2024-01-12 09:20:47
He last appeared in the cage on May 20, 2023, when it was also his big comeback to the largest domestic fighting organization Octagon MMA. Miroslav Brož, who defeated Slovakian rival Robert Pukač in the O2 arena at the time, but at that time he did not know that it would be his last match in a confined battlefield for nine long months. The other one came with his body.
You’re finally coming back, see?
I finally know what exactly is wrong with me. I know what I can and cannot do. It was really hard, because at one point I thought it might not even work. Fortunately, it turned out what and how. It’s a problem, but not a big one. It can be worked with.
So what’s wrong with you?
Something happened in the knee. I cracked my ligament (50% torn) and of course I trained with it, which flushes out lactic acid due to fatigue and adds blood, white blood cells and the like. As a result, the ligament calcifies. That scar is like a crater. Stiff, hard and not good. First I was told that the torn collateral ligaments needed six weeks off or it wouldn’t heal. But I’ve had it once before and I know I struggled with it. It was possible. But this was a different pain, I felt it. It was more intense. It cracked really badly, and it didn’t get any better.
Photo: Octagon MMA
Miroslav Brož in an archive picture.
What was next?
I stopped for those six weeks, then started once more because it calmed down. But the knee still hurt. Whoever touched it told me it was perfectly fine and stable. I did not understand. I was all over the place with it, they even told me I might train with it. But it hurt like a pig. I mightn’t play soccer, let alone a ball. In the winter, I just wanted to kick the puck and I almost fell over. It’s true that the knee hurt a lot, but it didn’t get worse. I have been to several examinations with it…
What was the result?
None. One of the doctors then told me that there was a growth in the knee that was causing the pain. They sent me to shockwaves where it worked following a fortnight. The knee improved quite a bit, but it wasn’t 100% even months later. I said it was not normal for me to feel my knee every other movement during training. You can’t imagine how annoying that is. I even got quite angry once…
Talk.
I wanted to open the knee, but the problem was that the doctors didn’t really want to do it. If by chance it didn’t work out and it was sent, then they would be the last ones to sign for it. No one wanted to open it because there was no reason to.
Shingles slowed him down, but Miroslav Brož celebrated the victory anyway. Still, he was mad at himself!Video: Sport.cz
Does your knee still hurt?
Yes, but there is nothing wrong with him. I have a large growth there, but otherwise the knee is in excellent condition. I already know that I can go all out with it and it’s cool. We agreed that I would give a match and following that I want to go to surgery. It is a minor procedure and I will decide when to have it removed, otherwise it would still bother me. It’s just the scar that I know what’s going on. But the good news is that the knee is completely healthy. Just the growth.
After 9 months you will have a match. On February 12, you will face the Englishman Tommy Crosby in Germany. Relief?
It is so. But I train all the time, then my knee even improved so that I might box. For two months, I only boxed with Luboš Šuda. I might wrestle, but I mightn’t land much. There was something unimaginable that I would go there. But now I’m going all out – hard. Fortunately, everything is fine, it doesn’t limit me in any way. Even if there is some pain, I know it’s just pain.
Have you thought regarding quitting MMA?
The knee was getting better, but if it still hurt like that, I wouldn’t be able to wrestle with it. In addition, I was afraid of one thing. It stung and I was afraid it would flare up once more. I was already very fresh before the planned rematch with Rob Pukač (October 7). At that time I was not completely healed and I was afraid that I would tear it completely. I trained with it for a month, but it didn’t work. I had to cancel the match, for which I am glad. I’m happy to be here and enjoy MMA as long as I can.
Was it a mentally challenging time?
You didn’t deal much with the beginning, I was treating my injuries. When I knew I mightn’t train, I tried that kind of life following my career. I did weight training and played hockey with the kids. It wasn’t so bad. Then there came a time when it should have been fine, but it wasn’t… It was horrible. I was going to the bathroom every night, my knee was constantly throbbing, and it was always on my mind. I think that maybe 70% of people would not train with it at all and deal with it. It was terrible for the psyche. But now it has left me because I know what it is. It’s a great feeling.
This is not the first injury in your career as an MMA fighter. What were the others like?
Both of my biceps are torn, neither one has been operated on. Also, a broken nose regarding twelve times, broken supraorbital arches, which is normal for fighters. In addition, two torn lateral ligaments in the knee, as well as ligaments in the ankle. I also have long-term back problems. I wake up in the morning and it hurts.
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