Hinata directly contacted RIZIN Executive Committee Chairman Nobuyuki Sakakibara on Twitter! He declared that he could finish a fight with KO by throwing kicks every 3 seconds!

—Walk us through the process of fighting on the card
I’ve fought most of the top guys in my business, and was going nowhere, and felt like all this hard work is not paying off. I couldn’t stand being in the shadows anymore so I decided to tweet Sakakibara-san directly saying “please put me on the card”. I have put my time and effort into the sport, and felt like I deserved a shot.

—What are your thoughts about fighting Miyata Kazuyuki under MIX rules?
I watched his fights and I can tell that me as a beginner in MMA, the fight will end if he takes me down. I just started training MMA about two weeks ago, and I already feel jeopardized. Simple things, like noticing how hard it is to get back up after being taken down. I’ve never been in such positions or being choked, so all of this is really hard.

—It’s your first time fighting under MIX rules, how do you feel?
Even in kickboxing rules I will not be able my full potential if my opponent won’t engage. So I believe that there is a bigger chance of me losing than the normal fight I am used to. But I’d rather regret doing it than not. I would like to win this fight, and return the favor to all the fans who have supported me this far.

—The first round is going to be under kickboxing rules, what are your thoughts.
Those are the 3 minutes where I have to perform. I am going to keep moving non-stop, of course I’m going for the KO since this will be a live or die situation. I definitely want to show my signature “lefts” which have gotten me to where I am today. Fighting on a televised card has been a chance I’ve been waiting for a long time, so I would like to make a statement by kicking every 3 seconds.

—What are your hopes for participating at RIZIN?
I want to show the skills of a fighter who has been competing in the dark for 5 years after the fall of K-1 MAX. There were many times I thought about quitting, but I have finally been given the opportunity for people to witness my skills. After the fight I want to be able to feel good about myself that I continued to fight.