I found this on another site. It is originally from tatame.com; the translation is not by a pro Wandy says Shogun will be fighting as a HW. I think MMA fighters look smaller on screen than they are in person, but I can't see Shogun getting up in the 220's...unless he hops on the Vitamin S. I hope this doesn't prove to be a mistake.
How was your strikin' preparation for the fight?
My injury in the ribs gave me some trouble, I hurt myself training. SHOGUN helped me a lot, either. Yesterday, he KO me with a kick in my nose! It was not fair! But he's backing to the routine very well, seems that nothing wrong ever happened (he's talking about his injury against COLEMAN). I think the next year will be SHOGUN's year and I hope this year end as my year.
What is the difference between your trainning to the OWGP and the regular trainning?
I gave a lot of attention to physical preparation (fitness). I made a gym on my own house, and brought my physical instructor to live in my house. We train with a new kind of equipment attempting to incorporate the mobility of the fight, increase my muscular mass quality and explosion in order to fight as long as possible -- keeping the quality from the beginning to the end. I'm 99kg now. I'm training a lot of wrestling and jiu-jitsu too.
Talking about strategy: what's your plains to this GP?
Well, I'll face Mirko, a very strong guy who is one of the biggest idols of the GP. If I can beat him or even KO him, it will be damn good for me. I'm going with that on my mind: KO or TKO Mirko...
I think I did good at our first encounter, and now I'm so much strong, more experiented, so I believe I can make it. I think this is the beginning of the prime of my career...
But talking about skills, I think that CC is much more "wise guy" than before. He learned JJ with Werdum, who is very good on the ground. But in my opinion, if I can put Mirko on the ground, it will make the things easy to me. But this is the B-plan, my preparation is to fight stand 'cos it's what I love to do. The biggest thing about a grand-prix is that you have to come in with everything you can, and at the same time, you have to take care. I think it could be the biggest challenge of my career. CC is 110kg, he have a very powerful kick, so I have to paid attention all the time and fight smart.
What do you think about the relationship between Pride and UFC?
It's great. It will result in good matches to the audience. My opinion is: the bigger is the challenge, more respectful became the fighter and more fans he have. This is the old story of courage, and the one who have guts, you know what I mean? If you train really hard, you know that you can face anyone, doesn't matter how great is your opponent. You don't know if you'll win or lose but you need enough guts to give a try. Several times I fought with doubts about my performance, people who said "you won't win, you aren't in a good shape"... But you have to try. I'm still here. And I'm still Alive. And still working more than ever!...
What give you the motivation to keep trainning that hard?
Did you watched 'Na Luta pela Esperança"? (AKA "Cinderella man") This is all about another kind of fight, the fight to change the condition of your life. You know, I already had that kind of life... Today is like heaven comparing to the old times. I never ever have more than the minimal to survive in the past, but today I have it and I want to keep it in that way. I'm not a lazy guy, I will work very hard 'cos I want to give the best to my children, so I look at it (MMA) in a very serious way.
What about the possibility to face FEDOR? It's possible you'll face CC and NOG or BARNETT at the same very night. Then, you will face FEDOR after three months...
If it happens... My god! It will be very very good! THIS IS a challenge! I think we have to do everything possible -- and sometimes, the impossible -- everytime. I know that I will face him, this time or in the future. He is the guy yet to be beaten, he is the #1 of the world.
'Til the day I retire, I will challenge everyone and searching to face the best in the world.
CC said he'll beat you fast in order to face BARNETT at the finals. What do you think about that?
"It's like a fish, who dies from his mouth" (brazilian popular expression). He knows that he had bad times against both of us (Silva and Nogueira). But it's ok, 'cos we have to think that we always gonna win and everything will be just fine in the time of the fight.
Do you think the heart is the differential of the brazilian fighters?
The heart is always the biggest differential... When a fighter is able to became well know in Brazil, he have great chances to became the champion at any place in the world. You know, our training routine sometimes is much harder and exciting than the real fight. There's some people who already record that and will get a lot of money...
Who'll be the HW fighter from Chute-Boxe?
SHOGUN. He is too big and too strong. He lost a lot of weight and he's 101kg now.
SAKURABA just come back to another trainning with CB. What about the possibility of a fight between SAKU and RICKSON? Who you think will get it?
SAKURABA is the kind of fighter who can do everything: ground fight, fight on his feet. He have a great heart, so if he train hard, RICKSON will have a lot of trouble. RICKSON is too old, so if he isn't in a good shape, "the legend will fall"... (my quotes)
But PAULO FILHO trained with RICKSON, and he was shocked with his ground...
So the guy must be very good on the ground, 'cos PAULO FILHO is an awesome BJJ fighter. But BJJ is not a brawl. MMA is not BJJ, you have to punch and kick, and SAKURABA is great on it. RICKSON must to train "the technical aspect of MMA". (it looks like a sarcasm)
hope u guys enjoyed it...