—You suffered an injury in your October fight, how is your recovery going?
I have been doing rehabilitation since the injury and I am fully healed now. Everything is fine.

—To prepare for this fight, what kind of training did you do this time around?
We stuck to what we always do. The training was hard, and I didn’t find out who my opponent was until the beginning of December. As soon as I found out who it was, we stared training specifically for him. Before that, just training as usual.

—What kind of fight do you want to show the fans?
I want to show what I always do, and that’s being aggressive. My opponent this time is built in a Fedor kind of mould, so I want to show that I can do anything I want against him. I really focused on my ground game this time, but I will be the one on the front foot attacking and striking. On such a big stage like this, I want to show the fans what I can do. I will entertain them.

—Your last opponent was Singh “Heart” Jaideep. This time he has been selected to fight Fedor. What are your thoughts on this?
It’s a real shame that I hurt my hand, but that’s the fight game. Who knows what kind of fight it would have been if it didn’t hurt myself. I think Jaideep is a good fighter but I don’t know I would have lost if it wasn’t for the injury. This time around, I am going to do it my way, my style.

—How do you feel about being in such a prestigious end of year event?
I’m very happy. I must thank firstly the country of Japan, as well as Deep. I’m just so happy and thankful. I started practicing MMA 15 years ago, and started my own club after watching Pride. That’s why I am so happy to be given this chance, it’s a dream come true. I have been living in Hamamatsu for 15 years but the people of Brazil are also really looking forward to the fight.