Tatsuya Kawajiri's Interview from the DREAM official website.- Your opponent is Luis Buscape. What do you think?
I have fought him before and know his style and skills. We will show each other how much we improved since last fight. I don't want to lose.
- You defeated him by decision in PRIDE BUSHIDO 8 in July 2005. Tell me about the last fight?
He was a good wrestler, powerful and insistent on tackling me. He wanted to put me on the ground, however, I preferred the standing position. He never gave up taking me down and he was good at handling my punches. It was a very tough fight.
- Did you like the way you won?
No. I never felt good whenever I won by decision. I'm disappointed about winning by decision and my fight in the 1R of this tournament. This time, I want to win by a submission or KO by all means.
- Did you watch his fight against Miyata yet?
Yes, a little. He hasn't changed. He is powerful and definitely he improved his skills.
- I heard Buscape was very excited fighting you because he lost last time.
I guess so. He got a chance to take revenge on me. I won't be dominated by his power and high motivation. I cannot lose this fight since I won before.
- How do you fight?
I fought him before and I already have an image of my next fight. I should believe in the strength of my punches and do my best. My fight in the 1R was criticized a lot by people. I want to shut their mouth and show my ability. I'm not only talking about my next fight, although, I want to have a good fight.
- This is your 1st fight in your 30's.
Yes. I want to leave a ring with a smile on my face.
- You told me you have a lot to say about a recommended fighter by DREAM.
Yes. I'm not in the position to argue about the decision made by a sponsor. I don't like it but I'm going to leave my feeling to Ishida. I wish I could fight him though.
- You heard about a rematch of Aoki vs Calvan.
I'm excited to watch their fight as a MMA fan. However, I worry about their conditioning and injury. It's fantastic if the winner of them can continue to fight in the 2R, however, it's hard for fighters to prepare for their next fight in 10 days. Ideally, a winner fights in the 2R and I win this tournament at the end.
- Anything you want to say?
Winning this competition is the only way I can wipe out all my concern and unpleasant feeling. Whoever I fight, I win and want to get a belt. It's very honorable to be the first champion of the very 1st tournament.
http://dreamofficial.com/news/detail.php?id=1207649337
5 comments:
Suki, one of the question in the interview was "You told me you have a lot to say about a recommended fighter by DREAM?" Can you fill me in on this? Don't get me wrong, I am a really big fan of Japanese mma (moreso than UFC and whatnot), but I'm kind of lost with the latest mma Japan news without you (due to my inability to speak or read japanese :P)
Stephen, the question was referring to Caol Uno getting a slot in the second round of the tournament even though he didn't fight in the first round. Kawajiri and others (see the Ishida interview Suki translated) have been pretty vocal about not wanting Uno in the second round, since it's disrespectful and unfair to those who had to fight their way in.
does anyone know why uno got the bye in the first place? granted, it's unfair to the other fighters who earned their advance to the next round. but if uno's in because they'd be short a man due to another fighter dropping out due to injury, etc. then what else were the organisers to do? however, if Dream had no legitimate reason for slipping uno in, then it's understandable that some fighters will be upset.
No, there weren't any injuries or fighters cancelling or anything like that. Actually, there were rumors that Uno would fight in the first round. But if I remember correctly, he claimed to be injured, so instead of slotting an 8th first round fight without him they just gave him the bye. Personally, I think they needed a Japanese fighter who could pull some viewers in the second round (since Gomi's in WVR and Kid's at 145 now), and Kawajiri, Ishida, and Nagata just aren't as popular.
oh, that incident. I misinterpreted the question.
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