UFC Columbus Fighter to Watch: David Dvorak
Streaking Czech flyweight gets a Top 10 assignment and a chance to prove he's someone to pay close attention to going forward
Name: David Dvorak
Nickname: Undertaker
Record: 20-3 overall, 3-0 UFC
Division: Flyweight
Team: All Sports Academy
Opponent: Matheus Nicolau (17-2-1 overall, 5-1 UFC)
Just a couple days after a couple of the top unheralded talents in the UFC — Arnold Allen and Jack Shore — collected massive wins, another low-key standout whose results haven’t translated into recognition lands as the Fighter to Watch this weekend in Columbus, as David Dvorak returns to action against Matheus Nicolau in a tremendous flyweight pairing.
Dvorak suffers from some of the same things that combine to plague those two UK standouts in that he’s not a boisterous personality and his performances have thus far all been under-the-radar assignments few people have been paying attention to for one reason or another. But much like Allen and Shore, the Czech standout has continually handled his business and watched as guys he’s beaten have either gone on to have some success and generate a little buzz (Bruno “Bulldog” Silva) or been framed as good wins for someone else, as was the case when Tim Elliott dominated Jordan Espinosa six months after Dvorak had registered a similar result.
Additionally, the 29-year-old “Undertaker” enters on a 16-fight winning streak, which, for me, is an automatic “Okay, lemme pay attention to this person” situation, regardless of who they fought and where they fought, because — as you’ve heard me say countless times of late — if winning that many fights in a row were easy, more people would do it.
But they don’t… because it’s extremely difficult… and so we need to pay closer attention to the ones that do, especially when they continue those runs inside the Octagon because it’s an indication that there is something there.
They might eventually hit a wall or reach their ceiling, but when three straight UFC victories extends an overall winning streak to 16, you have my attention and should have the attention of far more people than Dvorak does heading into this weekend’s event.
(climbs off soapbox)
Part of why I wish more people paid attention to fighters like Dvorak earlier is that fights like this one with Nicolau would then carry the weight they deserve, as this is a matchup between Top 10 flyweights at a time when things are fairly fluid and open in the 125-pound weight class.
The championship series between Deiveson Figueiredo and Brandon Moreno is through three bouts and we’re not sure if a fourth is happening just quite yet, Askar Askarov and Kai Kara-France are likely fighting to be next in line further up Saturday’s fight card in Columbus, and the winner of this one will have as good a case as anyone not named Alexandre Pantoja for being deserving of a title eliminator tilt next time out. Like the winner should either face Pantoja or Brandon Royval, depending on what’s happening with the title situation, and either of those fights are massive for the division, which means this one is really important.
Dvorak has crisp boxing honed under the watchful eye of Jan Marsalek, and quality grappling with an opportunistic bent when it comes to finishing on the canvas. He throws good volume and lands at a solid clip, has sound defensive wrestling, and has proven he can go 15 hard minutes against solid competition.
He’s genuinely no different than several of the guys ranked in the three or four spots ahead of him at the moment, outside of the fact that he hasn’t gotten the same opportunities or recognition from the media. He’s a well-rounded talent that has put together three straight quality efforts inside the Octagon, but because he’s from the Czech Republic and because he’s a relative neophyte that doesn’t make a ton of noise about himself, his previous outings have been afterthoughts to most and this one feels like it’s trending the same way, and that’s a shame because this is a great fight with legitimate divisional significance.
I honestly believe Dvorak is someone that will be in the championship mix for the next couple years in the flyweight division. I included him in my Fighters to Watch in 2022 piece on the UFC website (check out Part 2 here) at the outset of the year because I think he’s criminally underrated and capable of making some noise this year and beyond.
There is a bit of an ineffable quality to Dvorak for me — I can’t quite articulate why I think so highly of him, but every time I see him in the cage, I’m reminded that he’s an outstanding talent and someone with the skills to have real success in this weight class; all that is missing is the opportunity.
And while some won’t see this weekend’s fight with Nicolau as a grand opportunity, but the Brazilian is 5-1 in the UFC, earned wins over Manel Kape and Tim Elliott last year, and is 17-2-1 overall. The guy is the genuine article and this is a great fight, a meaningful fight, and a win here does wonders for Dvorak… or it should.