18 Questions for Tatsuya Kawajiri
Cavalcante Win
Taro Kotani Jun 24, 2009
Tatsuya
Kawajiri has re-established himself as one of the sport’s
premier lightweights. The 31-year-old now happily married Japanese
standout has scored back-to-back victories, the latest a unanimous
decision against American Top Team ace Gesias “JZ”
Cavalcante in May.
Kawajiri (24-5-2) will break from mixed martial arts for a K-1 rules bout with two-time K-1 World Max champion Masato Kobayashi on July 13 in Tokyo. The former Shooto titleholder sat down with Sherdog.com for an exclusive interview to discuss his most recent win and what lies ahead.
Sherdog: How do you feel about the fight
against Cavalcante?
Kawajiri: All in all, I am just glad that I won the fight. I didn’t get stuck in certain movements in this fight. I used different combinations of striking and grappling at different stages of the fight. That was something that I wanted to accomplish. I wanted to show that MMA isn’t just punches and kicks or just submissions. I think I was successful in doing so throughout the fight, so I am satisfied with the win, even though it was not a knockout. I fought smart. I wanted to keep attacking with different techniques without getting caught in certain moves. I made Cavalcante keep thinking and guessing about what I was going to do next. I was able to panic him by keeping up the assault for full rounds, and, in the process, I neutralized his game.
Sherdog: Did your impression of Cavalcante change after the fight?
Kawajiri: He was definitely strong, as I had imagined previously. I felt he had a stronger chin than I expected. Before the fight, I thought he had a weak chin. My trainer and I watched his tapes and realized that he guards his chin very tightly, textbook boxing style, when he is on his feet. We guessed he does that because he had a weak chin. I landed decent punches here and there in the fight, but he just wouldn’t back down. He was very tough.
Sherdog: Did you feel any pressure going into the fight after losses in big matches against Takanori Gomi in 2005, Gilbert Melendez in 2006 and Eddie Alvarez last year?
Kawajiri: I didn’t feel any pressure, but I knew that if I lost to Cavalcante, people wouldn’t look at me as one of the top lightweights in the world. Just like you mentioned, I have lost to the top fighters in the past, and another loss in a big fight would make my stock fall.
Sherdog: Early on, Cavalcante was countering your jabs and low kicks very well. Did it surprise you?
Kawajiri: I was trying to control the distance between him and attack using my front leg kicks, but he was very quick and accurate in countering me with strikes, so I just stopped. It wasn’t so much of a surprise. One of his punches caught me right in the eye, and my vision was blurry for some time. I did recover fairly quickly, though. I saw his punches very well after my vision was back.
Sherdog: Did you lose your contacts?
Kawajiri: Yes. Both of my contacts fell off, but that didn’t affect me much.
Sherdog: Your double-leg tackle attempts against Cavalcante came as a surprise. We are used to seeing you attempt takedowns from under hooks. Can you talk about the change?
Kawajiri: It was part of the game plan, trying to attack in different styles.
Sherdog: We did get to see different aspects your game. Did you have similar plans against Alvarez?
Kawajiri: Actually, I had the same game plan as the fight against Alvarez -- throw jabs and low kicks, control the distance between myself and the opponent and look for takedowns if I have the chance. The difference between this fight and the one with Alvarez was that I kept my composure mentally during the fight. Even after the fight wore on in the second round, I was able to land good jabs, kicks and take Cavalcante down. If I had mental breakdowns like I’ve had in the past, I would have lost my mind and just thrown big overhand punches, right and left. I really see something changing inside of me. I feel I have grown a little. I am happy about it.
Kawajiri (24-5-2) will break from mixed martial arts for a K-1 rules bout with two-time K-1 World Max champion Masato Kobayashi on July 13 in Tokyo. The former Shooto titleholder sat down with Sherdog.com for an exclusive interview to discuss his most recent win and what lies ahead.
Advertisement
Kawajiri: All in all, I am just glad that I won the fight. I didn’t get stuck in certain movements in this fight. I used different combinations of striking and grappling at different stages of the fight. That was something that I wanted to accomplish. I wanted to show that MMA isn’t just punches and kicks or just submissions. I think I was successful in doing so throughout the fight, so I am satisfied with the win, even though it was not a knockout. I fought smart. I wanted to keep attacking with different techniques without getting caught in certain moves. I made Cavalcante keep thinking and guessing about what I was going to do next. I was able to panic him by keeping up the assault for full rounds, and, in the process, I neutralized his game.
Sherdog: Did your impression of Cavalcante change after the fight?
Kawajiri: He was definitely strong, as I had imagined previously. I felt he had a stronger chin than I expected. Before the fight, I thought he had a weak chin. My trainer and I watched his tapes and realized that he guards his chin very tightly, textbook boxing style, when he is on his feet. We guessed he does that because he had a weak chin. I landed decent punches here and there in the fight, but he just wouldn’t back down. He was very tough.
Sherdog: Did you feel any pressure going into the fight after losses in big matches against Takanori Gomi in 2005, Gilbert Melendez in 2006 and Eddie Alvarez last year?
Kawajiri: I didn’t feel any pressure, but I knew that if I lost to Cavalcante, people wouldn’t look at me as one of the top lightweights in the world. Just like you mentioned, I have lost to the top fighters in the past, and another loss in a big fight would make my stock fall.
Sherdog: Early on, Cavalcante was countering your jabs and low kicks very well. Did it surprise you?
Kawajiri: I was trying to control the distance between him and attack using my front leg kicks, but he was very quick and accurate in countering me with strikes, so I just stopped. It wasn’t so much of a surprise. One of his punches caught me right in the eye, and my vision was blurry for some time. I did recover fairly quickly, though. I saw his punches very well after my vision was back.
Sherdog: Did you lose your contacts?
Kawajiri: Yes. Both of my contacts fell off, but that didn’t affect me much.
Sherdog: Your double-leg tackle attempts against Cavalcante came as a surprise. We are used to seeing you attempt takedowns from under hooks. Can you talk about the change?
Kawajiri: It was part of the game plan, trying to attack in different styles.
Sherdog: We did get to see different aspects your game. Did you have similar plans against Alvarez?
Kawajiri: Actually, I had the same game plan as the fight against Alvarez -- throw jabs and low kicks, control the distance between myself and the opponent and look for takedowns if I have the chance. The difference between this fight and the one with Alvarez was that I kept my composure mentally during the fight. Even after the fight wore on in the second round, I was able to land good jabs, kicks and take Cavalcante down. If I had mental breakdowns like I’ve had in the past, I would have lost my mind and just thrown big overhand punches, right and left. I really see something changing inside of me. I feel I have grown a little. I am happy about it.
Related Articles
