Yoshida & Nakamura

If Saturday’s turnout of eager PRIDE fans wasn’t an indication of what the Japanese fighting promotion has been struggling for with the California State Athletic Commission in recent months, then nothing is.

Although the CSAC voted last Monday to not adopt three amendments to its mixed martial arts regulations that would allow for the promotion to conduct fights a bit closer to their popular style of fighting in California, PRIDE enthusiasts still made their presence known at a Best Buy in Hollywood, California. Toting fight shirts, gis, posters, DVD covers, and gloves; a few hundred supporters of all ages delighted in their favorite PRIDE stars signing their prized possessions.

Yoshida with a fan

Baroni and Henderson

Chambers

Notably, PRIDE veterans Hidehiko Yoshida and Kazuhiro Nakamura received a welcome response from the very palpable attending Japanese community of Los Angeles (Some even brought Yoshida birthday gifts — he turned 36 Saturday). They were joined by Bushido Middleweight Grand Prix participants Phil Baroni and Dan Henderson, along with commentator Bas Rutten, who signed everything in sight for over two hours.

• Have you ever fought anywhere else?
  RM: Yeah. Absolutely. I’ve had three pro fights before the UFC’s TUF 2. I was undefeated in those three pro fights, two in Canada and one in the United States. In addition to those fights, I’ve also had numerous fights in kickboxing and Muay Thai. I’ve been involved in martial arts and mixed martial arts my entire life. I started wrestling when I was 15 years old. I wrestled four years in high school and was nationally ranked as an All-Canadian, and then I wrestled for five years for the University of Western Ontario and with Lakeside University and that was in both freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling. The time I really started training for a professional career as a fighter was when I was 22 years old. I train at Team Tompkins in London, Ontario.

• Please tell me what went down with you and Matt Hughes wasn’t as harsh as it seemed.
  RM: As far as everything that happened on television, people have to realize that it is a television show, first of all, and there are parts of that story that weren’t shown on TV, that the TV show is edited and there’s only a handful of people that actually know what happened in that household. That being said, I’m not the type of person that bad mouths people behind their back, so anything that has happened between Matt Hughes and myself, good or bad, is something I’ll deal exclusively with Matt Hughes about.

• (From FCF) Was there some positive interaction between you and Matt Hughes that was not shown during the episode last night?
  RM: There was some positive, yes. Like I said, I’m the type of person that if I really don’t have anything to nice to say, I’m not gonna say anything at all. Let’s just say I respect Matt Hughes as a fighter and for what he’s done in the Octagon, and if I could take anything positive from it, I suppose it would be some of the training techniques he taught us during the training sessions. But as far as personal interaction between me and him, that’s just something I’m not prepared to comment on at this time.

• Was it [the experience] a lot harder then you expected?
  RM: It was very difficult. I knew they were going to put us through all the rigors of physical testing, and training, and fighting. I think the thing that was harder than I expected was being locked up in a house and not having access to your family and friends, not being able to use the telephone, not being able to watch television, not being able to listen to the radio. Being cooped up in that house sequestered from the rest of society, that was the toughest thing.

• (From FCF) What were the harder aspects of the training itself?
  RM: The most difficult part of the training was that it was their training and not your own. Every fighter has their own training regimen in order to not only train to become a better fighter, but to train for a specific fight. When you’re adhering to someone else’s schedule, I found it difficult to prepare physically and mentally for a fight.

• When exactly were you injured?
  RM: I had had pre-existing conditions with my shoulder, but the actual injury to that shoulder occurred in the first couple of days on the show.

KOTC Indianapolis
Sept. 17 * Edge Sports Complex
Doors open: 6:30 p.m., First bout: 8 p.m.

Main Events
Jeremy Brown vs. Robbie Lawler
Chris Clements vs. Gideon Ray

Feature Bouts
Brad Cottrell vs. Jason Reinhardt 145
PJ Jordan vs. Jeremy Bolt 130
Brandon Quigley vs. Terrance Crumpton "Cobra" Hwt.
Chris Higi vs. Antoine Skinner 155
Scott Hope vs. Clay Guida 155

Main Card
Tommy Lee vs. David Love 145
Chris Prather vs. Geno Roderick 170
Bill Petra vs. Jimmy Boyd 155
Andrew Earles vs. Todd Kiser 185
Ron Fields vs. Robin Johnson 205
Tom Logsdon vs. Billy Kidd 135
Mike Pegg vs. Chad Berriman Hwt.