Pick as the fighter representing Japan, Satoshi Ishii is not pressured by the Japanese fans’ expectations. “All I have to do is focus on the fight.”

—What was the process in your participation for RIZIN WORLD GP
I was still in negotiations with other organizations when I got the offer, and I was debating on which promotion to choose, but I thought about which would be a better experience for as a fighter, and decided to fight for RIZIN FF. If I make it to the finals, I get to fight 3 times in a course of 3 days. By putting myself under such a tough condition, I felt like I could strengthen my mentality to where I would be prepared to fight on a regular basis. The prize money was greater as well.

—RIZIN FF will be held in Japan, what are our advantages
Advantages can also become disadvantages. By fighting in my home country, I believe there are many advantages, but at the same time I may end up feeling too much pressure and stuff like that. So I have been training myself to keep cool at all times. It helps that I don’t have many Japanese fans (with a smile). Sometimes it’s easier to fight abroad. It all comes down to focusing on the fight regardless of what others say.

—You drew No.4, what was your reason why you picked the Third fight
I have never picked my opponent before, and I wanted someone to pick me as an opponent so that is why I picked the open bracket. It was quite an experience being picked as an opponent.

—Jiri Prochazka picked you as his opponent, what are your impressions about him
He’s a tall guy and he looked way too amped up and we aren’t even fighting today.

—What kind of training are you doing right now
I’m working on my striking with Gegard Mousasi as usual and Ernesto Hoost has been looking over my striking skills and technique starting this year. I still have a month for the fight so my mental stage is normal. I feel like I don’t have to flip my mental switch until right before the fight. It’s a tiring and I feel like it is a waste of energy to be thinking about the fight all the time. Right now, I am normal as usual.

—What can we expect from you the day of the fight
As I mentioned during the conference, I will be ready for the fight, for my opponent. By doing so, I believe I will be able to show every on what I have been working on this whole time.