Sakuraba Style at the DREAM 4 Weigh-Ins

by Kid Nate on Jun 14, 2008 11:12 AM EDT

Not only is the dude one of the all time greats -- probably the greatest Japanese MMA fighter of all time -- but he's also funny as hell and just does not give a shit. The photo at right is from the DREAM 4 press conference. Here's a SukiMMA translation of Sak talking about his opponent Melvin Manhoef a couple of days ago:

- Manhoef said that he dreamed about fighting you.
That's nothing exciting to hear.
- There are many fighters who want to fight you.
I would like to say, "Please have a heart. They just want to take a big bite". I won't complain if I'm in my 20's. I'm almost 40 years old and fighting someone who's getting famous quick is hard for me. On the other hand, I have an abundance of opponents.

...

- Any message to your fans?
How many fights is DREAM.4 supposed to have?
- 8 fights.
Ok, then have fun watching 7 fights in DREAM.4 on Jun 15.

No idea what he means by that. Clearly there's a language barrier, but there's also a "that dude is crazy" barrier. I love it. Let us pray he doesn't get killed in the ring, the dude's a jewel. There's more wackiness in this Sherdog press conference video. And don't miss the incomparable Jordan Breen's DREAM 4 preview for a serious look at the fights in the event. His intro paragraph is too good not to share:

It's a throwback card really, to a simpler time, when Kazushi Sakuraba was a legitimate main eventer, when people got excited about Brazilian jiu-jitsu phenoms crossing over into MMA, when people still cared about dudes named "Gracie" and when the sweetest two words in the MMA lexicon were "grand" and "prix."

By way of Nightmare of Battle here are the weigh-in results for DREAM 4:

Kazushi Sakuraba (83.6 kg) vs. Melvin Manhoef (84 kg)
Ronaldo Jacare (83.9 kg) vs. Jason Miller (84 kg)
Kin Taiei (84 kg) vs. Zelg Galesic (83.8 kg)
Yoon Dong Sik (83.9 kg) vs. Gegard Mousasi (83.8 kg)
Hideo Tokoro (62.9 kg) vs. Darren Uyenoyama (62.6 kg)
Gadzhiev Alavutdin (89.5 kg) vs. Ralek Gracie (96 kg)
Alistair Overeem (108.8 kg) vs. Lee Tae Hyun (126.7 kg)
Shinya Aoki (69.7 kg) vs. Katsuhiko Nagata (69.8 kg)

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Comments

I thought the goggles were a nice touch.

by monkeyfightclub! on Jun 14, 2008 11:30 AM EDT reply actions

Haha, the Japanese guys and their funny sense of style never ceases to amuse me.

Isn’t it obvious what he means by “have fun watching seven fights”? His match won’t be a real fight.

I really feel bad for Saku. The guy seems deflated and is almost like an indentured servant doing work way past his prime. When are they going to let this guy retire into the MMA Hall of Fame like he deserves? Do we really need to cripple him or give him brain damage before his handlers will be happy? I hope he kicks Manhoef’s ass.

-Armen

by Armen on Jun 14, 2008 12:33 PM EDT reply actions