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PRIDE Bushido Vol. 2 Post-Fight Interview Recaps
February 15, 2004 Japan
For those of you who can't download video files because of connection speed or such, the following is a short recap of the post-fight video interviews conducted by PRIDE FC (Sorry, English interviews only):
Sean Shrek When asked about his impression of the fight He stated that everything went really good, everything went well as planned, he went there in great shape looking to prove a point, non-stop action, keep moving, keep working, give the fans something to watch and something to be excited about.
When asked about Ryuki Ueyama He stated that Ueyama is very tough, that Ueyama is hard to submit, Ueyama is very slippery on the ground, Ueyama moves well, hard to take down, but that he (Shrek) just went out there and kept going after him - relentless attack.
When asked about his goals His goal is to fight at all the PRIDE events, he wants to fight Hayato Sakurai, Carlos Newton, Sakuraba - he wants to win the welterweight title and continue to dominate the competition and be the number one fighter in the world.
When asked about the biggest joy instilled in the fight He stated that he felt that he went out there and showed a lot of ability - jiu-jitsu, wrestling, knees, ground n' pound - he was able to dominate every position, that's what he went there to do - "upper-non-verba" - "deeds not words" - I went out there to prove a point and he felt that he proved the point.
Chris Brennan (looks disappointed) When asked how he felt He stated he was sorry for his very disappointing performance - the fight went the total opposite of his game plan so he apologized again for his performance and said thank goodness he has a couple of more fights on his PRIDE contract (chuckling).
When asked about Daiju Takase's strategy He stated he didn't want to talk bad about him - he thought Takase is a very boring fighter - Takase was good at holding him down but it was his fault for letting him grill his game plan on him and make him stay on his back and not be able to be aggressive as he wanted to be - so he stated that Takase was good...good technical fighter but he was hoping for Takase to attack him more, stand-up more - exchange on the feet - so he thinks Takase is a good fighter just like he said before - he thinks Takase is underestimated because he lost to some big names but he would like to fight him again with a different game plan - he stated that he is disappointed right now.
Mario Sperry When asked how he felt after the fight He stated that he felt pretty good - he's been training very hard since he had surgery on his hand - He stated his last fight in PRIDE, December 31st, he didn't fight very well - actually, very bad - he was very disappointed with that - He said in a way it was good, it made him train even harder and harder to get back in PRIDE and give a good show and that's what happen - He feels good and very glad for all the work he did back in Brazil and he thanked PRIDE and the Brazilian Top Team for all their help - they were the most responsible for this win.
When asked since he won by strikes if he'd been training for striking He stated that he'd been practicing Jiu-Jitsu for over 28 years but he also did train some Muay Thai, some boxing but he never had the opportunity to use it because most of his fights, he was able to take his opponents down and do what he does best, ground fighting - so he trained a lot of punching and kicking - He stated that Bencic came to hit him and he hit him back - He stated his punch was stronger than Bencic's punch.
When asked if he was waiting to participate in the Grand Prix heavyweight tournament He stated that the thing that he likes most in his life is to fight and so if he has the opportunity to fight in the Grand Prix, he would appreciate that very much and that it would be a great opportunity to train hard and also to have Antonio (Rodrigo) Nogueira to put himself for the Grand Prix - the Grand Prix is going to be 16 men so he would like to go - it all depends on PRIDE promoters
When asked about Mirko "Cro Cop" in the corner of Bencic and if it affected his fight He stated that "Cro Cop" is a great fighter - That he respects "Cro Cop" very much but that Noguiera hit him - He stated that they, the Brazilian Top Team, think that if one of their students or their members win, everybody wins - In a way, it's like Brazilian Top Team won, Nogueira won.
Next question was directed to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira who was sitting right next to Sperry - Was asked what he thought of "Cro Cop" in the corner of Bencic He stated he trusted Mario because he knew how hard he was training - Nogueira said it was good to face "Cro Cop" again on the other side of the corner but that he knew his school had better technique than "Cro Cop's" school and today they could prove that - they have a lot of respect for them ("Cro Cop's" school) - Nogueira stated again that he has a lot of trust in Mario.
Last questions was directed to Nogueira but was inaudible Nogueira responded by saying that he is preparing himself to be in match in April
Rodrigo Gracie When asked what his impression was of Hayato Sakurai He stated that Sakurai was a very aggressive fighter - He said he use to watch his fights long ago - He said he was very happy that he won but he thinks that Sakurai is a very tough fighter
When asked what his game plan was He stated that his game plan was to take him to the ground and pass his guard and try to finish him but Sakurai has a very good guard and it didn't happen but this time he really did try to go for the finish.
When asked if there are any fighters he would like to fight He stated that he would like to fight Kazushi Sakuraba - it's vengeance for his family
He also introduce his new cousin Crosley Gracie and stated that he (Crosley) fought in Pancrase and that he will help his family train and will be the next one to soon fight in PRIDE - Crosley went on to say that the next generation of Gracie's are coming.
Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic When asked if the fight went exactly as he planned He stated that he can't predict every minute of the fight but he knew he was going to finish the fight in the first round - not because he was underestimating Yamamoto but because he knows his goals.
When asked about the interval (two weeks) being to short between fights He stated that it wasn't too short, as he has said many times before, it is his job - and he enjoys fighting - He also said it's the first time he has stayed so long in Japan, more than two weeks - it was worth it - he spent a great time there - and he thanked Mr. Koizumi for seeing him - it was a great honor for him that he was received by the Prime Minister of Japan as a representative of Croatia. It was a great thing not just for him but for his country too, and of course, those two successful fights and he's going home tomorrow very happy because he hasn't seen his family for almost three weeks and he's just waiting to see his son.
When asked about talking during the fight (does it fire him up or make him laugh) He stated that it doesn't bother him but it's just not the way that a sportsman behaves himself like Yamamoto - He said he would never do that in a fight - because there was only one kick before the finish of the fight - Yamamoto was destroyed already and he's laughing at him (Cro Cop) and he though Oh, if it makes him happy, it's okay, but he doesn't think anyone should do that - He (Yamamoto) must show respect, he must show respect because he could have hurt him more if he wanted to because there was still time before the referee stopped the fight - He stated that he could have kicked Yamamoto on the ground but he didn't want to - there was no need for that but...if it makes him happy (talking), it is welcome but it doesn't bother him.
"Cro Cop" stated the when he arrives in Croatia that he will take two days off before he starts production on his movie on Wednesday or Thursday (that he's been working on for two years) - An American production - He hopes that they will do a good job but that the movie will not have any professional actors except a couple - He is using his friends from his ex-unit, all martial arts experts, all gun experts, special police officers - He hopes that they will make a great movie - he hopes the fighting scenes will be the most realistic ever and hopes to be done in May and shown at the Cann film festival. The name of the movie will be Ultimate Seven.
When asked about the Grand Prix heavyweight tournament (and who would he would like to fight) He stated that he will be in the best possible shape and that the PRIDE Grand Prix will motivate him a lot and that he will do his best to take the belt even though there will be some excellent fighters like Nogueira, Fedor, Silva maybe and about his opponent (he would like to face), he doesn't care - but he did say that he would like to fight Mr. (Yoshihiro) Takayama for saying he was afraid to fight him on New Years Eve - he would like to shut his mouth.
(2/15/04)
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