Kawajiri’s Comeback
In Limbo
Taro Kotani Dec 11, 2007
Sherdog: In March it was announced that
PRIDE had been bought out by the owner of the UFC. Were you
surprised at the news?
Kawajiri: I heard a lot of positive words from the staff, so there were no worries. I was excited that there is finally a place to decide who really is best in the world. I figured that there would be more opportunities.
Sherdog: Over the last couple of years, the popularity of MMA seems to be growing exponentially in the United States. Many new organizations are formed, and it seems that the U.S. is the center of the current MMA market. Are you interested in fighting the U.S.?
Kawajiri: I am allergic to airplanes. I was born and raised in Japan; thus, if possible, I prefer fighting in Japan. When I think about the future, like after my retirement, I personally would like to have accomplished a lot here. But on the other hand, there are lots of appealing places to fight overseas. If I ever have any opportunities to fight overseas, I'd like to give it a try and square off against strong fighters.
Sherdog: Looking at the UFC, fighters
who had success in Japan, such as Mirko "Cro Cop" and Mauricio
Shogun, haven't had success as expected. Why do you think this is
happening?
Kawajiri: That comes from the differences in fighting in the ring and the Octagon. There are different sets of rules and the length of rounds is different. Now that I think about it, the exact same thing was happening in the past when fighters who are used to the Octagon could not succeed in the Japanese ring.
Sherdog: Japanese fighters like Kazuhiro Nakamura (Pictures), Akihiro Gono (Pictures) and Ryo Chonan (Pictures) have now fought in the UFC. Are you interested in stepping in the UFC Octagon?
Kawajiri: As for now, not really. If you look at the lightweight division, the champion was caught with steroid use. The lightweight division doesn't seem to be swelling like the other weight classes. Also the exclusive contracts wouldn't work with me. I want to fight in Japan as well.
Kawajiri: People quite often tell me that my style is suited for cage fights. This is under my own discretion. But if I get some fights under my belt, understand the rules and learn to push my opponent to the cage and throw elbows and punches, I think I can have some success.
Sherdog: Regarding PRIDE, the Lightweight Grand Prix originally scheduled for May was postponed. Were you worried?
Kawajiri: No, not at that time. The Fertittas' purchasing of PRIDE was announced in March, and there just wasn't enough time for preparation. That's all I was thinking.
Sherdog: Months after the Grand Prix was postponed, the PRIDE office closed. What was your reaction?
Kawajiri: I had already given up on PRIDE at that time. It was frustrating, but there was nothing I could do about it. It wasn't much of a surprise.
Sherdog: How do you feel about the Lightweight Grand Prix not taking place?
Kawajiri: I have no regrets, but I was looking forward to the Grand Prix more than the fans were. I spent a lot of time last year training to prepare and to win the Grand Prix. There were times when I felt, "Really? It's not going to be held?"
Sherdog: Some feel that the fighters are the worst victims of the disappearance of PRIDE. Fighters like you, Mitsuhiro Ishida (Pictures) and Shinya Aoki (Pictures) seemed very loyal and patiently waited for PRIDE to restart. Why did you have such loyalty?
Kawajiri: Because I knew that the Japanese staff members were dreaming of restarting PRIDE. They were working their butts off to restart PRIDE. I wanted to fight in front of those staff members and the fans in that ring. That's why I patiently waited.
The reason why I fight is because I want to be the best fighter in my weight class. I firmly believe that PRIDE was the site where the strongest in the world was determined. Once PRIDE was gone, I couldn't look at other organizations and consider that they were determining the strongest in the world.
It's like falling in love. You might get dumped by a girl, but you just can't forget about her. For the same reason, I couldn't forget about PRIDE and move on. If PRIDE was restarting, it would have been the best place for me to fight.
Sherdog: How was your training this year? You couldn't really see what was ahead. How did you manage to keep up the motivation?
Kawajiri: Well, I had assignments for myself. I wanted to carefully handle each assignment. There was no way that I can complete those assignments in two or three months. So I thought that it might be good to spend a year really working on certain aspects of my game. It was not vague training. I had specific areas that I needed to work on. I had a lot to learn and was concentrating on getting better. I had no worries.
Sherdog: What were the assignments?
Kawajiri: Punches and submitting on the ground. I had a tendency to just ground-and-pound after takedowns. When I have the chances, I theorized that it's better to finish fights with submissions rather than continuing to attack with punches. Submitting was one area, and another was my basic stamina. I noticed that I have a bigger upper body compared to a lot of people, which means that I need a lower body stronger than others. I needed a strong lower body to contain my upper body. In order to strengthen those areas, I did a lot of aerobic training. Sprinting up the stairs and hills. Also running a certain distance at a certain speed.
Sherdog: How do schedule your workouts? Do you work on different areas depending on the day?
Kawajiri: I work out at a boxing gym three times a week. So those three days are pretty much dedicated to striking. Other days, I work on grappling and MMA sparring.
Sherdog: Who do you work out with? Do they affect you in a positive way to keep up your motivation?
Kawajiri: At the boxing gym, there are a number of professional MMA fighters such as Hiroyuki Takaya (Pictures), Kenji Osawa (Pictures) and Koyama. They had fights scheduled, so as they pushed themselves to prepare for fights, I did the same with them. I pushed myself so that I would mentally get into a mode of actually fighting. At our gym, T-BLOOD, we have Shigetoshi Iwase (Pictures) and Mitsuhiro Ishida (Pictures). They are training hard. I can't get lazy and just sit back. We did a good job of inspiring one another.
Sherdog: Speaking of getting inspired, did you watch the HERO'S Middleweight Tournament?
Kawajiri: Yes. It was very exciting. A while ago, they used to do stuff like have guys who usually fight at 65 kg fight at 70 kg. But now they have excellent fighters at 70 kg. This year's tournament featured top-class fighters at 70 kg. It was fun to watch as a fan.
Sherdog: Would you like to fight "JZ" Calvancanti?
Kawajiri: Definitely. I am a fighter.
Sherdog: So even after relinquishing your Shooto belt and with the PRIDE Grand Prix canceled, you didn't lose yourself.
Kawajiri: No, not at all. I love MMA. I knew things will work out. In this world of MMA, you can have a taste of heaven or have a taste of hell all at your own ability. I am confident with myself that I can survive in this tough field, so I was never lost.
Sherdog: There were some reports that you were working on elbows. How much did you work on elbows?
Kawajiri: I did some elbow striking drills using mitts. Also MMA sparring with elbows. I was preparing for whatever could have happened.
Sherdog: Your fight on New Year's Eve was announced on Nov. 21. Any comments?
Kawajiri: I had some doubts, and at the same time I was very excited.
Sherdog: When did it become official that you were fighting?
Kawajiri: It was the beginning of November.
Sherdog: This is an event produced by the former staff members of PRIDE, and also Nobuhiko Takada (Pictures), former PRIDE spokesman, said that this event will be held to mark a period. How do you interpret this event?
Kawajiri: The PRIDE in Tokyo closed all of a sudden, but I perceived that the Japanese PRIDE staff truly wished to resume PRIDE events. They had such desire to bring back the atmosphere that PRIDE had. I want to respond properly to their passion as well as the passion from the fans. I want to fight as hard as I can and respond to all expectations and enjoy the event for myself as well.
Sherdog: Do you feel thankful to the PRIDE staff?
Kawajiri: I'm thankful and I love PRIDE. Fans will have another chance to enjoy that atmosphere in the arena, and I'll get a taste of that too.
Sherdog: For the New Year's Eve event, the Russian company M-1 as well as other Japanese organizations, even FEG, who runs K-1 and HERO'S shows, will be teaming up for the event.
Kawajiri: It's a very good thing. But I wish that they could have done this a lot earlier. It would have been better if they had worked out together to create a place where fighters from all organizations could compete to decide who is the best fighter. I bet all the fighters feel that way. Fans probably feel the same too. For example, you can only imagine what would happen if the PRIDE champion fights the HERO'S champion. This was one of the reasons why I decided to compete in PRIDE.
Sherdog: This is the first time since your first fight in Shooto that you have a year in between fights. How different was this year in terms of your time usage compared to when you first fought in Shooto?
Kawajiri: When I had a year off after my first fight at Shooto, I couldn't see what was ahead for me. This year, I had confidence in myself and just tried to utilize this opportunity to prepare for fights. Once my fights are scheduled I wanted to make sure I had what's needed to take me to the top. It was a meaningful time.
Sherdog: How are you planning to fight on New Year's Eve?
Kawajiri: First and foremost, winning the fight is most important. Don't get carried away by my self-satisfaction and get into a slugfest. I'd like to win in a satisfying way. It's the last PRIDE-related event. I want the fans who come out to the arena to relish the wonderful atmosphere that they'll experience and also reassure that MMA is indeed awesome. I will enjoy myself as much as possible and fight well so that I can carry things out from the fight for next year.
Sherdog: What's your goal from now on? In the past, there were Shooto and PRIDE; the stage seemed to have been set. In a time of turmoil for MMA, what would you say is your goal?
Kawajiri: My goal is to be the strongest fighter in the world. It doesn't matter where I fight. I want to be the strongest in the world.
Kawajiri: I heard a lot of positive words from the staff, so there were no worries. I was excited that there is finally a place to decide who really is best in the world. I figured that there would be more opportunities.
Sherdog: Over the last couple of years, the popularity of MMA seems to be growing exponentially in the United States. Many new organizations are formed, and it seems that the U.S. is the center of the current MMA market. Are you interested in fighting the U.S.?
Kawajiri: I am allergic to airplanes. I was born and raised in Japan; thus, if possible, I prefer fighting in Japan. When I think about the future, like after my retirement, I personally would like to have accomplished a lot here. But on the other hand, there are lots of appealing places to fight overseas. If I ever have any opportunities to fight overseas, I'd like to give it a try and square off against strong fighters.
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Kawajiri: That comes from the differences in fighting in the ring and the Octagon. There are different sets of rules and the length of rounds is different. Now that I think about it, the exact same thing was happening in the past when fighters who are used to the Octagon could not succeed in the Japanese ring.
Sherdog: Japanese fighters like Kazuhiro Nakamura (Pictures), Akihiro Gono (Pictures) and Ryo Chonan (Pictures) have now fought in the UFC. Are you interested in stepping in the UFC Octagon?
Kawajiri: As for now, not really. If you look at the lightweight division, the champion was caught with steroid use. The lightweight division doesn't seem to be swelling like the other weight classes. Also the exclusive contracts wouldn't work with me. I want to fight in Japan as well.
Sherdog: Have you imagined yourself
fighting in a cage?
Kawajiri: People quite often tell me that my style is suited for cage fights. This is under my own discretion. But if I get some fights under my belt, understand the rules and learn to push my opponent to the cage and throw elbows and punches, I think I can have some success.
Sherdog: Regarding PRIDE, the Lightweight Grand Prix originally scheduled for May was postponed. Were you worried?
Kawajiri: No, not at that time. The Fertittas' purchasing of PRIDE was announced in March, and there just wasn't enough time for preparation. That's all I was thinking.
Sherdog: Months after the Grand Prix was postponed, the PRIDE office closed. What was your reaction?
Kawajiri: I had already given up on PRIDE at that time. It was frustrating, but there was nothing I could do about it. It wasn't much of a surprise.
Sherdog: How do you feel about the Lightweight Grand Prix not taking place?
Kawajiri: I have no regrets, but I was looking forward to the Grand Prix more than the fans were. I spent a lot of time last year training to prepare and to win the Grand Prix. There were times when I felt, "Really? It's not going to be held?"
Sherdog: Some feel that the fighters are the worst victims of the disappearance of PRIDE. Fighters like you, Mitsuhiro Ishida (Pictures) and Shinya Aoki (Pictures) seemed very loyal and patiently waited for PRIDE to restart. Why did you have such loyalty?
Kawajiri: Because I knew that the Japanese staff members were dreaming of restarting PRIDE. They were working their butts off to restart PRIDE. I wanted to fight in front of those staff members and the fans in that ring. That's why I patiently waited.
The reason why I fight is because I want to be the best fighter in my weight class. I firmly believe that PRIDE was the site where the strongest in the world was determined. Once PRIDE was gone, I couldn't look at other organizations and consider that they were determining the strongest in the world.
It's like falling in love. You might get dumped by a girl, but you just can't forget about her. For the same reason, I couldn't forget about PRIDE and move on. If PRIDE was restarting, it would have been the best place for me to fight.
Sherdog: How was your training this year? You couldn't really see what was ahead. How did you manage to keep up the motivation?
Kawajiri: Well, I had assignments for myself. I wanted to carefully handle each assignment. There was no way that I can complete those assignments in two or three months. So I thought that it might be good to spend a year really working on certain aspects of my game. It was not vague training. I had specific areas that I needed to work on. I had a lot to learn and was concentrating on getting better. I had no worries.
Sherdog: What were the assignments?
Kawajiri: Punches and submitting on the ground. I had a tendency to just ground-and-pound after takedowns. When I have the chances, I theorized that it's better to finish fights with submissions rather than continuing to attack with punches. Submitting was one area, and another was my basic stamina. I noticed that I have a bigger upper body compared to a lot of people, which means that I need a lower body stronger than others. I needed a strong lower body to contain my upper body. In order to strengthen those areas, I did a lot of aerobic training. Sprinting up the stairs and hills. Also running a certain distance at a certain speed.
Sherdog: How do schedule your workouts? Do you work on different areas depending on the day?
Kawajiri: I work out at a boxing gym three times a week. So those three days are pretty much dedicated to striking. Other days, I work on grappling and MMA sparring.
Sherdog: Who do you work out with? Do they affect you in a positive way to keep up your motivation?
Kawajiri: At the boxing gym, there are a number of professional MMA fighters such as Hiroyuki Takaya (Pictures), Kenji Osawa (Pictures) and Koyama. They had fights scheduled, so as they pushed themselves to prepare for fights, I did the same with them. I pushed myself so that I would mentally get into a mode of actually fighting. At our gym, T-BLOOD, we have Shigetoshi Iwase (Pictures) and Mitsuhiro Ishida (Pictures). They are training hard. I can't get lazy and just sit back. We did a good job of inspiring one another.
Sherdog: Speaking of getting inspired, did you watch the HERO'S Middleweight Tournament?
Kawajiri: Yes. It was very exciting. A while ago, they used to do stuff like have guys who usually fight at 65 kg fight at 70 kg. But now they have excellent fighters at 70 kg. This year's tournament featured top-class fighters at 70 kg. It was fun to watch as a fan.
Sherdog: Would you like to fight "JZ" Calvancanti?
Kawajiri: Definitely. I am a fighter.
Sherdog: So even after relinquishing your Shooto belt and with the PRIDE Grand Prix canceled, you didn't lose yourself.
Kawajiri: No, not at all. I love MMA. I knew things will work out. In this world of MMA, you can have a taste of heaven or have a taste of hell all at your own ability. I am confident with myself that I can survive in this tough field, so I was never lost.
Sherdog: There were some reports that you were working on elbows. How much did you work on elbows?
Kawajiri: I did some elbow striking drills using mitts. Also MMA sparring with elbows. I was preparing for whatever could have happened.
Sherdog: Your fight on New Year's Eve was announced on Nov. 21. Any comments?
Kawajiri: I had some doubts, and at the same time I was very excited.
Sherdog: When did it become official that you were fighting?
Kawajiri: It was the beginning of November.
Sherdog: This is an event produced by the former staff members of PRIDE, and also Nobuhiko Takada (Pictures), former PRIDE spokesman, said that this event will be held to mark a period. How do you interpret this event?
Kawajiri: The PRIDE in Tokyo closed all of a sudden, but I perceived that the Japanese PRIDE staff truly wished to resume PRIDE events. They had such desire to bring back the atmosphere that PRIDE had. I want to respond properly to their passion as well as the passion from the fans. I want to fight as hard as I can and respond to all expectations and enjoy the event for myself as well.
Sherdog: Do you feel thankful to the PRIDE staff?
Kawajiri: I'm thankful and I love PRIDE. Fans will have another chance to enjoy that atmosphere in the arena, and I'll get a taste of that too.
Sherdog: For the New Year's Eve event, the Russian company M-1 as well as other Japanese organizations, even FEG, who runs K-1 and HERO'S shows, will be teaming up for the event.
Kawajiri: It's a very good thing. But I wish that they could have done this a lot earlier. It would have been better if they had worked out together to create a place where fighters from all organizations could compete to decide who is the best fighter. I bet all the fighters feel that way. Fans probably feel the same too. For example, you can only imagine what would happen if the PRIDE champion fights the HERO'S champion. This was one of the reasons why I decided to compete in PRIDE.
Sherdog: This is the first time since your first fight in Shooto that you have a year in between fights. How different was this year in terms of your time usage compared to when you first fought in Shooto?
Kawajiri: When I had a year off after my first fight at Shooto, I couldn't see what was ahead for me. This year, I had confidence in myself and just tried to utilize this opportunity to prepare for fights. Once my fights are scheduled I wanted to make sure I had what's needed to take me to the top. It was a meaningful time.
Sherdog: How are you planning to fight on New Year's Eve?
Kawajiri: First and foremost, winning the fight is most important. Don't get carried away by my self-satisfaction and get into a slugfest. I'd like to win in a satisfying way. It's the last PRIDE-related event. I want the fans who come out to the arena to relish the wonderful atmosphere that they'll experience and also reassure that MMA is indeed awesome. I will enjoy myself as much as possible and fight well so that I can carry things out from the fight for next year.
Sherdog: What's your goal from now on? In the past, there were Shooto and PRIDE; the stage seemed to have been set. In a time of turmoil for MMA, what would you say is your goal?
Kawajiri: My goal is to be the strongest fighter in the world. It doesn't matter where I fight. I want to be the strongest in the world.
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