He knows very well what it’s like to be a champion. At the end of February this year, the 32-year-old Kincl managed to win the Oktagon MMA middle weight title belt, but the triumph in the most prestigious fighting organization, the UFC, represents the highest possible target. “In addition, Jiří has once again confirmed that he is a world MMA superstar,” Kincl praised the samurai, with whom he also tried several sparring in preparation for the title duel.
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Have you managed to absorb the title battle?
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Yes, the police also absorbed it. Shortly after the match, I drove to ours in emotions and I almost lost my driver’s license. We talked about how great it was, the match up and down and I didn’t pay much attention to speed.
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What did you say to the match?
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I still have to see for myself and find out how long it is, but I’m guessing that at least five years of light weight has not experienced such a quality match for the title.
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So you rank it among the best matches in UFC history?
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I’m probably not entirely objective, but in the last five years, it can easily be among the top three. Of course, it would be the best for me, but I have to take it from an objective point of view.
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Before the match, it was predicted that the duel would either end on Procházka’s KO or Teixeira’s submission. Not many people expected such an end.
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That’s right, I don’t think anyone could have predicted that. One fighter even sent me a ticket and bet that Jiří would win the submission in the fifth round and he really succeeded. There was a really crazy course.
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Were you surprised at how easily Teixeir managed to throw Walk on the ground?
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Jiří and I had a lighter training and I thought that Glover would be able to throw Jiří with his weight and experience. I think he had eight or ten pounds on top. But what surprised me about Jirka was that he was able to get even from positions in which Glover was in full swing. He’s really strong there, so wow for me.
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There were several critical situations.
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Exactly. On the other hand, Jiří’s greatness also lies in the fact that he did not show the title emotionally after the match. If I made such a match, I would jump 86 meters high. The fight for the title was very open. It was a fight, it wasn’t easy, it also had a few critical moments. Even so, he was able to turn it around and finish on the submission. I like how critical he is to himself and he wants to go back to the gym and make mistakes. This is very big from a wrestler’s point of view.
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One of the critical situations was the arm triangle in the fourth round, from which Jiří managed to get out.
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It looked tight. But as Jiří gave a thumbs up, I knew he had the space there. But I definitely don’t think he would knock it out. I was more afraid of being put to sleep. Anyway, he seemed to be in control and could breathe comfortably.
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Jiří Procházka in a duel with Glover Teixeira.Photo: UFC
How did you see it in the attitude? Teixeira did not perform well at all.
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This surprised me, Teixeira was perfectly prepared for Jiří. His main sparring partner was Alex Pereira, who defeated Adesanya at the time in GLORY. That’s why I expected him to be ready in some way, but that so well, it surprised me a lot. He even hit Jirka there very hard several times and it could be painted. Fortunately, he jumped on the guillotine, which he did not catch well. Jirka thus had time to get together and continue the match. But what I heard, Jiří injured his left hand in the match, so I’m curious what it looks like.
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In addition, Jiří also struggled with a large cut at the eyebrows from the second round. How annoying could it be for him?
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It was close to the eye, fortunately the cutmen managed to stop it well. Then I hardly noticed it in the match. But if it spread more, it could endanger the match, but also Jirka’s mental well-being. But it was no longer reflected.
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How did you see it in points before the last round? Two judges gave it to Teixeir, one saw a draw.
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I saw it quite similarly, for me it was 2-2 on the wheels.
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In the fifth round, however, it was Teixeira who went for the victory.
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Jiří was pretty much on the ground in the fifth round, he let himself be thrown. If Teixeira watched, it could have gone wrong. Fortunately, Jiří did not leave it to the referees and he managed to end it. So the debate on the point decision does not concern us this time.
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Why is it that Jiří managed to turn around like this in the end?
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There was a huge will. Plus, it seemed to me that Teixeira had his teeth full. In a minute’s break, he managed to get together and start relatively well, but fatigue was seen during the second half of the rounds. Of course also on Jirka, but there was also a concentration there and that he is going to win. I think he broke him a little with this mental mood. Whatever Glover came up with, he had a dominant position, good techniques, so nothing worked for him. This is not something for a wrestler to be sure of.
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Teixeira himself admitted after the match that he had had enough.
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It was visible. The only thing that would help Teixeir at that moment would be that he had a gun and shot him. He would still need two magazines (laughs).
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What can such a difficult duel give Jiří?
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Sure. He tried to be the main match at the big gala evening, so he learned to work with pressure. There was a lot of it on him, it’s not easy. The whole Czech Republic kept his fingers crossed for him. At the same time, as I have already mentioned, he is critical of himself. In later rounds, this may give him the opportunity to work on mistakes. In addition, Jiří reaffirmed that he is a world MMA superstar. He will be able to attract people to America, he has a name for it abroad. From the time I looked at the comments, people really ate him. His style doesn’t work that way
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Jiří will have his first defense. Does a duel with Blachowicz currently make sense?
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That makes a lot of sense. I imagined that I saw a Prague event at the O2 arena, where Jiří would defend his title with Blachowicz. That is very real in my opinion.
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It depends on what George has with his hand. There will probably be some injuries. Now it depends on how serious it is and when it can be put together. If it was nothing serious, I think he could easily defend himself at the end of the year.
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