From Yoshida v. Ishii press conference.
Ishii:
From my days as a judoka, actually from when I was admiring the tradition of judo as a young child, I am very happy to have a chance to face Yoshida. I'm also happy to punch my senior in the jaw. I hope to put on an exciting fight.
Yoshida:
Well, the fight with Ishii is now official and as it's his first fight, I think its a good opportunity to teach him how difficult MMA really is. He just said, "I'll punch him in the jaw" but it's not that easy to do so. I want to show everyone just how difficult MMA is. He's 17 years younger than me but I will give it my all and absolutely want to win this fight.
Q: Ishii, why did you choose Yoshida for your fight?
Ishii: I've always respected Yoshida as my senior and I feel that it is a wall that I must get over. That's why I wanted to fight him.
Q: Yoshida, How did you feel when you were told that Ishii wants to fight you?
Yoshida: At that time, I wasn't sure if he'd come to Sengoku. But I had a feeling that we'd fight if he came here, but there was talk of him going to the UFC. I was surprised to be the opponent for his first ever fight.
Q: Ishii, what is you strategy for the fight?
Ishii: I don't want to reveal my plan, but its necessary to study him so I can tell you I'm doing that.
Q: Ishii, what is the status on your neck? Where are you training now?
Ishii: My neck is 100% fine. At first I made a mistake - well I got some bad medical treatment. But now I've found a good hospital. I train at at a gym in Adachi-ku named Power of Dream.
Q: Ishii, will you wear you judo gi at the fight?
Ishii: I won't wear it. I retired from the judo world, so I won't even wear my gi during the walk-out.
Q: Yoshida, what do you think about Ishii's body transformation as he's converted to MMA?
Yoshida: My impression of him in his judo days was plump, but I think he's become more toned since he started training for MMA.
Q: Yoshida, what kind of adjustments will you make for the fight?
Yoshida: Nothing special. I will make sure I put everything into my training sessions. I hope that we both put on a good fight. It's not like there's any video of him to study, so.. I will do everything I can.
Q: Ishii, what do you think of Yoshida as an MMA fighter?
Ishii: I've been watching Yoshida since 2002. I think highly of him as a senior of mine in judo.
Q: Ishii, how do you think the fight will go? You said you'd punch him in the jaw. Do you see a KO? An ippon?
Ishii: I said that half in jest (laughter). I want it to be an exciting match. I don't want any lay and pray.
Q: Ishii, as it's a New Year's event, but do you want to fight during the old year or new year?
Ishii: This year is an unlucky year, and next year my fortune is supposed to be better so personally I want to fight on January 3rd.
Yoshida: I don't care either way but this is the year before a critical age and next year is supposed to bring bad luck, so I would like to fight at the end of the year.
Translated by me.
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Satoshi Ishii - "I'm happy to punch him in the jaw"
