Suki's interview....

Hi everyone!

Thank you for always reading my blog.
My interview with Michael David Smith from Fan House has been posted at:

http://sports.aol.com/fanhouse/2008/07/03/how-a-japanese-woman-who-lives-in-san-francisco-uses-her-blog-to/

Check it out!
Thanks!
Suki

Uno & Tokoro appeared in Fight Festival

Caol Uno and Hideo Tokoro showed up in Fight Festival sponsored by FEG on July 3.

Uno and Eiji Mitsuoka had a sparring session. Mitsuoka said, "I admire his great concentration. I'm certainly sure he will win the lightweight GP. I think he will have an exciting fight against Aoki." In a talk show with Tsuyoshi Kosaka, Uno was asked about his brilliant escaping skill which he showed whenever he was caught from his back. He said, "Putting my self in that position is not something to be applauded as a fighter. I 'm just desperately trying to get out." After the talk show, Kosaka and Uno agreed to spar. Kosaka took him from his back and he showed his original escaping technique, and then he finished Kosaka by submission at the end.

Uno:
I had a good fight with Ishida in DREAM.3, so I would like to do a better performance in my next fight. I want everyone see my fighting spirit. My game plan is to control the fight.

Tokoro showed up next.
Tokoro:
(He was asked about his last fight) I managed to defeat Darren Uyenoyama. I'm working to strengthen my endurance now because I ran out of stamina in my previous fight. I don't know when my next fight is, but I will prepare and improve myself for my next fight, then I want to challenge Kid Yamamoto someday.

http://www.dreamofficial.com/news/detail.php?id=1215095953

Mach Sakurai updated his blog from Seattle

Mach Sakurai is still in Seattle for training.

** June 26 **
I was going to fight Nick Diaz on July 21 in Osaka, but the fight is postponed to September for his reason. I apologized to my fans who were looking forward to seeing us in Osaka.

** June 29 **
Rich Franklin showed up in a house we are staying. I heard he is George's pupil. As soon as he arrived, he was glued to Playboy. In this house, there are nothing but playboy magazines. I asked him, "Do you like Playboy?" He said, "I love it".

I have heard someone say, "There are no playboys who love Playboy."

http://blog.livedoor.jp/go_mach_go/archives/2008-06.html

Kid Yamamoto attended Fight Festival by FEG

Kid Yamamoto showed up in an event, Fight Festival, at Akasaka Sacas on June 30. In this event, fighters who belong to KRAZY BEE showed sparring in public. At the end of performances, Kid and his son had a wrestling match.

Kid:
I cannot wait to fight Joseph Benavidez. I don't know anything about him, but I guess he must be good because he belongs to a gym who has many top fighters. I will have a clear victory by KO.

(He was asked about Tokoro) I was disappointed to see his performance in DREAM. 4, and I wish he could do better. My son will defeat him before he gets a chance to fight me, so DREAM should arrange a fight for them. My condition is very good and I'm even ready to fight now! Jujitsu trainers in my gym showed me how exciting Jujitsu is. I used to focused on striking and wrestling techniques in the most of my time; although, I train Jujitsu as much as other techniques. I'm learning positioning and sweeping now with wearing Gi and a white belt. I'm a beginner, but I may use what I learned in my next fight.


http://dreamofficial.com/news/detail.php?id=1214831507
http://gbring.com/sokuho/news/2008_06/0630_dream.htm

Aoki interview with DREAM

DREAM official website posted an interview with Shinya Aoki on June 28. This interview was taken place on June 16.

- I congratulate you on moving to the final round. What did you think about your fight?
I'm glad I didn't get any damages because I couldn't even walk after fighting Calvan. It has been quite a while since I had a fight without any injury last time. I liked the audience a lot in Yokohama as well.
- You hadn't fought in Yokohama Arena since PRIDE Bushido 13 in November, 2006.
I like this arena because I feel a certain togetherness between fighters and fans; in addition, the arena was full. I think DREAM.4 was successful because fights were mostly exciting. I saw Tokoro's fight on TV. He showed all he had, and fans seemed to be very satisfied seeing their fight.
- I agree. The crowd cheered him a lot.
He was very aggressive. It was funny to see that he voluntarily took a guard position and put himself in a bad situation. He has guts and I respect that.
- You defeated by foot choke.
Yes. When he clinched, I found out he was cautious about being ko; therefore, I submitted. That submission tighten the throat very badly and I guess he had hard time as a hell.
- You finished as you declared before the fight.
That's right; although, I didn't have time to enjoy my victory because my next fight was announced within an hour after my fight ended. I think fighting Uno will be a great experience to improve myself. I'm truly happy to fight him and I'm very appreciative of him.
- What do you think about Uno?
He is a pioneer. He has many remarkable fights. When he fought Ricardo Botelho in SHOOTO, he elbowed his thigh in a guard position and koed him by pounding. He koed Rumina Sato and fought 5 rounds with BJ Penn. I'm excited to fight such a well-rounded and experienced fighter.
- Did you watch his fights in SHOOTO as a fan?
Yes. He was my idol. He had a big upset when he fought Rumina and he defeated him again in the rematch, and then he had fights in the UFC. I respect him totally and I cannot wait fighting him. My next fight means a lot and I will learn a lot from him.
- In the conference, you said Uno was cool.
He is very fashionable. Is he 33 years old?
- Yes.
He is a lot older than me then.
- Mach and Akiyama are the same as Uno, too.
I don't have many fighters in my age. Probably Calvan and Eddy Alvarez are the same.
- Wow, many great fighters are in your age.
I heard Alvarez had a kid; also Uno has a kid and Nagata is getting married. They must have a responsibility to their families; on the other hand, I have no responsibility to someone else. This is my strength, I think.
- You said you would like to represent DREAM.
Yes. I'm irresponsible and that's why I say anything which comes up to my mind.
- I expect to see you have a great fight in July.
I do my best and thanks for having an interview with me.

http://dreamofficial.com/news/detail.php?id=1214551842

Okami trains with Yokozuna

Yujin Okami updated his blog.

I had an interview with Akebono, who used to be a sumo wrestler and had a title of Yokozuna, yesterday. This opportunity was arranged by a Japanese MMA magazine, Kamipro. I haven't seen him for a while; although, he was still big.

I wonder how I could have a sparring with such a big guy. Since I started training with him, I gained weight and had an effective weight training by sparring with him. I had a good experience. Thank you very much, Yokozuna and Kamipro!

http://blog.olga.to/okami

Gono's previous job

Gono updated his blog and talked about what he did before becoming a professional MMA fighter.

I mentioned about a job I did before I became a pro. I belonged to a delivery company of a local vegetables market. I went to the market in the early morning, lifted vegetables on a truck by a forklift and delivered to supermarkets. I started this job on the day after getting my driver's license, so the first car I drove was a 3.5 ton truck. I was scared in the beginning and drove with shaky hands. I am such a hard worker for anything, that I practiced driving and parking at night.  as a result, I got used to it quickly.  I picked up my girlfriend and we delivered together, picking up my towed bike and so on. I'm a delicate driver with many experiences; thus, nobody feels unsafe in my car.

http://blog.livedoor.jp/gono/archives/51412227.html