JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Polish middleweight contender [autotag]Krzysztof Jotko[/autotag] went into his fight with Eryk Anders aware of his unwanted reputation, so the nature of his victory at UFC on ESPN 8 left him a little less than satisfied.
Jotko (22-4 MMA, 9-4 UFC) defeated Anders (13-5 MMA, 5-5 UFC) via unanimous decision at the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena to claim his third straight victory inside the octagon. But the fact that all three of those wins came on the scorecards is a source of frustration with the Pole, who had arrived in Florida targeting a stoppage victory.
“I’m a little disappointed because I wanted to fight him and I wanted to have a good fight because my fans and people say that I am a boring fighter,” he told reporters, including MMA Junkie, backstage after his win. “So in this fight, I wanted to give my fans what they want, but Eryk tried to cuddle with me.”
Jotko revealed his frustration also stemmed from a frosty exchange between the pair during fight week.
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“I was all week with big positive energy, and Eric really pissed me off,” he explained. “We were sitting on the bus and I said ‘Hi,’ and he showed me (blowing a kiss), so this pissed me off and (I) came there to (expletive) him up.
“It’s not like I was fighting angry, I was controlling everything. But I came to the octagon too angry, but I controlled myself, because that’s what I can do. I can control myself.”
Jotko’s preparation for the fight was punctuated with schedule changes, as his fight was pushed back twice from its original Apr. 11 date. But the 30-year-old said that he’ll ready to capitalize on his momentum and get back in the cage again soon. Just give him a short break first.
“I want to come back fast, but give me like a one-month break because my body was feeling so bad,” he requested. “I started with pain everywhere, because I’m human. I can’t train all year without (a) stop. So give me a little rest and I can come back to the octagon.”
When that time comes, he knows exactly who he wants to fight – former foe [autotag]Uriah Hall[/autotag], who defeated him via second-round TKO back in September 2017.
“This (defeat) still hurts me,” he admitted. “I dropped him three times in the first round and I fought him with my broken left hand, so I want to see him when I’m healed and 100%, like now.”
He also revealed beef with Israel Adesanya, and said he was convinced that he would one day get to settle his differences with the current UFC middleweight champion.
“Yeah, I still feel this, and I always will feel this (animosity),” he said. “I hate him, man. Of course, now is not the time to fight Adesanya, but in the future we will see each other inside the octagon.”
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