—How do you feel right now?
I feel great. Perfect actually.

—How did the offer from Rizin come about?
I’ve had 12 fights with Bellator and Rizin and Bellator have a joint business relationship. I grew up watching Pride, so I am really excited to be fighting in Japan.

—You are fighting away from home, in front of thousands of people. How do you feel about this?
I’ve been in the opposite situation quite a few times, but even when the home crowd boos me I still win, so that’s the kind of fight I want to fight.

—You have three victories in the welterweight division, but your contracted weight for this fight is at 81kgs. Could you tell us your thoughts on this?
I have also fought in middleweight before, so I have no problem with this.

—Can you give us your thoughts on your opponent, Ken Hasegawa?
I watched two of his fights. He is really tough, with a good, solid ground game. Fighting Ken will be a really good challenge for me to get over.

—BAnd what do you think about the difference in rules between Bellator and Rizin?
I don’t have any thoughts on this.