Viktor Pesta found yet another place to hang his hat.
The 33-year-old Czech journeyman will make his Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki debut when he matches wits and fists with Filip Stawowy in a three-round KSW 86 heavyweight showcase on Saturday at Hala Orbita in Wroclaw, Poland. Pesta, who sports an 18-8 record, enters the match on the heels of back-to-back losses in the Professional Fighters League. He last appeared at PFL 4, where he bowed to punches from Rob Wilkinson in the first round of their June 17, 2022 pairing.
As Pesta moves ever closer to his looming battle with Stawowy, here are five things you might not know about him:
1. Suburban life suited him fine.
Vemola was born in Pribram—a Bohemian town of 33,000 people in central Czech Republic situated some 230 miles to the northwest of Vienna. He shares a hometown with Patrik Stefan, who was the No. 1 overall pick in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft and spent parts of seven seasons in the National Hockey League with the Atlanta Thrashers and Dallas Stars.
2. He hit the ground running.
The 6-foot-3, 205-pound Czech made his professional mixed martial arts debut at the age of 20 on Dec. 5, 2010 and proceeded to rattle off nine consecutive victories, seven of them finishes, and establish himself as one of the top prospects in Europe.
3. Some might consider him a trailblazer.
Pesta in May 2014 became the second Czech competitor—Karlos Vemola was the first—to appear in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He compiled a 1-4 record across his five outings inside the Octagon, his unanimous decision win against Konstantin Erokhin at UFC on Fox 14 overshadowed by losses to Ruslan Magomedov, Derrick Lewis, Marcin Tybura and Alexey Oleynik.
4. Regional gold highlights his resume.
The Daniel Bartak protégé captured the Gladiator Championship Fighting heavyweight crown when he put away Lukas Tupa with elbows in the first round of their GCF 26 main event on Dec. 7, 2013 and laid claim to the Oktagon MMA light heavyweight championship when he prompted a third-round doctor stoppage against Stephan Puetz in the Oktagon 28 headliner on Sept. 25, 2021. Pesta did not defend either title.
5. He dropped anchor with careful consideration.
Pesta now operates out of the Kill Cliff Fight Club camp in Deerfield Beach, Florida, where he trains under Kami Barzini, Henri Hooft and Greg Jones. A host of accomplished martial artists have called the gym home, including three-time Bellator MMA titlist Michael Chandler, former two-division One Championship titleholder Aung La N Sang and ex-UFC champions Robbie Lawler, Vitor Belfort, Kamaru Usman, Rashad Evans and Luke Rockhold.
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