form of keeping the fight at a short distance and betting on the traditional transfer of the battle to the ground, which Bledá knows very well from her previous matches.
But the certainty quickly turned into a nightmare. As usual Bledé didn’t manage to get under her opponent in a simple way, she also invested such a dose of energy in the net and clinches that she probably didn’t use in all previous duels combined. And in the event that the opponent managed to throw himself on the floor of the cage, it was as if she lacked the juice to finish. After all, that could only happen in one case, namely at the end of the first round, when the Brazilian survived a vise and a lock on her arm.
The first round was decisive for the rest of the match. Physically remained pale, her face showed fatigue from the persistent strangulation at the end of the first five minutes of the session and the constant pressure on the net. She also wasn’t pleasant in regards to the fact that the pre-game tactics didn’t work. Conversely, Silva showed great preparation. She knew what her opponent would go into the match with and made (almost) no mistakes herself. In her position, she managed to bomb the Czech fighter’s face, and it was apparently only a matter of time before the shaken Bledá ended up on the ground.
The Mariánské Lázně native was experiencing something she hadn’t faced for many years before: a better prepared opponent. The Czech boxer put in a tenacious and combative performance, but there was a moment of surprise missing, for example after a difficult situation in the first round, when Bledá ran into an attempted choke. The lightness that accompanied the Czech forward’s performance in previous duels was also lacking. But he was no match for the UFC elite. It just came now.
And the Czech fighter has reached the bottom of his strength. A precious consolation may be the fact that, from the difficult moments of the second round, he has finally made it to the last five minutes, perhaps miraculously. But another miracle did not happen. The fresh-looking Brazilian took care of the destruction and ended the 20-year-old’s invincibility with an exhibition kick.
Bledá thus experienced something the fighter had never experienced before in her MMA career. For the first time, she had to deal with the feeling of defeat and also with the fact that there was someone better than her in her cage. But you don’t have to be sad. At the age of 20, she stayed in the cage of the most famous fighting organization and learned firsthand that the UFC is no walk in the park.
The demanding battle forced the Czech forward to invest a lot of strength, which paradoxically can be a signal for better tomorrows and also what to focus more on in the gym. Next year, the Czech fighter will have a chance to make amends. There’s no shame in losing, and certainly not in the UFC. Conversely, a defeat and the end of a winning streak can start a new wave of joy. Rest would certainly be welcome now, because eight months of persistent preparation is no fun.
