On Monday, Tatsuya Kawajiri (Pictures) will face Eddie Alvarez (Pictures) in the Heiwa Dream 5 lightweight grand prix final round. While some may not pick him as the favorite to win the tournament, there is at least one person who selects Kawajiri as the sure victor.

Kawajiri himself.

Sherdog.com caught up with the former Shooto welterweight champion at T-Blood.

Sherdog: You had the opportunity to take part in the inaugural Dream show. What was your feeling about the new organization?
Kawajiri: At that time, I really thought that it was a chance for me. To be a part of something new like this doesn’t happen frequently.

Sherdog: What do you mean by “at that time?” Are you feeling different now?
Kawajiri: I don’t feel any different now, but at that time I was kind of romping around. Too much merriment. I was in a world of my own.

Sherdog: Your first fight at Dream turned out to be one for the lightweight grand prix. What was it like to see the fighters who were participating in the tournament, especially after the Pride lightweight grand prix was called off in 2007?
Kawajiri: The tournament with the Pride lightweights and the Hero’s lightweights, it could be anybody’s tournament considering the depth of fighters who were participating. It was really exciting for me. Even objectively thinking, I really believed that the tournament would be fun to watch.

Sherdog: Were you conscious of the Hero’s fighters in any way?
Kawajiri: Yes. I had self-respect, having fought in Pride, and just did not want to lose against Hero’s fighters.

Sherdog: You are fighting at 70 kilograms for the first time in quite some time. Is it easier for you to fight at 70 kilograms?
Kawajiri: I think so. I fight best at 70 kilograms. But I changed my tactics for cutting weight. Because of that, I weighed in OK, but I actually fought weighing a bit heavier than the times when I fought at 73 kilograms.

Sherdog: In Dream 1, you did look physically bigger compared to the past when you fought at 70 kilograms.
Kawajiri: I weighed about 78 kilograms in that fight. I never weighed more than 74 kilograms before when I had to weigh in at 70 kilograms. I was a little bit heavy when I fought Luiz “Buscape” Firmino as well. I weighed around 76 or 77 kilograms.

Sherdog: In your fight against Kultar “Black Mamba” Gill, you really struggled to take him down. Isn’t it rare to see you have such difficulties taking someone down? Was it his length that gave you trouble?
Kawajiri: I don’t know if his length gave me trouble or not. I like to take down my opponents after I get a hold of him using underhooks. But for some reason, I had forgotten the techniques for takedowns from underhooks back then. I even couldn’t do it during training. I did have a feeling that Gill’s length may cause problems for me if I had tried the underhooks. So instead I was looking to attack his legs, seeking for tackles, but he was really tough defending against my tackle attempts.

Sherdog: A lot of times, you ended up just pushing him, grabbing his legs.
Kawajiri: My game plan didn’t quite work. I used up a lot of energy and I ended up losing my stamina.

Sherdog: One thing that was a little bit surprising was that you did not look to strike on your feet. Was that part of the game plan?
Kawajiri: He has a real dangerous knee. He can knock you out with one strike with his knee. Also, I haven’t told this to anyone, but I hurt my rib before the fight. If he had landed any strikes on my rib, it would have been disastrous for me. So I had to make sure I grab him and control his body avoiding strikes.

Another thing that I had in mind was that I could submit him easily once I took him to the ground. Therefore I was a little too concerned about submitting him.

Sherdog: Even after you had passed Gill’s guard, you weren’t looking to throw any punches.
Kawajiri: I was a little too worried about submitting him. He defended well, but I kept trying to submit him even though I could have switched my game plan to ground-and-pound.

Sherdog: When you fought against Luiz Azeredo (Pictures) on New Year’s Eve last year, Azeredo gave you trouble, keeping a fair amount of distance between him and you by utilizing his legs to avoid your punches from the top position. Was that one reason you tried to fight without much striking and attack more with the grappling techniques?
Kawajiri: No, not really. All I had in mind was submitting Gill. Also, I had the intention of showing my wide range of skills as a mixed martial artist. I could not fight last year except for New Year’s Eve, but I had been training all that time. I felt responsible and wanted to show everybody what I had been on while I was taking some time off from the ring.

Sherdog: How are you feeling having to fight after such a long layoff? Are you or did you have difficulties trying to get the feel back?
Kawajiri: Not many difficulties for me. I had the opportunity to fight on New Year’s Eve last year. But I did feel that I needed to show different skills as I go through the tournament.

Sherdog: Any secrets to going through in tournaments? If you win one fight, the next fight is scheduled two months later, which is a pretty short interval period.
Kawajiri: I took about a week or two off to rest my body and was back training again after my fight in March. In order to go through tournaments, I just wanted to make sure I did not get injured and have a decent image of how I want to finish up my workouts in preparation for my next fight. Having a feel for how I want to fight helps.

Sherdog: Your next opponent was Luiz Firmino (Pictures). Were you a little puzzled to fight him again since you had fought him in Pride Bushido in 2005?
Kawajiri: I thought that of all the fighters, he had the least chance of fighting me in the second round of the tournament. But once the fight was announced, I felt that it was just another obstacle that I had to get over.

Sherdog: You fought Firmino with confidence and calmness. Ground-and-pound after takedowns while avoiding Firmino’s takedown attempts.
Kawajiri: I failed in many aspects against Gill and received criticisms from many. So I needed to go back to the basics and just fight my style regardless of what others say about me. As a result, I was able to fight selfish and freely to a certain degree. I couldn’t knock him out, but all in all it was a fine fight.

Sherdog: Did you plan to fight in certain ways even though you had the wish to fight freely?
Kawajiri: If he wanted to challenge me with his strikes on his feet, I would have attacked with my punches. If he wanted to take me to the ground, I would have assaulted him with my ground-and-pound skills. I just wanted to land hard punches in any situation.

Sherdog: You mentioned that you could not knock him out, but obviously many fans would prefer to see knockouts as well. Do you feel any pressure with expectations so high for knockouts?
Kawajiri: I appreciate the high expectations. Knockouts are something that the fans are coming out to see, and it is also something that I am looking to accomplish going into fights. If I can’t knock out my opponents, there’s less sense of satisfaction on my part and I bet it’s the same from the fans’ perspective.

Sherdog: In your fights against Firmino and Azeredo, they did a good job of defending your punches on the ground by grabbing your wrist. And knowing that they have skilled jiu-jitsu backgrounds, do you think about possible risks of getting submitted from their bottom position? How do you keep the balance of attacking to knock out and to show off for the spectators while keeping your composure in order to win?
Kawajiri: I don’t really think about risks. What I do is what I want to do. If I see my opponent’s face, I know I am throwing hard punches at it. It’s more like just giving my best at all times, trying to win. That’s my style, and I never hesitate to do that.

Sherdog: I happened to sit close to your family members at the last two Dream events. Are your family members hard on you?
Kawajiri: My mother says a lot, but I don’t listen to her much. They always come out to see my fights.

Sherdog: I read in another interview that your mother caught the mask that Kazushi Sakuraba (Pictures) threw while he was entering the ring at Dream 4.
Kawajiri: Yes. She did catch the mask that Sakuraba threw into the crowd. I told her it was a job well done.

Sherdog: Going back to Dream 3, your gym mate Mitsuhiro Ishida (Pictures) lost to Caol Uno (Pictures). Right after the fight, you challenged Uno to fight you. Did Ishida’s loss suddenly change your temper?
Kawajiri: Yes. I was upset and frustrated. I simply felt that he should fight me next.

Sherdog: You fought Uno in Shooto once in 2004. The fight ended up being a draw after the judges’ decision, even though it looked like you had predominance toward the end of the fight. Does that fight make you more conscious about Uno than others?
Kawajiri: I am not content with the result of my fight against Uno at Shooto. It’s a desire that I have had. Looking for a settlement to decide who really is the better fighter between the two of us is.

Sherdog: So when you challenged Uno to fight, it was your honest emotions that made you take that action.
Kawajiri: Yes. I was ready to beat him up.

Sherdog: The matches for the semifinal round of the grand prix were decided by a draw that took place during Dream 4. You still wanted to fight Uno at the time of the draw?
Kawajiri: Yes, I was thinking about it. But I had no right to pick my opponent since it was a draw. I was the second person to draw behind Shinya Aoki (Pictures) and I wanted to make sure I would not end up in the same bracket as Aoki to at least increase the chance of fighting Uno.

Sherdog: The draw resulted with setting up your showdown with Eddie Alvarez (Pictures). How was your reaction?
Kawajiri: Fight against Uno did not happen, but I had no choice. But once my fight with Alvarez was confirmed, it really turned me on. So changing emotions wasn’t much of a problem. Being in a position to fight such an excellent fighter like Alvarez, that’s an honor as well. I was happy with the result of the draw.

Sherdog: How would you have felt had your opponent ended up as Aoki?
Kawajiri: It would have been a bit weird. If we were to fight, I was thinking it would be the final match of the tournament. Aoki is probably thinking the same thing. I wouldn’t be opposed to the fight if that turned out be the result, but I can’t quite imagine myself fighting him in the semifinal round.

Sherdog: You used to train with Aoki. Do you still train with him?
Kawajiri: No. I haven’t trained with him since Dream 3.

Sherdog: After the draw finished, you said that you would win the tournament in front of the fans who gathered at the arena.
Kawajiri: Yes. To be honest, facing Alvarez in the semifinal round works best for me. Beating him would really set the momentum for me moving on to the final round. Also, my trainer, Takeshi Yamada, pointed out one thing about fighting Uno. He said that if I face him in the semifinal and win, I may get satisfied just by winning against him and cut down my concentration to fight in the final round. I did not want that to happen, so facing Alvarez first works better. That way, I can concentrate more in the final round and carry the momentum with me.

Sherdog: Anything you are doing in preparation for Alvarez? Many are expecting a slugfest.
Kawajiri: We both like to strike with punches. I am thinking other ways to counter Alvarez as well. But I can’t tell you that. Isn’t Sherdog an American Web site? If I say anything here, everybody in America would find out what I am planning against Alvarez. It’s a secret.

Sherdog: Two fights in a day if you win the semifinal battle with Alvarez. Are you putting more work into gaining stamina?
Kawajiri: I am doing a lot to improve my stamina. I run more sprints than I used to with less time for intervals. I sprint up hills to gain more strength too.

Sherdog: What does it mean for you to win this tournament?
Kawajiri: I started MMA trying to be the strongest. I also love MMA. I became the Shooto welterweight champ but wasn’t satisfied. So I fought in Pride but couldn’t be the strongest there. Pride is no longer in existence, but now there is an organization called Dream with excellent fighters and now I am actually in a position to be the strongest lightweight in Dream. This is probably the last chance for me to take part in a tournament like this. As a compilation of my life as a fighter and as a proof of what I have accomplished, I do want to win this tournament.

I have a lot of people who support me too. They have stuck with me even after losses. But more than anything, I couldn’t fulfill the responsibilities as the Shooto champion. When I defended the belt against Joachim Hansen (Pictures), the fight ended in eight seconds. After that, I relinquished the belt. Now I don’t have the belt in my hands and I regret a lot about what I couldn’t accomplish.

Therefore I want to be in the position where I can say I am the best, again, and repay those who supported me.

I have to carry out another fine moment before I die.

Sherdog: You’re confident about your chances?
Kawajiri: Yes. I strongly believe in myself. If I can’t believe in myself 100 percent, my body won’t react at 100 percent. I absolutely trust myself. I will go into the fight with superb confidence.