Viktor Pešta

Viktor Pešta (Czech pronunciation: [ˈvɪktor ˈpɛʃta]; born July 15, 1990) is a Czech mixed martial artist who competes in the Heavyweight division of Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki (KSW). He is currently ranked #5 in the KSW Heavyweight rankings.[5] His name can be written as Pesta or Peshta.[6]

Viktor Pešta
Born (1990-07-15) July 15, 1990
Příbram, Czechoslovakia
(now Czech Republic)
Other namesTakedown Machine [1]
Poor Honza
(Czech: Chudý Honza) [2][3]
NationalityCzech
Height6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb)
DivisionHeavyweight (2010–2019, 2023-)
Light Heavyweight (2020–2022)
Reach77.0 in (196 cm) [4]
StanceOrthodox
Fighting out ofPrague, Czech Republic
TeamKill Cliff FC
Penta Gym Prague
Years active2010–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total27
Wins19
By knockout8
By submission7
By decision4
Losses8
By knockout6
By submission1
By decision1
Websitehttp://www.viktorpesta.com
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Pešta was a Gladiator Championship Fighting Heavyweight Champion, WASO World Heavyweight Champion, Oktagon MMA Light heavyweight Champion and he competed in the Heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.[7] He became historically the second UFC fighter from the Czech Republic, after Karlos Vemola.[8]

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

In 2006, Pešta started training Traditional Musado under the leadership of Vít Skalník.[9] Traditional Musado is the civilian version of Musado, the close quarters combat system used by the Military of the Czech Republic.[10] In 2008, he started training MMA under the leadership of Jiří Vesecký in the gym in Příbram, Bohemia.

Pešta moved to Prague to study at university and to pursue MMA career. In Prague, he began training in Penta Gym. He began amateur fighting at age of 18 and made his professional MMA debut in 2010.

His last fight in GCF was with longtime GCF Heavyweight Champion Lukáš Ťupa for the GFC Heavyweight Championship on December 7, 2013 at GCF 26: Fight Night. Pešta won in the first round by his signature move, strikes from the (side) mounted crucifix position and he became the new GCF Heavyweight Champion and #1 in Czech heavyweight rankings.[11]

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Pešta became internationally well known for his website, letmebeyoursparringpartner.com. In February 2014, Pešta was offered a contract with the UFC.[7]

Pešta made his debut against face fellow newcomer Ruslan Magomedov on May 31, 2014 at UFC Fight Night 41.[12] He lost the fight via unanimous decision.[13]

For his second fight with the promotion, Pešta faced touted newcomer Konstantin Erokhin on January 24, 2015 at UFC on Fox 14.[14] Pešta won the fight by unanimous decision.[15]

Pešta faced Derrick Lewis on October 3, 2015 at UFC 192.[16] He lost the fight via TKO in the third round.[17]

Pešta faced Marcin Tybura on August 6, 2016 at UFC Fight Night 92.[18] He lost the fight via head kick KO in the second round.[19]

Pešta was expected to face Damian Grabowski on January 15, 2017 at UFC Fight Night 103.[20] However, Grabowski pulled out of the fight in late December for undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Alexey Oleynik.[21] He lost the fight via submission in the first round.[22]

In May 2017, Pešta was released from the company.

Fight Nights Global

He signed a contract with Fight Nights Global in the second part of year 2017 after one match at home organization XFN.

OKTAGON MMA

In 2019, Pešta signed with OKTAGON MMA and made his promotional debut against Mike Kyle at OKTAGON 13 on July 27, 2019. He won the fight via first-round submission.

He then challenged Michal Martínek for the OKTAGON MMA Heavyweight Championship at OKTAGON 15 on November 9, 2019.[23] He lost the fight in the first round due to an injury.

Move down to Light Heavyweight

Pešta was expected to face Csaba Hocz at OKTAGON 16 on September 26, 2020. However, Pešta tested positive for COVID-19 and was replaced by Alexander Poppeck.

Pešta faced Ildemar Alcântara at OKTAGON 20 on December 30, 2020.[24] He won the bout via TKO in the first round.

Pešta faced Riccardo Nosiglia at OKTAGON 24 on May 29, 2021. He won the bout via TKO after ground and pounding Nosiglia.[25]

Pešta faced Stephan Puetz for the OKTAGON MMA Light Heavyweight Championship at OKTAGON 28 on September 25, 2021. He won the bout via doctor stoppage after the doctor ended the bout after the third round due to a nose injury.[26]

Professional Fighters League

Pešta faced Omari Akhmedov on April 23, 2022 at PFL 1.[27] He lost the bout after getting knocked out in first round.[28]

Pešta faced Rob Wilkinson on June 17, 2022 at PFL 4.[29] He lost the bout via TKO stoppage in the first round.[30]

Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki

On January 9, 2023, it was announced that Pešta signed with KSW, with him making his debut at KSW 86: Wikłacz vs. Przybysz 4 on September 16, 2023 against Filip Stawowy, in a bout that saw him submit his opponent in the first round via rear-naked choke.[31]

Personal life

Pešta's signature move, the (side) mounted crucifix position, was nicknamed/called "Bába pod kořenem (English: The crone under the root)" by his fans, after the famous Czech TV Nova's report about an elderly woman who gets stuck for 11 hours under the root of a tree overnight, 50 meters away from her rented hut in the forest and her friends.

Poor Honza, Pešta's Czech nickname, is a Czech fairy tale hero, similar to the English Jack, the German Hans (or Hänsel) or the Russian Ivan.[32]

Championships and accomplishments
  • OKTAGON MMA
    • 2021 OKTAGON MMA Light Heavyweight Champion
  • World Association of Sporting Organizations
    • 2019 WASO World Heavyweight Champion
  • Gladiator Championship Fighting
    • 2013 GCF Heavyweight Champion

Mixed martial arts record
Professional record breakdown
27 matches 19 wins 8 losses
By knockout 8 6
By submission 7 1
By decision 4 1
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Szymon Bajor XTB KSW 89: Bartosiński vs. Parnasse December 16, 2023 Gliwice, Poland
Win 19–8 Filip Stawowy Submission (rear-naked choke) KSW 86: Wikłacz vs. Przybysz 4 September 16, 2023 1 2:12 Wrocław, Poland Return to Heavyweight. Bonus for submission of the night.[33]
Loss 18–8 Rob Wilkinson TKO (punches) PFL 4 June 17, 2022 1 3:03 Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Loss 18–7 Omari Akhmedov KO (punches) PFL 1 April 20, 2022 1 1:25 Arlington, Texas, United States
Win 18–6 Stephan Puetz TKO (doctor stoppage) OKTAGON 28 September 25, 2021 3 5:00 Prague, Czech Republic Won OKTAGON MMA Light Heavyweight Championship.
Win 17–6 Riccardo Nosiglia TKO (punches) OKTAGON 24 May 29, 2021 2 0:50 Brno, Czech Republic
Win 16–6 Ildemar Alcântara TKO (punches) OKTAGON 20 December 30, 2020 1 4:06 Brno, Czech Republic Light Heavyweight debut.
Loss 15–6 Michal Martínek TKO (jaw injury) OKTAGON 15 November 9, 2019 1 2:49 Prague, Czech Republic For the OKTAGON MMA Heavyweight Championship.
Win 15–5 Mike Kyle Submission (rear-naked choke) OKTAGON 13 July 27, 2019 1 1:59 Prague, Czech Republic Catchweight (212 lbs) bout.
Win 14–5 Ivan Vitasović Submission (rear-naked choke) Night of Warriors 15 April 6, 2019 3 3:16 Liberec, Czech Republic Won the WASO World Heavyweight Championship.
Loss 13–5 Alexander Emelianenko TKO (punches) RCC: Russian Cagefighting Championship 3 July 9, 2018 2 3:52 Yekaterinburg, Russia
Win 13–4 Alexander Gladkov Decision (unanimous) Fight Nights Global 84: Deák vs. Chupanov March 2, 2018 3 5:00 Bratislava, Slovakia
Win 12–4 Alexei Kudin Submission (rear-naked choke) Fight Nights Global 79: Pavlovich vs. Sidelnikov November 19, 2017 1 4:52 Penza, Russia
Win 11–4 Michał Kita TKO (punches) XFN 3 June 25, 2017 2 4:39 Prague, Czech Republic
Loss 10–4 Aleksei Oleinik Submission (Ezekiel choke) UFC Fight Night: Rodríguez vs. Penn January 15, 2017 1 2:57 Phoenix, Arizona, United States
Loss 10–3 Marcin Tybura KO (head kick) UFC Fight Night: Rodríguez vs. Caceres August 6, 2016 2 0:53 Salt Lake City, Utah, United States
Loss 10–2 Derrick Lewis TKO (punches) UFC 192 October 3, 2015 3 1:15 Houston, Texas, United States
Win 10–1 Konstantin Erokhin Decision (unanimous) UFC on Fox: Gustafsson vs. Johnson January 24, 2015 3 5:00 Stockholm, Sweden
Loss 9–1 Ruslan Magomedov Decision (unanimous) UFC Fight Night: Munoz vs. Mousasi May 31, 2014 3 5:00 Berlin, Germany
Win 9–0 Lukáš Ťupa TKO (elbows) GCF 26: Fight Night December 7, 2013 1 2:18 Prague, Czech Republic Won the GCF Heavyweight Championship.
Win 8–0 Yosef Ali Mohammad Decision (overturned) Heroes Fighting Championship March 23, 2013 3 5:00 Halmstad, Sweden Originally a split decision win for Mohammad; overturned later by SMMAF.
Win 7–0 Saša Lazić TKO (punches) Heroes Gate 9 December 28, 2012 1 1:53 Prague, Czech Republic
Win 6–0 Christian Colombo Submission (rear-naked choke) European MMA 1: Casino Fight Night 2 September 15, 2012 2 1:07 Copenhagen, Denmark
Win 5–0 Zoran Krpan TKO (elbows) GCF 12: Cage Fight Brno May 11, 2012 1 2:16 Brno, Czech Republic
Win 4–0 Lukáš Olejník Submission (rear-naked choke) GCF 8: Back in the Fight February 10, 2012 1 1:01 Příbram, Czech Republic
Win 3–0 Alexander Uhlíř TKO (punches) Warrior Night 3 December 15, 2011 1 3:59 Kladno, Czech Republic
Win 2–0 Štefan Krajčí Decision (unanimous) GCF 2: All or Nothing February 20, 2011 3 5:00 Mladá Boleslav, Czech Republic
Win 1–0 Vít Mrákota Submission (armbar) GCF 1: Judgement Day December 5, 2010 1 1:49 Prague, Czech Republic

Amateur record
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 1-1 Josef Říha Decision Twins Cup - Czech National Championship in Thaiboxing and MMA May 23, 2010 2 5:00 Prague, Czech Republic +96 kg weight class;[34]
Win 1-0 Petr Horňák Submission (guillotine choke) Twins Cup - Czech National Championship in Thaiboxing and MMA March 28, 2010 2 N/A Prague, Czech Republic +96 kg weight class;[35][36]

See also

References
  1. @ViktorPesta (20 August 2015). "It's official!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. "Pohádka o chudém Honzovi se stala realitou - Viktor Pešta míří do UFC!". Powerlifting.ronnie.cz. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  3. "UFC Fight Night v Berln: 'Poor Honza' jde na věc! - RingNews.cz". Ringnews.cz. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  4. "Fight Card - UFC Fight Night Gustafsson vs. Johnson". UFC.com. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
  5. "Rankings". KSW. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  6. "- . UFC Fight Night 41. 31 ". Profc.com.ua. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  7. Zane Simon (2014-05-21). "Report: UFC signs Czech heavyweight Viktor Pesta". bloodyelbow.com. Retrieved 2014-02-26.
  8. "V UFC bude bojovat další Čech. Karlose Vémolu nahradil Pešta". iSport.cz. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  9. "VIDEOROZHOVOR: Viktor Pešta". YouTube. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  10. "Historie Musado". army.cz (in Czech). n.d. Retrieved 2014-11-22.
  11. Daniel Malachovský. "MMA ranking apríl 2014". Fightnews.sk. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  12. Matt Erickson (2014-04-03). "Magomedov-Pesta added to UFC Fight Night 41 in Berlin". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2014-04-03.
  13. Dann Stupp (2014-05-31). "UFC Fight Night 41 results: Ruslan Magomedov tops Viktor Pesta in curtain-jerker". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2014-05-31.
  14. Elina Nilsson (2015-01-12). "Viktor Pesta fights at UFC on FOX in Sweden". shootersmma.com. Retrieved 2015-01-12.
  15. Ben Fowlkes (2015-01-24). "UFC on FOX 14 results: Viktor Pesta survives rough start to top Konstantin Erokhin". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2015-01-24.
  16. Jeremy Botter (2015-08-20). "UFC 192: Hamilton out, Viktor Pesta faces Derrick Lewis". blog.chron.com. Retrieved 2015-08-20.
  17. Brent Brookhouse (2015-10-03). "UFC 192 results: Derrick Lewis fights past takedowns, pounds out Viktor Pesta in third". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2015-10-03.
  18. Staff (2016-06-15). "UFC Fight Night 92 gets five new fights, including Kawajiri vs. Swanson, Camozzi vs. Leites". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2015-06-15.
  19. Ben Fowlkes (2016-08-06). "UFC Fight Night 92 results: Marcin Tybura gets vicious one-kick knockout of Viktor Pesta". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2016-08-07.
  20. Dave Doyle (2016-11-04). "UFC returns to Phoenix; three fights announced". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2016-11-04.
  21. Richard Mann (2016-12-28). "Oleksiy Oliynyk to fill in against Viktor Pesta at UFC Fight Night 103". adcombat.com. Archived from the original on 2016-12-29. Retrieved 2016-12-28.
  22. Steven Marrocco (2017-01-15). "UFC Fight Night 103 results: Aleksei Oleinik stuns Viktor Pesta with first Ezekiel choke in UFC history". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2017-01-15.
  23. Bryan Henderson (November 6, 2019). "Out of Obscurity: Road FC 56, OKTAGON 15 and KSW 51". combatpress.com.
  24. Bryan Henderson (December 28, 2020). "Out of Obscurity: Oktagon 20". combatpress.com.
  25. "Oktagon 24 Results: Kozma Defeats Silva in Slugfest, Retains Title". Combat Press. Retrieved 2021-05-30.
  26. "Oktagon 28: Pešta získal titul, súboj ukončil lekár". sportnet.sme.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 2021-10-01.
  27. "Manfio vs. Madge to headline PFL season kickoff". ESPN.com. 2022-03-22. Retrieved 2022-03-22.
  28. Marrocco, Steven (2022-04-20). "Video: UFC vet Omari Akhmedov throttles Viktor Pesta in first-round knockout in PFL season-opener". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2022-04-21.
  29. "Collard to face Martinez in PFL second round". ESPN.com. 2022-05-18. Retrieved 2022-05-18.
  30. "Pešta schytal technické KO už v prvním kole a sezona v PFL pro něj končí | TN.cz". tn.nova.cz (in Czech). Retrieved 2022-06-18.
  31. "KSW 86 results and highlights: Title fight ends in rare draw via technical decision". Bloody Elbow. 2023-09-16. Retrieved 2023-09-17.
  32. "Konstantin Erokhin vs. Viktor Pešta na UFC w Szwecji | myMMA.pl". mymma.pl. Archived from the original on 2015-02-07.
  33. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RA2L78ILns&ab_channel=KSWInternational
  34. "C.M.T.A - Česká Muay-Thai Asociace TWINS CUP-MCR THAIBOXING A MMA 23.5.2010". Czechmuaythai.cz. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  35. "C.M.T.A - Česká Muay-Thai Asociace TWINS CUP - MČR THAIBOXING a MMA - 28.3.2010". Czechmuaythai.cz. Archived from the original on November 29, 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  36. "Viktor Pesta victorious at amateur league Twins Cup in Czech Republic | Shooters MMA - Mixed Martial Arts". www.shootersmma.com. Archived from the original on 12 May 2014. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
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