—How is your weight right now?
I’m bordering on about 80kgs, keeping it around that. I lost weight a little earlier than usual so everything is good.

—It’s been a while since you had an MMA fight. Does it feel like it’s been a while?
Yeah, a little. But it doesn’t feel like my last MMA fight was so long ago.

—Has anything changed since to the last MMA fight you had 4 years ago?
I don’t really know to be honest, but even though my physical strength and ability to recuperate has dropped off, I feel like my movement is much better now than before.

—What kind of training did you do to prepare for this fight? And with who?
No special training at all. If there was a place I could go and train, I just dropped in. That kind of thing.

—You have trained with Aoki before. Could you give us your thoughts and opinion on him?
That was a while ago now, and there were other people there too so it wasn’t like we trained one on one. To be honest, I don’t really remember him that much. All I can really remember is that we went to eat Soba after training. He’s got long legs and arms and that’s uncomfortable for me.

—Do you think the disparities in your previous and current body size will show during the fight?
I have lost weight so I don’t really think that matters. Aoki usually walks around a lot heavier so I don’t think the difference matters too much. It’s not like I used to walk around at 90 or 100kgs so no, I don’t think that really matters at all.

—And how do you feel about fighting on New Year’s Eve on such a big stage? It’s been a while since you have.
Are you talking about special feelings? It’s been 2-3 years since I last had a NYE fight. Maybe in 10 or 20 years my feelings might change, but not right now, no. Although it has been a while since I fought at the Saitama Super Arena, the last time I was here was for pro wrestling. So I am happy to be here fighting again, definitely.

—Do you have any kind of ring entrance planned?
No, not really. I might wear a mask but this time will just be a normal entrance. I haven’t really planned anything.

—What kind of fight do you want to fight?
I say the same thing every time I get asked this question. If I can expand on my movement, I’ll be happy.

—There are some fans who think this might be your last MMA fight. Can you tell us what you think about that?
I’m not really thinking about this being my last fight. I think they are only thinking that because I am getting older, and there’s nothing I can do about that. As long as I can fight, I will. Regarding this fight, I really won’t know until I get in the ring, but victory or defeat is not everything. What matters to me is how well I fight, if I can still move well or not, if my will to keep fighting is still there. If none of these are there, I might not fight. It all depends on how I feel.

—You’ve been back in pro wrestling for a while now, is there anything from that that you can utilize from that?
I can’t really say for sure what, but definitely, yes. Just being in the ring, inside those ropes, is a big thing and the most important of all.

—It’s been a while since you had an MMA fight. Will you be showing the fans any new finishing moves?
No (LOL).

—Finally, any last comments for us?
I am going to do my very best in this fight, fighting to the best of my abilities. I won’t know how I will go however, until I am in the ring and the bell has rung so I don’t really have anything else to say, except that I will try my very best.

—Aoki will be appearing for IGF two days later in a pro wrestling match. Do you have any thoughts on that?
No, none at all.