Las Vegas — It appears that Martin Buday will in fact be the final opponent of former heavyweight champ Andrei Arlovski in the UFC, with Dana White telling the media following UFC 303 that the fight would be the ex-champ’s last dance.
That said, despite picking up a split decision win, Buday (14-2) wasn’t all that happy with his showing Saturday night.
“For the emotions, it was very good, because of the victory, but I’m not happy with the performance at all,” Buday admitted, speaking with media outlets including Cageside Press following the bout. “I accepted his pace, his game, and that was the main issue with my bad performance. I wanted to deliver a finish for sure.”
As to what went sideways, Buday explained that he had planned to get busier on the feet, a particular focus of his training for “The Pitbull.”
“I wanted to be more active in the stand-up, because I worked on it most of the fight camp. But I had troubles finding the distance, and when he closed it, I accepted the clinch game and tried to work from that- and it was probably a mistake.”
Buday was certain, however, that he had done enough to win the fight, despite one judge scoring it 29-28 for Arlovski.
“Yeah I think so. I think so. I think I’d done more damage to him, and was a little bit more active in the clinches. So yeah, I think I won that fight by points.”
Now 5-1 in the UFC, Slovakia’s Buday is hoping for a quick turnaround following his latest win for the company. “I’m healthy, so when I come back home I will start training immediately, and we will see,” he stated. “I would like to go back as soon as possible.”
Watch the full UFC 303 post-fight press conference with Martin Buday above.
