Final Notes from the Akasaka Fight Festival
Jul 10, 2008
Throughout last week Dream stars Shinya Aoki (Pictures), Tatsuya Kawajiri (Pictures), Caol Uno (Pictures), Yoshihiro Akiyama
(Pictures) and others were present for
open training sessions and interviews at FEG's Akasaka Fight
Festival.
Fellow Dream grand prix participants Aoki and Kawajiri appeared together in what seemed to be a straight man/funny man comedy act, although Kawajiri didn't get the memo.
Aoki carried much of the interview, hitting on a female host and
attempting to look down her top while she was talking to him. While
under a barrage of abuse and being jokingly accused of sexual
harassment by the host, Aoki suggested that T-Blood teammates
Kawajiri and Mitsuhiro
Ishida (Pictures) were two of the biggest perverts
he had ever met and that they constantly talked about girls
backstage.
Kawajiri's mood was much more solemn. He rarely gave more than a one- or two-word answer and did not speak with Aoki.
"On July 21st is Dream 5," he said. "I will have a good fight and win the championship. Everyone, please come to Osaka and cheer for me!"
Aoki then immediately took the microphone.
"In Osaka, I think I will be the one smiling at the end," he said. "I will definitely win the championship."
Uno, who has recently been dubbed "The Prince" in Japan for FEG's latest marketing push toward female fans, gave some insight into his more emotional side.
"When I first fought with B.J. Penn (Pictures) in the UFC, [Tsuyoshi Kohsaka (Pictures)] was my second. When I lost the fight in 11 seconds and when I was crying backstage, he scolded me and said, ‘Don't cry when you lose.' I learned from that, and when I had the rematch with B.J. Penn (Pictures) and resulted in a draw, I cried because I was happy."
Kohsaka was also asked about his impression of Uno. "Even though he is a veteran fighter, he continues to try to learn new things," he said. "This ambitious attitude is good."
"Uno-san is great at concentrating, even during the actual fight or training," commented Uno's training partner and Sengoku standout Eiji Mitsuoka (Pictures). "There are lots of things to learn from him because he is hardworking. Uno-san will 100-percent win the lightweight GP. I think he will have an exciting fight, even against Aoki."
FEG's push to market Yoshihiro Akiyama (Pictures) as MMA's latest pretty boy could not be more transparent. After greasing up and battering Kazushi Sakuraba (Pictures) at the Dynamite 2006 show, Akiyama has become the fighter that fans love to hate. Last Saturday was a different story, however, with all the female fans being moved to ringside and their male counterparts being relegated to the back rows.
Over the next 30 minutes, some of Japan's biggest TV stars discussed exactly why Akiyama is so damn sexy. His impeccable fashion, his soulful singing voice, his popularity in Korea and of course his body were all quoted.
"Usually, fighters have ‘on and off' [periods in training]," said Genki Sudo (Pictures). "But Akiyama-san always has that body. He is always ready to fight."
When he finally appeared, fans went predictably wild and one female host unsuccessfully proposed to the Japanese-born Korean.
"I would like to fight with [Mike] Tyson or Asashoryu," said Akiyama when not talking about his latest pair of crocodile skin loafers and breaking hearts. "I would like to fight against the bad boys."
Mongolian Asashoryu is one of the most dominant and controversial sumo grand champions in history. He is frequently in attendance at FEG-run events, but no hint that he would ever enter the ring was given.
When Akiyama heard that Katsuyori Shibata (Pictures) had challenged him earlier in the week, he replied, "Are you serious? I didn't know that. I think it would be interesting to fight with Japanese fighters."
Shibata's challenge had been a humorous and pessimistic one, stating that he "always loses" and that although he has no right to fight Akiyama, he would like to.
One reporter asked the pro wrestler if he had any chance of winning.
"There is no one who thinks about losing before even fighting!" Shibata abruptly replied and then ended the interview.
Masakatsu Funaki (Pictures), who also appeared with Shibata to discuss pro wrestling, said he would like to have one more fight this year.
"I would like to show how different I am from the last fight," Funaki said. "Please cheer for me."
Hideo Tokoro (Pictures) appeared with a team of ZST compatriots and put on an entertaining tag team grappling match. He also offered his thoughts on his back-and-forth battle with unheralded Darren Uyenoyama (Pictures).
"I lost my stamina during the fight, so I am working on increasing my stamina right now," he said.
Tsuyoshi Kohsaka (Pictures) explained that Tokoro is not used to striking while grappling.
"You cannot give damage unless you constantly find chances to strike," Kohsaka said.
Regarding his inevitable bout against Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto, Tokoro said he would like to fight him at the end of the year or early next year.
"I would like to improve more," he said, "so I can fight against Kid-san."
Fellow Dream grand prix participants Aoki and Kawajiri appeared together in what seemed to be a straight man/funny man comedy act, although Kawajiri didn't get the memo.
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Kawajiri's mood was much more solemn. He rarely gave more than a one- or two-word answer and did not speak with Aoki.
After finishing their sparring exhibitions, Kawajiri took the
microphone.
"On July 21st is Dream 5," he said. "I will have a good fight and win the championship. Everyone, please come to Osaka and cheer for me!"
Aoki then immediately took the microphone.
"In Osaka, I think I will be the one smiling at the end," he said. "I will definitely win the championship."
Uno, who has recently been dubbed "The Prince" in Japan for FEG's latest marketing push toward female fans, gave some insight into his more emotional side.
"When I first fought with B.J. Penn (Pictures) in the UFC, [Tsuyoshi Kohsaka (Pictures)] was my second. When I lost the fight in 11 seconds and when I was crying backstage, he scolded me and said, ‘Don't cry when you lose.' I learned from that, and when I had the rematch with B.J. Penn (Pictures) and resulted in a draw, I cried because I was happy."
Kohsaka was also asked about his impression of Uno. "Even though he is a veteran fighter, he continues to try to learn new things," he said. "This ambitious attitude is good."
"Uno-san is great at concentrating, even during the actual fight or training," commented Uno's training partner and Sengoku standout Eiji Mitsuoka (Pictures). "There are lots of things to learn from him because he is hardworking. Uno-san will 100-percent win the lightweight GP. I think he will have an exciting fight, even against Aoki."
FEG's push to market Yoshihiro Akiyama (Pictures) as MMA's latest pretty boy could not be more transparent. After greasing up and battering Kazushi Sakuraba (Pictures) at the Dynamite 2006 show, Akiyama has become the fighter that fans love to hate. Last Saturday was a different story, however, with all the female fans being moved to ringside and their male counterparts being relegated to the back rows.
Over the next 30 minutes, some of Japan's biggest TV stars discussed exactly why Akiyama is so damn sexy. His impeccable fashion, his soulful singing voice, his popularity in Korea and of course his body were all quoted.
"Usually, fighters have ‘on and off' [periods in training]," said Genki Sudo (Pictures). "But Akiyama-san always has that body. He is always ready to fight."
When he finally appeared, fans went predictably wild and one female host unsuccessfully proposed to the Japanese-born Korean.
"I would like to fight with [Mike] Tyson or Asashoryu," said Akiyama when not talking about his latest pair of crocodile skin loafers and breaking hearts. "I would like to fight against the bad boys."
Mongolian Asashoryu is one of the most dominant and controversial sumo grand champions in history. He is frequently in attendance at FEG-run events, but no hint that he would ever enter the ring was given.
When Akiyama heard that Katsuyori Shibata (Pictures) had challenged him earlier in the week, he replied, "Are you serious? I didn't know that. I think it would be interesting to fight with Japanese fighters."
Shibata's challenge had been a humorous and pessimistic one, stating that he "always loses" and that although he has no right to fight Akiyama, he would like to.
One reporter asked the pro wrestler if he had any chance of winning.
"There is no one who thinks about losing before even fighting!" Shibata abruptly replied and then ended the interview.
Masakatsu Funaki (Pictures), who also appeared with Shibata to discuss pro wrestling, said he would like to have one more fight this year.
"I would like to show how different I am from the last fight," Funaki said. "Please cheer for me."
Hideo Tokoro (Pictures) appeared with a team of ZST compatriots and put on an entertaining tag team grappling match. He also offered his thoughts on his back-and-forth battle with unheralded Darren Uyenoyama (Pictures).
"I lost my stamina during the fight, so I am working on increasing my stamina right now," he said.
Tsuyoshi Kohsaka (Pictures) explained that Tokoro is not used to striking while grappling.
"You cannot give damage unless you constantly find chances to strike," Kohsaka said.
Regarding his inevitable bout against Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto, Tokoro said he would like to fight him at the end of the year or early next year.
"I would like to improve more," he said, "so I can fight against Kid-san."
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