Pride Shockwave Pre-Event Interviews and Pictures

[Wheelie]

Fedor Emelianenko

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- I think Zulu is an excellent opponent, he is big and has punching power.
- I trained in the mountains and with the Red Devil team. I know that Zulu wants to take this opportunity to make a name for himself, and I would like to answer that with all of my ability.
- Zulu's dad said I was a stronger foe than Rickson? It's an honor to receive that praise, but I don't know since I never fought Rickson. If the opportunity arises I will fight him anytime.
- I do have damage from the Mirko match, my right thumb, and it affected my training. I was going to get a surgery after the Mirko match but I decided to get it in late January instead to prepare for the GP.

Zuluhino
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- Fedor is the strongest champion in Pride, the strongest fighter in the world. But I'm happy that I'm given the opportunity to fight him in my second fight, I want to make the best of it. I studied his videos and his weaknesses, and trained accordingly.
- I found from my research that I'm more skilled in boxing and jiujitsu than Fedor. The size difference is to my advantage too. I will definitely knock Fedor out. Even if it's Fedor I'm not afraid, the only thing I'm afraid of are my father and god.
- I also trained wrestling with a Brazillian olympic wrestler too, since that is a part of Fedor's style.

Charles "Krazy Horse" Bennet
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- I'm still very pissed about the Kaneko match. He said he's going for the ground so I trained on my ground game. As a black guy I like to stand and fight, but he'll probably run around. So as a black guy this time I trained my wrestling and ground game.
- Submission? Hell no, it's gonna be ground and pound! That's my specialty.
- I have no data about him, but that's no problem at all. I'm a warrior and a streetfighter, so alot of my opponents I had no data of them either. You can call me a master of winning under those situations.
- Kaneko, go back to acting! It's a mistake for you to have ever came on the ring, I will carve that into your body. It won't be quick, I'll take time to make sure he understands it completely. I researched which TV show you're on, "Junk Sports," you scared? What!?

Ken Kaneko
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- I did everything I can, all I have to do is let it all out in the ring. I feel...alot of pressure, since I never fought an amateur match. I just want it to be NYE. I dream about the match, both good and bad.
- I do image training in my head countless times daily, playing out how the fight will go over and over. I watched Bennet's video alot of times too. Bennet at the rule meeting shook my hand and said "good luck."
- I know most people aren't giving me much of a chance. But I know that with the right strategy there is a possibility for me to win, so I will give my all in the ring.

[Wheelie]

Aleksander Emelianenko
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- My weight right now is 115kg. My stomach shrunk and my arms are bigger, I trained to reshape my body and increase speed and stamina. Me and my brothers constantly train in new ways to win with more speed, more elegance. I feel lighter now, before it felt like I had a bunch of potatoes on my stomach haha.
- It's a great accomplishment that Natsula has a gold medal in judo. I trained for about 10 years in Judo before, and I was blackbelt. I was slated to be in Moscow's Youth Olympic but I couldn't make it because of sickness, the guy that replaced me won. He was someone I beat before.
- I'm not underestimating his judo but I don't find any of his skills especially alarming. I'm prepared to fight him, so I'm not necessarily focused on keeping it standing. I'll see as the fight goes along. And ofcourse I'll win, early on, standing or on the ground. Hopefully it'll be a match that'll be elegant and leave an impression on everyone.

Pawel "Nasty" Natsula
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- My condition is excellent. I think against Nog I lost because of lack of boxing skills. That, and I ran out of stamina after 2 minutes.
- I think Aleks has more strength than me, so I want to take this to the ground. I haven't seen him on the ground, but I doubt he's better than Nogueira.
- I trained MMA for 6 months since the fight, I think I'm 60% better than I was before. I want to show my improvement. I would also like to compete in the GP next year.
- nickname by Battle

James "The Colossus" Thompson
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- I mainly trained on my wrestling to be able to perform takedowns. I trained for 6 weeks at Team Quest to train. Team Quest produced quality fighters like Randy Couture, Dan Henderson, and Matt Lindland so I always wanted to train there. They were excellent people as well as fighters, I sparred with them and received valuable advice as well.
- Training with them, I felt them were a very refined team. They are heading as a unit toward a single objective, and I felt honored to be able to participate.
- It's hard to predict how Giant Silva will act, so I think it will be easier to take the fight to the ground and sub or GnP. Of course, I never fought anyone like Giant Silva! In that sense, it's hard to tell what will happen til the actual fight.
- Will I Bell and Rush this time? I won't talk about it here, no comment.

Paulo "Giant" Silva
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- A year of not fighting? It's fine, I've been training MMA.
- I trained all round MMA at Manhattan's Renzo Gracie academy and learned a few things from him as well. My punches and takedown defense especially improved.
- James Thompson is an excellent fighter, he has power too. I will try to avoid the takedowns and use my punches that I've worked on. Watch out for the Giant Silva straight!

Dan "Hollywood" Henderson
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- This time I didn't train with Randy Couture, but I trained with Brian Foster, Matt Lindland, and Chonan. Chonan is a tough competitor, he came to Team Quest to improve his game but I learned some technique as well. It was good training for both of us. Chonan is good on the ground so I learned some techniques and leg locks from him.
- I saw Busta's GP fights, and received the same impression from last time. Tough and strong on feet, but undoubtedly stronger on the ground. Will avoid a situation where he will be disadvantaged. Switching to WW, he's still a same fighter. I am too. I can fight with confidence.
- The last fight ended very early so it was hard to get an impression of each other. Even if it goes to the ground this time, I am confident that I can adjust accordingly to the situation. I will KO Busta. Ofcourse, I have submission too so that's another option. But I will essentially go for the KO, since that's my main strength.
- Will I go back to MW after winning the WW belt? Of course, but I'm concentrating on the fight at hand so interview me after the fight haha.

Murilo Bustamente
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- When I saw the belt at the meeting, I had a feeling of satisfaction and happiness. I thought I definitely want that belt around me.
- Watching Hendo's GP fights, I felt he improved on some technical aspects. I trained with Rogerio who beat Hendo in the past and Arona as well. I made a plan after talking with them, and if everything goes well then I will be victorious. But you never know in a fight, Hendo is experienced and strong. It'll be a tough fight, no doubt. I still want to keep fighting and produce a good result.
- I'm still upset about the outcome of the last fight. I'm not upset that I lost, but because I lost due to an accident. To me this is a continuation of our first fight, I want to give my best and have a good match.

[Wheelie]

Makoto Takimoto
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- Cunha (Chute Boxe striking trainer that's training Yoshida dojo crew) is kicking my ass everyday so I think my defense is improving haha. He's definitely improving my standing.
- I was surprised about the booing at the end of my last fight, but I'm thinking of it as the opposite of anticipation. I want to make it a fight where anyone who watches it will say that I won.
- My opponent is the top world class grappler (ADCC champ), it'd be great if I can sub him but I'm not focusing on it. I might even lose by submission haha. I want to be agressive and not think too much about the details.
- I don't want a decision. KO or sub? I don't really know Kikuta so it's hard to predict. He seems to be talking about my medal, but my gold medal is in the past so I'm not especially conscious of it.
- I want all of us (yoshida, takimoto, nakamura) to win and make this a Yoshida Dojo festival on NYE. I'll try my best.

Sanae Kikuta
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- I practiced my boxing. I want to sub him, so I'm going to use my striking to force him into my ground game.
- He is the top in judo, whereas I couldn't get to the top in judo. I did win Abu Dhabi though, and I want to show how difficult it was to win the ADCC.
- Takimoto tends to rely on striking in MMA so it's hard to judge his groundgame. He's the type to fight with passion so I don't see much theory or strategy.
- I think the fight will be exciting, maybe it'll be a bloody slugfest. I want it to stand out from the other Japanese matches with a victory by an amazing technique at the end.
- My motivation is unusually high, I feel it's fateful. I'll talk about what kind of fate if I win, haha.
- No good memories in Pride? haha that's true. Life is long so I think my time is coming around.

Kazuhiro Nakamura
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- Pedro Rizzo came yesterday to be in my corner, which is alot of support. He really taught me alot about how to apply pressure, throw low kicks and knees, and also grappling. I went to Brazil for the first time in March and I was really struck by his way of life.
- I think Kondo is not someone I will lose to. What left me the strongest impression is the Sperry fight from 2 years ago, but I don't really have an impression from it haha. All I really thought was, oh so there's someone like that too. I had a feeling since this GP that I might fight him some day. But there was also the feeling that there's not alot of Japanese fighters in the MW, so we will fight together against foreign fighters. There's still that feeling too.
- Determine the strongest Japanese? I'm glad for someone to say that. Kondo has a career, and it's been three years since I started fighting in Pride so I'm taking it as the strongest Japanese fighter match. But I'm looking at the world, not just Japan.
- I know Kondo has an element of unpredictability, but I'm prepared for anything. I'm watching for flying knees but Rizzo has better knees. I want to break his will to fight. People say he has an unmoving will, I have, well...playfulness haha. I'm always shifting around attention.
- I'm confident against Kondo with my offensive ability. I want Yoshida Dojo to win every fight. The New Year parties won't be fun if we don't. Obligado! haha

Yuki Kondo
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- I thought Nakamura was a grappler but he has very clean striking. I think that actually makes it easier to defend, since his punches will be easier to dodge and counter.
- Strongest MW Japanese? I'm not thinking that far. If I win I'll get closer to the strongest, but there are plenty others. Sakuraba, Yoshida, Tamura, Takimoto, Kikuta...Nakamura is one of thosee.
- I've had some bad luck recently, but I'm feeling good haha. I'm not feeling too pressured. Nakamura wants to break my will? If it breaks I'll lose, if not I won't. I want it to be standup fighting, since I'm confident there. Punching, kicking. Flying knees? It's been rusty lately haha. My senses have been getting a bit dull lately, so I'm not depending on my knees. I grew in many ways, I think you'll see it in my fight.
- NYE is a great stage to be on. I'm not especially conscious about the other Japanese matches. I want to fight the best fight possible.

Wanderlei "Axe Murderer" Silva
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- The udon yesterday was delicious. I was planning not to eat it, but I loved it so I ate two. I was hungry too. But I had to run for an hour and a half this morning because of that, haha. I wanted to eat more though...
- This time I focused on training my stamina. This is not just for this match but is important for any fight. There is definitely a difference on my physical side, after three month of hard training.
- The past Arona fight, I saw it again a little but I didn't really watch it deeply. In that fight I wasn't able to fight my fight, it wasn't a good fight. When I watch it I get angry. This fight I will fight my style.
- My game plan is to "keep offensive." I will always go for the KO. There might be a ground portion, but if it stalls I want the ref to break it up. Not give out an yellowcard, but if it stalls then it should be restarted from standing. In the last GP finals where I fought Rampage, the fight was on the ground for 6 minutes and it wasn't exciting for the fans. After it was stood up, there was a KO right away and it became an excitinig fight for the fans. I want to make it an exciting fight for the people watching. If Pride changes the rules a bit it'll be more exciting and the ratings will go up.
- If Arona fights the same way as last time there's no problem. I will react calmly and keep fighting aggressively. It'll be a fight that the fans will want ot watch. Arona is a difficult type of fighter. Fighting Mirko and Hunt is always exciting, I feel disappointed that I'm fighting a staller type like Arona. This time, I want to win with a KO and make this the last fight with Arona.

Ricardo Arona
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- Seeing the belt at the meeting, I wanted that belt. I want that belt wrapped around my waist and feel that I'm the true champion. Seeing Silva made my motivation even higher.
- I respect Silva as a fighter, but as a man I don't agree with his attitude. His attitude makes me feel hatred against him. I want to fight a good match and let out those feelings as I win. I'm confident from my last win. I don't know if it'll go the same way as before, but I want to win this time too.
- What if there were 3 rounds last fight? You can't predict how a fight's gonna go, if there was another round I can't deny the possibility that it may have been a different result. But I was the one who was undoubtedly controlling the figtht, so I think the result would have been the same. I probably would have beat him even worse.

[Wheelie]

Gomi Takanori
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- Sakurai, he was a part of my life. In Shooto he was my senior, when he wasn't fighting he came to the dojo and we lived our daily life together. We're in the same division and fought and defeated foreigners to be in this match, so I guess it can't be avoided to fight him.
- I'm looking forward to the fight. There will be alot of fans waiting, and like last year there are the All-Stars of MMA besides me. In terms of baseball this is the Major Leagues, and I'm chosen to be in it so that gives me confidence.
- I want to do a match where the audience will all be on their feet. When Silva makes an entrance, all of the fans in the arena gets excited and stands up. I want it to be like that. The front seat fans are paying 150,000 yen (1200$) to be there, so I want to fight a perfect match to make it worth it. I want them to be on fire.
- Sakurai has been loved and inspiring to all the Japanese fans, right? Kawajiri is like that too, they are both fighter that went down the same path and both seniors that I tried to follow. To fight with the people I looked up to must be like fate. It's the greatest situation. I think everyone thought it would be a given I would go to the finals. In contrast, everyone was worried about Sakurai. But he regained his strength and came to the finals, that's probably fate.
- Sakurai was in a higher weightclass but he decided to cut weight and succeeded. Maybe it's a way of saying 'You should fight with a speedy Sakurai' from the MMA gods. 'If you win against him, you are the champion. In Shooto fight Rumina Sato, in Bushido fight against Sakurai and become Champion.' I feel that kind of fate.
- I will get the belt no matter what. I was born for this day, this was why I struggled everyday, everything was for this day. I was practicing thinking man, I don't even want to do all this, but when I wrap the belt around my waist I think "I'm glad I did it." Anyone would think so.
- Also I want to thank my parents who gave me a strong body. I feel appreciation for my body that was able to make it here. I invite my family every time, I did this time too. They're normal parents, but I'll be happy if they feel proud of me. Their son is on the grandstage of the Championships Finals, so they must be proud of me. Rather than winning or losing they are probably hoping I don't have injuries though. I think about family alot lately.
- When I become Champion, I will party for a full month nonstop, haha. I didn't drink for a full month. I'm really looking forward to it.

Hayato "Mach" Sakurai
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- Gomi? Gotta fight, can't say much else. He's a formidable opponent, I always think so. Whether I fight in Pride or Shooto, guys I fight with usually fight more power than they have. Gomi, I'm not really thinking too much about. I'm going to make myself like a machine, void of emotions. On the ring there aren't any words, I'll be a machine.
- I always talk with my opponents even before a fight, but Gomi won't talk to me at all, man. I don't mind talking, but he's refusing communication. It's a bit annoying. I kinda wanna smack him on the head like "What the hell's up with that attitude!?" Well I can't blame him, it's before a fight.
- I was really satisfied with my training in the US. I'm always satisfied there. I love the states, it's so fun there. The food is good, language is English so there's no random chatter distracting me. I was able to really focus on my training.
- The belt, I feel it would be good if I can get it. I don't especially think about it. I only think about my opponent. I don't think like I gotta get that belt no matter what, like I used to when I was younger. Either way the belt's gonna be in the car trunk or lying around in my house entrance if I win it.
- Rather than doing a good fight or not, I want to win this time. I can't lose. This time I want to win. Because my opponent's Gomi. He came after me in my dojo, there's no way I can lose against him. I have that sort of pride.
- I will lose 2 more kilos (*interview took place on 29th). This last 2kg is pretty tough. I'm originally from another division so I'm pushing it. I'm fighting already. Pushing my body to the limit. Make another division inbetween. Maybe in that sense the times doesn't need me. I better make it so they need me. I need to win this time as well in that sense too.*
- Everyone's hoping for the real Hayato "Mach" Sakurai right? I know there's anticipation for my performance each time. If people are hoping for a good match, it'll be alright. This time is the turning point, in alot of ways.

*note: what Mach means by "Make another division" is make a division between the current LW and WW. He's too light for WW and has difficulty cutting to LW, so that's why he's saying maybe the times doesn't need him now. Therefore if he wins, DSE may be more inclined to create a division closer to his weight by making a 70kg and 76kg division instead of the present 73kg LW division.

Mark Hunt
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- I always wear shorts because Japan's cold but for some reason my legs are never cold.
- I wanted to fight Mirko since last NYE, I'm glad my wish came true. It's a revenge match and at the same time a step to the next level. Mirko is undoubtedly one of the top fighters, it'll be a huge challenge. I want to overcome that challenge for the New Year.
- Mirko I think is a wonderful fighter. The time I was knocked down it was because I was lacking something, so this time I trained to fix those parts.
- Will it be standing? That depends on Mirko. Maybe one of us will go for a takedown. I might take him down but I can't say yet, haha. But I definitely did work on my ground game. I don't care whether it's decided on stand up or on the ground. If I can beat Mirko it can be anything. Mirko's ground game? He always fights the stand up so I don't know.
- I have a strategy against Mirko's left high kick. Ofcourse this time it won't land....I hope it doesn't land, haha. It probably won't land. Anyways this time I will win! I don't really care how, I just want to win. I want to win against Mirko, and win the GP. There was a one year blankn but next year I want to fight more often. I want to fight more often and make more money, haha.
- This time my old coach came back to me (Hapi, he was also invited to coach Yoshida before he fought Hunt). He's a good coach, he'll be a great encouragement for me.

Mirko "Crocop" Flilpovic

- My left leg will do all my talking in the ring