Daron Cruickshank, Gabi Garcia, Kazuyuki Fujita, Chris Barnett, Kazushi Sakuraba, Hideo Tokoro interviews.

Friday, April 15th, 2016 – We are two days out from Rizin 1, presented by Top. The event is being held in the Nippon Gaishi Hall in Nagoya and the fighters have given us their thoughts and feelings on the upcoming fights.

Daron Cruickshank: “My fight will be the most exciting fight of the night”.
Fight number 8: Daron Cruickshank vs. Shinji Sasaki – Special match held under MMA rules. Max weight 70.3kg.

Daron Cruickshank: Before I appeared in the UFC, I fought in various federations and had lots of fights. I think Rizin is one of the best federations out there because they really put the fighters first. They are also very punctual and do everything on time and their preparation for this event has been great. I was so excited when I got the offer from Rizin.

I will be fighting under rules that I am normally not used to, and in a ring as opposed to a cage. I am very excited to also be able to embrace the different culture and I am so happy that I got the chance to come to Japan.

Q: Could you give us your thoughts on your opponent?

A: I have watched his fights and my preparation needed to be spot on as he is a really good fighter. My fight will be the most exciting fight of the night and I promise I will knock him out. When the fight is over, the Japanese fans will never forget my name.

Fight number 11: Gabi Garcia vs Anna Maliukova – Special match held under female MMA rules. Open weight class.

Gabi Garcia: I am so happy to be back here fighting for Rizin again. To be honest, I felt a lot of pressure the last time I fought here and kind of froze up. This time around, I have been through very tough training and I am very confident. I only had 6 months of training before my MMA debut. I think last time, everyone thought I was going to both kick and box as well as grapple, right? That was the first time I challenged myself, so of course things don’t naturally turn out the way you want them too.

I love Pride, and I grew up watching those guys, they were my heroes. As I was getting ready to head to the ring for my last Rizin fight, I was too excited when the elevator for the ring entrance was going up, so I wasn’t able to truly understand what I was feeling at the time.

Lei’D Tapa (last opponent) knocked me down almost straight away, and I have no recollection of that fight from that moment on.

I plan to keep fighting for a long time, but that was the first time I felt that way, and on such a grand stage. I felt a lot of pressure. What I learnt from Jujitsu is that we must “face each fight calmly” and to be able to overcome the pressure is something that can only be done through years of rigorous training. I know this.

The thing that draws me to MMA is that in an instant, a fight can go either way. I disregard all my past glory. I chose to fight and I will never give up. I am too proud a fighter not too. I have Samurai spirit with me when I fight.

Kazuyuki Fujita “I have done everything I possibly can to be ready for this fight”
Fight number 14: Kazuyuki Fujita vs. Jiří Procházka – Special match held under MMA rules. Max weight 110kg.

I have done everything I can leading up to this fight, so now all I can do is wait for the bell. It doesn’t matter if it’s MMA or any other rules, the basics never change. All you can do is step into the ring and fight.

I have been training with Tsuyoshi Kohsaka and Kazuo Takahashi (Pancrase), who have really helped me with my ground game. I have done everything I possibly can to be ready for this fight. I will have no regrets when I step in that ring. I am here to fight.

Fight number 7: Chris Barnett vs. Kirill Sidelnikov – Special match held under MMA rules. Max free weight.

Q: How is your mental state leading up to the fight?
A: I am so excited! I am so happy to be back here fighting in Japan again. Japanese fans have this aura about them and I love that. When you make your way to the ring in Japan, the fans are pumped up, and cheer along to fighter’s entrance music.

Q: Did you feel that in IGF?
A: The Japanese fans really respect the fighters whereas American fans are there to be entertained. Japan has really grasped the meaning of “budo”.

Q: What are your thoughts on Rizin?
A: I watched the New Year’s Eve event. I saw Fedor fight, and I saw King Mo win the tournament. It was such a great event. Rizin has stepped in to fill the much needed MMA gap in Japan and for that, I am so happy.

Q: Could you give us your thoughts on your opponent?
A: He is a very strong fighter. But by fighting the best fighters, you are able to raise your game to a new level. He is the best possible opponent for me to achieve this. Just by being in Rizin guarantees that the world’s top fighters will be here. I am so happy to be able to fight against the legendary Fedor’s team mate.

Fight number 10: Kazushi Sakuraba, Hideo Tokoro vs. Wanderlei Silva, Kiyoshi Tamura – Special grappling tag team match.

Kazushi Sakuraba: I am worried about a lot of different things at the moment. I am especially worried about whether or not Tokoro will let me tag in. I think he is going to ignore me (laugh).

Our opponents are quite big, so even with just kumi-waza, we will feel their power. I am worried about that too.

Q: Wanderlei Silva has said that if he didn’t have his strikes, he wouldn’t be able to beat you. What are your thoughts on this?
A: The only way to really know is to try. But I have spoken to Tokoro and we talked about us taking the fight to them. We want to win both falls but let’s see what happens when we get out there.

Q: What do you think about the rules of this fight?
A: They don’t bother me either way. It wouldn’t matter if I said anything now anyway (laughs). They certainly are interesting rules though.

Hideo Tokoro “I am just so surprised at how good Sakuraba still is”
Fight number 10: Kazushi Sakuraba, Hideo Tokoro vs. Wanderlei Silva, Kiyoshi Tamura – Special grappling tag team match.

Hideo Tokoro: I didn’t have to cut weight for this fight, and it’s a grappling “double” bout, so it’s kind of a strange feeling. However, I have this amazing nervous energy inside me and it feels great. I had so many chances to train with Sakuraba and he really surprised me with just how good he is.

I don’t mean to be rude, but Sakuraba is 47 years old (I am at the peak of my conditioning) and although he is past his Pride days where he was the king, I am just so surprised at how good he still is. As a fan of MMA, I am really excited about this fight. However, I want to be sharp, and I think that if there is an ippon, it will be me who gets it.