Two years ago, it looked like a fairytale journey for the most prestigious organization. Dvořák won all three of his opening fights in the UFC, and slowly and surely there was talk of when he would fight for a title shot. But now the situation is quite different. The native of Hořice has not won since May 2021 and currently has three defeats in a row. After the last failure against the Australian Steve Erceg, he also fell to the fifteenth position in the fly division.
“It’s not over until it’s over. I’ll keep trying. I believe in my dream. I’m down and at rock bottom now, but I believe it’s possible to go up from here. And it doesn’t matter how long it takes. I’ll wait,” said Dvořák in his YouTube broadcast, where he also admitted that he received a number of hateful messages after the match.
“I’ve had about two dozen people write to me telling me to quit and get over it. Some even wrote to me to complain that I couldn’t do anything. Really hateful messages. I don’t know where the anger and hatred in people comes from. He must have a sad life,” the disappointed Czech fighter reflects on the situation.
And since he has only one fight left in his valid contract with the UFC, everything will be at stake. “I have a contract for one more game. I currently have 3 wins and 3 losses. My future is 50:50. Of course, the UFC could fire me, because anyone who doesn’t win has no business here. It’s a tough business. But I believe in the fact that we played good matches there. Whatever was possible, we took. We left absolutely everything in every fight,” he recalls the fact that none of his three defeats came before the limit.
However, the certainty of the last match in the contract is not 100%. In the past, the UFC has already fired some fighters before their contracts expired. “I believe that the match will be. It will be a fight for a new contract and I will absolutely have to win. Ideally in a good way and not make a boring match. If I don’t win, it’s definitely over. But I don’t admit that, I’m convinced that I have what it takes,” continues one of the four Czech fighters among the elite.
At the same time, the 31-year-old fighter reminds us that he is willing to go beyond the edge in every match. “I’m probably demented, but I would die in those matches. I don’t care if something breaks, rips, or gets bombed. Until the match is over, I’m going for the win at all costs. A lot of guys would probably let it go. That can also make an impression,” he alludes to his hard matches, which have exposed him to numerous health problems several times in the past.
He does not accept the end of his career, on the contrary. “I’m 31 and I’d like to wrestle for maybe another five years. I always enjoyed representing the Czech Republic. Travel the world and fight outside. If I were to receive an offer from, for example, ONE FC, PFL or Bellator, it would of course be about money, but for me it is mainly about going abroad and representing,” he explains his attitude.
So it will take some time before he returns to fight back in the Czech Republic. “I think there will be time for that. It might happen in three or four years, but it’s too early now. But never say never. I won’t claim that nothing like that will happen,” he does not completely rule out a possible return to the Czech-Slovak scene, where he worked in the MMA Octagon before going overseas.