At the same time, from Martínek’s point of view, his stay in the Polish organization started off great. At the premiere, he dealt with local fighter Filip Stawowy, after which a controversial defeat against seasoned Daniel Omielańczuk dealt a serious blow to the budget, after which the Czech fighter even filed a protest. Although the commission found him to be right, nothing changed about the result. In addition, Martínek later underwent an operation on his injured hand, only to lose crushingly in an important fight against Serbian Darko Stošič exactly one year later. The path to the desired title became more complicated.
How do the negotiations for the next fight look?
I would definitely like to come back in March or April, but right now it’s about tuning some options and waiting to see who KSW offers us as an opponent. If my health allows, I would like to make it to two or three games this year to give myself some time to fight, because I’ve been a bit unlucky lately in that I’ve always started a game after a year. There were injuries or operations. Hopefully it’s taken its toll and I’ll be able to get back into operating mode. Having a fight every three to four months would be more beneficial for my career.
KSW returns to the Czech Republic on February 17, so your participation in the gala evening in Liberec is out of the question?
It doesn’t seem. In October, I was KO’d by Darko Stošič in the semi-final for the title, and then I took a month and a half of complete oraz without any punches or concussions. I didn’t want to underestimate it. I worked out here and there, but it was nothing serious. Rather basic operability. And since I didn’t have Christmas holidays for nine years, my wife and I then went outside the Czech Republic to relax. In the final, it would take about a month and a half to prepare, but I can’t afford that with my score in KSW…
So there is no satisfaction?
I have it 1:2. There was one contested defeat where I was declared the winner after a KSW protest, but unfortunately Sherdog (the wrestler stats aggregator site) is red. I officially have a negative balance in KSW and the next match needs to be won. There is no alternative to go to the match after a month and a half long preparation. Not possible.
You are currently ranked #4 in KSW Heavyweight. Around you is the German Ricardo Prasel and compatriot Viktor Pešta. Do these two make the most sense for the next game?
I think that Prasel is injured for a long time and, according to information, it will be like this until the middle of this year. Then there is the number two heavyweight Szymon Bajor, where the question arises as to who he will go with now. There is also the number six Slovak Štefan Vojčák, where it is also offered. I said it could be a good match with him in Slovakia in Bratislava so that Slovak fans can enjoy the atmosphere of KSW when they already have their representative there and he is their number two heavyweight after Martin Buday. This could be a good matchmaking match for the future. But KSW has now signed Ivan Vitasovič and other heavyweights…
What about the top five in the Viktor Pesta ranking?
It is also an option. But since I want to wrestle in March or April, it wouldn’t be on Czech soil. With Viktor, it would make the most sense, ideally in Prague. It would be a shame to put such a match on the Polish stage.
If the tournament in Prague were to go well, a number of Czech fighters could present themselves here.
Exactly. KSW has now signed Matúš Juráček, then there is Dominik Humburger, Leo Brichta or maybe me and Viktor. I think it would be a decent card with Czech wrestlers.
Do you think KSW has a chance to succeed on Czech soil? It has already held two tournaments, but not once was it sold out.
That is a question. I think Octagon has a big fan base here and of course they have international results and awards. You can hardly beat such a monopoly as Octagon in a foreign country compared to other leagues on the Czech-Slovak scene. I don’t think it’s on the agenda, but sportingly it’s good competition. This forces the organization to give wrestlers more money, and there will be more solid fighters who will be able to wrestle on more fronts. That’s a great thing. KSW didn’t have to do it, but they do it for the Czech clientele, because they perceive the support of the local MMA scene. With this expansion, they took a logical step. I don’t see a single reason why they shouldn’t come back here.
The co-founder of Oktagon, Ondřej Novotný, said that it makes no sense to him for his organization to go to the Polish scene when there is so much competition. The Poles did exactly the opposite…
That’s right, there is a lot of competition in Poland. It should be said that KSW has been operating here for twenty years, then there is FEN, which is their second biggest league, where they can also sugarcoat things financially in the right direction. Many of their champions train at Ankos (gym in Poland) and are top fighters. We must not forget Babilon either. They added two or three more leagues to it – that’s five associations in total.
Photo: KSW
Michal Martínek (left) in a duel with Serb Stošič
Did the engagement at KSW meet your expectations?
Certainly. I expected hard matches and fair dealing. I have to say that everything we said to each other fell on the last word. I don’t have a single reason to have any doubts.
Leaving is not on the agenda?
I’m under contract for four games and we’ll see how it goes. I should win the next match in order to improve my financial rating and get back the credit that one loses after every loss. It would take a streak of wins in a row and get on the wave – then we can have fun. There are definitely a ton of leagues out there and I’m the kind of person who likes to try them out. I enjoy wrestling in countries where I haven’t wrestled before. Now, for example, when KSW was in France. I also enjoyed Dana White’s Contender Series, although I totally screwed it up. To wrestle in Las Vegas was beautiful, a good experience.
Is the UFC still your dream?
After the duel with Viktor Pešta, whom I defeated in the Octagon in a title fight, I received a direct offer from them. We turned it down at the time because the conditions weren’t the best – it would be like one game a year. I felt that more of those matches were needed. Contender clearly showed me that it is necessary to properly educate and work in this sport. I was choosing the best possible leagues to get the best possible opponents. But I’m not going to join the UFC… But if a lasso falls, it’s of course a goal or prestige, but the way I’m rated now in KSW, it’s much better compared to the offer from the UFC at that time. In the finals, I will reach out to the world extra class opponents in these leagues as well.
A lot of fighters say that the UFC offers the most prestige, but not that much money. There are also various taxes, levies for trainers and the like.
If you wrestle in New York, for example, the tax is 40%. Then there’s Vegas, where it’s different again. It depends where it is. It can eat a person. But it’s clear that the fighters who fight in Madison Square Garden, for example, don’t hurt that much. But when a person is in the UFC at the beginning, I don’t think it’s about getting rich. He has to constantly struggle. In better gyms, wrestlers hand over 20-30% of their salary to trainers. When you sum it up and you’re not even effective on social media, you’re happy to be happy. He earns something, but for the amount of time he devotes to it, it is of course not adequate. This sport is a huge piggy bank, one must meet a number of attributes. Competition never sleeps here, everyone tries to be perfect. Training and lifestyle must adapt to this. It is a very expensive sport.
You mention social media. Are they necessary for a wrestler?
Social networks are good, for example, for various sponsorships and a fan base. Various cooperations are offered – financial or barter. It is an integral part. There are only a handful of wrestlers who can live on one salary for maybe a year or two, but globally it’s not much. I think that in our country there are at least 5 fighters who make a living from it and don’t need anything else.
Are you doing well on social networks?
I’m kind of in the middle. I still get some companies writing to me saying they want to increase my followers, but I try to be natural and show things from my life. I’m not playing anything. If I mess something up, I’ll just put it there. On the human side, I want to play fair, not pretend. I have some partners here, I give things from the training sessions to motivate the fans. I try to function like this and I am satisfied like this. But there are other aces in the global. Jiří Procházka, Karlos Vémola and Machmud Muradov are snorting today. Their media intervention is somewhere else entirely.