—How is your mental state going into the fight?
I didn’t have to cut weight this time so it’s been a lot easier, no problems. I walk around at 65, 66kgs and I am now at 62kgs so all I had to do this time was cut out carbs when I eat. I can get down to 57kgs easy.

—Please tell us your thoughts on your opponent, Hideo Tokoro?
If I fight as I always do, even if my game plan doesn’t work, I should be able to beat him. But this is MMA, so I’d like to tap him out with a front choke.

—Tokoro is an expert at the ground game, how do you plan to fight him?
I know he won’t want to do stand up with me, so I’ve been working on my ground game with Takeshi Yamazaki and Kazunori Yokota. They’ve been teaching me a lot. I debuted in MMA last year, and since my last MMA fight in February of this year I’ve been training in MMA constantly so I am quite confident. MMA and pure stand up are quite different, so if it was only stand up I’d be extremely confident. But as MMA has other aspects, and I’ve been working hard on them. I think if I fight the way I know I can, I won’t have any problems with him. I am taking the challenge to him, so I feel fine. I am going to enjoy myself out there.

—Did you talk to your wife about this fight?
We talk about the fights but she doesn’t really know a whole lot about fighting, she just worries about me getting injured. When I reassure her that everything will be fine, I have her blessing to fight. Everything is great in our house.

—Your daughter doesn’t like to watch you fight?
I don’t want her to get used to violence. I used to be one of those guys who loved it, but since I got married I think I’ve changed a little. I’ve becoming more of an adult and don’t like to show her much martial arts. Although in saying this, martial artists are the alpha males, and I’d like someone strong who does martial arts to protect her. I’d like her to grow up to be a calm and elegant woman.

—Using this match as a springboard, what kind of year would you like 2016 to be?
I want to fight well in this fight and pick up the victory. Next year I want to fight as much as I can because this year was mostly just practice. That’s why I really want MMA to take off again in Japan.