) , fighting_out_of =

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

, Czech Republic , height = 6 ft 3 in , weight_lb = 205 , weight_class =

Heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the Wo ...

(2010–2019, 2023-)

Light Heavyweight Light heavyweight, also referred to as junior cruiserweight or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruise ...

(2020–2022) , reach = , style = , trainer = , team =

Kill Cliff FC Kill Cliff FC, officially known as Kill Cliff Fight Club (formerly known as Sanford MMA, Hard Knocks 365 and Combat Club) is a mixed martial arts gym based in Deerfield Beach, Florida. It was originally founded in 2017 by Henri Hooft and Greg J ...

Penta Gym Prague , stance = Orthodox , rank = , years_active = 2010–present , box_win = , box_kowin = , box_loss = , box_koloss = , box_draw = , box_nc = , mma_kowin = 8 , mma_subwin = 6 , mma_decwin = 4 , mma_dqwin = , mma_koloss = 6 , mma_subloss = 1 , mma_decloss = 1 , mma_dqloss = , mma_draw = , mma_nc = , occupation = , university = , spouse = , children = , relatives = , students = , club = , school = , url = http://www.viktorpesta.com , boxrec = , sherdog = 74176 , footnotes = , updated = Viktor Pešta (; born July 15, 1990) is a

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places * Czech, ...

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorp ...

who competes in the

division of

Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki (English: ''Martial Arts Confrontation'') better known by its initials KSW, is widely considered to be the premiere mixed martial arts organization in Poland and one of the leading in Europe. History Martin Lewandowsk ...

(KSW). His name can be written as Pesta or Peshta. Pešta was a Gladiator Championship Fighting Heavyweight Champion, WASO World Heavyweight Champion, Oktagon MMA Light heavyweight Champion and he competed in the

division of the

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. He became historically the second UFC fighter from the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

, after

Karlos Vemola Karel "Karlos" Vémola (born July 1, 1985) is a Czech-British professional mixed martial artist, former bodybuilder, wrestler and member of Sokol. A professional competitor since 2008, he became historically the first UFC fighter from the Czech ...

Mixed martial arts career

Early career

In 2006, Pešta started training Traditional Musado under the leadership of Vít Skalník. Traditional Musado is the civilian version of Musado, the close quarters combat system used by the

Military of the Czech Republic The Army of the Czech Republic ( cs, Armáda České republiky, AČR), also known as the Czech Army, is the military service responsible for the defence of the Czech Republic in compliance with international obligations and treaties on collectiv ...

. In 2008, he started training

MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on strike (attack), striking, grappling and ground f ...

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

, 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.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Pešta became internationally well known for his website
letmebeyoursparringpartner.com
In February 2014, Pešta was offered a contract with the UFC. Pešta made his debut against face fellow newcomer

Ruslan Magomedov Ruslan Gadzhimagomedovich Magomedov (russian: Руслан Гаджимагомедович Магомедов; born 26 November 1986 in Dagestan) is a Russian mixed martial artist, who competes in the Heavyweight division. Magomedov was the f ...

on May 31, 2014 at

UFC Fight Night 41 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. He lost the fight via unanimous decision. For his second fight with the promotion, Pešta faced touted newcomer Konstantin Erokhin on January 24, 2015 at

UFC on Fox 14 ''UFC on Fox: Gustafsson vs. Johnson'' (also known as ''UFC on Fox 14'') was a mixed martial arts event held on January 24, 2015, at the Tele2 Arena in Stockholm, Sweden. Background This was the fourth event that the UFC has held in Sweden and t ...

. Pešta won the fight by unanimous decision. Pešta faced

Derrick Lewis Derrick James Lewis (born February 7, 1985) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he currently holds the record for most knockouts ...

on October 3, 2015 at

UFC 192 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. He lost the fight via TKO in the third round. Pešta faced

Marcin Tybura Marcin Tybura (born November 9, 1985) is a Polish professional mixed martial artist. He currently competes in the Heavyweight division for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). A professional competitor since 2011, Tybura previously fought fo ...

on August 6, 2016 at

UFC Fight Night 92 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. He lost the fight via head kick KO in the second round. Pešta was expected to face

Damian Grabowski Damian Grabowski (born May 12, 1980) is a Polish mixed martial artist who last competed in 2019. A professional since 2007, he has fought in the UFC, Bellator, Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki (KSW), and M-1 Global. Biography Grabowski is a multiple Bra ...

on January 15, 2017 at

UFC Fight Night 103 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. However, Grabowski pulled out of the fight in late December for undisclosed reasons and was replaced by

Alexey Oleynik Aleksei Alexeyevich Oleinik (born June 25, 1977, as Oleksíy Oleksíyovych Olíynyk) is a Russian mixed martial artist and Sambo (martial art)#Styles, combat sambo fighter who fought for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, competing in their ...

. He lost the fight via submission in the first round. In May 2017, Pešta was released from the company.

Fight Nights Global

He signed a contract with

Fight Nights Global AMC Fight Nights (or Fight Nights Global before 2021) is a Russian mixed martial arts organization that previously hosted K-1 and other martial arts events. It is one of the largest promotion companies in the world and features some of the top-ra ...

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 Michael Andrew Kyle (born March 31, 1980) is an American professional mixed martial artist and boxer currently competing in the Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2001, Kyle has competed for the UFC, the WEC, Strikeforce, ...

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. 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 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and was replaced by Alexander Poppeck. Pešta faced

Ildemar Alcântara Ildemar Alcântara Cardoso (; born 7 November 1982) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist currently competing in the light heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2005, he has formerly competed in the UFC and is the younger brothe ...

at OKTAGON 20 on December 30, 2020. 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. 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.

Professional Fighters League

Pešta faced

Omari Akhmedov Omari Akhmedov (born October 12, 1987) is a Russian professional mixed martial artist who currently competes in the Light Heavyweight division of Professional Fighters League (PFL). He previously fought in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Ba ...

on April 23, 2022 at PFL 1. He lost the bout after getting knocked out in first round. Pešta faced Rob Wilkinson on June 17, 2022 at PFL 4. He lost the bout via TKO stoppage in the first round.

Konfrontacja Sztuk Walki

On January 9, 2023, it was announced that Pešta signed with KSW.

Personal life

Pešta's signature move, the (side) mounted crucifix position, was nicknamed/called "''Bába pod kořenem'' ( en, The crone under the root)" by his fans, after the famous Czech TV Nova'sbr>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 Honza is a very common Czech name which may be informally used interchangeably with Jan ( en, John). It comes from German Johann(es) → Hans → Honza. Possible diminutives are Honzík or Honzíček. In Czech every Jan can be called Honza. ...

, Pešta's Czech nickname, is a

fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic (paranormal), magic, incantation, enchantments, and mythical ...

hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or a main fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. Like other formerly gender-specific terms (like ...

, similar to the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Jack Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

, the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

Hans (or Hänsel) or the

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

Ivan.

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

, - , Loss , align=center, 18–8 , Rob Wilkinson , TKO (punches) , PFL 4 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:03 ,

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 18–7 ,

, KO (punches) , PFL 1 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:25 ,

Arlington, Texas Arlington is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Tarrant County. It forms part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and is a principal city of the metropolis and region. ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 18–6 , Stephan Puetz , TKO (doctor stoppage) , OKTAGON 28 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Czech Republic , , - , Win , align=center, 17–6 , Riccardo Nosiglia , TKO (punches) , OKTAGON 24 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:50 ,

Brno Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...

, Czech Republic , , - , Win , align=center, 16–6 ,

, TKO (punches) , OKTAGON 20 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:06 ,

, Czech Republic ,

debut. , - , Loss , align=center, 15–6 , Michal Martínek , TKO (jaw injury) , OKTAGON 15 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:49 ,

, Czech Republic , For the OKTAGON MMA Heavyweight Championship. , - , Win , align=center, 15–5 ,

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , OKTAGON 13 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:59 ,

, Czech Republic , Catchweight (212 lbs) bout. , - , Win , align=center, 14–5 , Ivan Vitasović , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Night of Warriors 15 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 3:16 ,

Liberec Liberec (; german: Reichenberg ) is a city in the Czech Republic. It has about 103,000 inhabitants and it is the fifth-largest city in the country. It lies on the Lusatian Neisse, in a basin surrounded by mountains. The city centre is well preser ...

, Czech Republic , , - , Loss , align=center, 13–5 ,

Alexander Emelianenko Alexander Vladimirovich Emelianenko ( rus, Александр Владимирович Емельяненко, Aleksandr Vladimirovich Emel'janenko ; born ) is a Russian mixed martial artist . He is a three-time Russian nati ...

, TKO (punches) , RCC: Russian Cagefighting Championship 3 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 3:52 ,

Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburg ( ; rus, Екатеринбург, p=jɪkətʲɪrʲɪnˈburk), alternatively romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( rus, Свердло́вск, , svʲɪrˈdlofsk, 1924–1991), is a city and the administra ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 13–4 , Alexander Gladkov , Decision (unanimous) , Fight Nights Global 84: Deák vs. Chupanov , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

, Slovakia , , - , Win , align=center, 12–4 ,

Alexei Kudin Alexei Alexandrovich Kudin ( be, Аляксей Кудзін; born December 20, 1984) is a professional Belarusian kickboxer, nicknamed Brick. He is a world champion and European versions WBKF, King of Kings – Grand Prix K-1 tournament finali ...

, Submission (rear-naked choke) , Fight Nights Global 79: Pavlovich vs. Sidelnikov , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:52 ,

Penza Penza ( rus, Пе́нза, p=ˈpʲɛnzə) is the largest city and administrative center of Penza Oblast, Russia. It is located on the Sura River, southeast of Moscow. As of the 2010 Census, Penza had a population of 517,311, making it the 38th-l ...

, Russia , , - , Win , align=center, 11–4 , Michał Kita , TKO (punches) , XFN 3 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 4:39 ,

, Czech Republic , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–4 ,

Aleksei Oleinik Aleksei Alexeyevich Oleinik (born June 25, 1977, as Oleksíy Oleksíyovych Olíynyk) is a Russian mixed martial artist and combat sambo fighter who fought for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, competing in their heavyweight division. He be ...

, Submission (Ezekiel choke) , UFC Fight Night: Rodríguez vs. Penn , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:57 ,

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–3 ,

, KO (head kick) , UFC Fight Night: Rodríguez vs. Caceres , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:53 ,

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–2 ,

, TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 1:15 ,

Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–1 , Konstantin Erokhin , Decision (unanimous) , UFC on Fox: Gustafsson vs. Johnson , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, Sweden , , - , Loss , align=center, 9–1 ,

, Decision (unanimous) , UFC Fight Night: Munoz vs. Mousasi , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, Germany , , - , Win , align=center, 9–0 , Lukáš Ťupa , TKO (elbows) , GCF 26: Fight Night , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:18 ,

, Czech Republic , , - , Win , align=center, 8–0 , Yosef Ali Mohammad , Decision (overturned) , Heroes Fighting Championship , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Halmstad Halmstad () is a port, university, industrial and recreational city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Socia ...

, Sweden , , - , Win , align=center, 7–0 , Saša Lazić , TKO (punches) , Heroes Gate 9 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:53 ,

, Czech Republic , , - , Win , align=center, 6–0 , Christian Colombo , Submission (rear-naked choke) , European MMA 1: Casino Fight Night 2 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:07 ,

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, Denmark , , - , Win , align=center, 5–0 , Zoran Krpan , TKO (elbows) , GCF 12: Cage Fight Brno , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:16 ,

, Czech Republic , , - , Win , align=center, 4–0 , Lukáš Olejník , Submission (rear-naked choke) , GCF 8: Back in the Fight , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:01 ,

Příbram Příbram (; german: Freiberg in Böhmen, ''Przibram'', or ''Pribram'', in 1939–1945 ''Pibrans'') is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 32,000 inhabitants. It is well known for its mining history, and more ...

, Czech Republic , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 , Alexander Uhlíř , TKO (punches) , Warrior Night 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:59 ,

Kladno Kladno (; german: Kladen) is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 67,000 inhabitants. It is the largest city in the region and together with its adjacent suburban areas has a population of more than 110,000. ...

, Czech Republic , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , Štefan Krajčí , Decision (unanimous) , GCF 2: All or Nothing , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Mladá Boleslav Mladá Boleslav (; german: Jungbunzlau) is a city in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 42,000 inhabitants. Mladá Boleslav is the second most populated city in the region and a major centre of the Czech automotive in ...

, Czech Republic , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Vít Mrákota , Submission (armbar) , GCF 1: Judgement Day , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:49 ,

, Czech Republic , , -

Amateur record

, - , Loss , align=center, 1-1 , Josef Říha , Decision , Twins Cup - Czech National Championship in Thaiboxing and MMA , May 23, 2010 , align=center, 2 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, Czech Republic , , - , Win , align=center, 1-0 , Petr Horňák , Submission (guillotine choke) , Twins Cup - Czech National Championship in Thaiboxing and MMA , March 28, 2010 , align=center, 2 , align=center, N/A ,