Satoshi Ishii Ready for Wherever Fedor Emelianenko Wants to Fight
Satoshi Ishii entered the world of mixed martial arts with what were, in all likelihood, unfair expectations of greatness. It only took one bout, a debut loss against veteran Hidehiko Yoshida, for him to be written off as mostly hype by many fans. Since rattling off four wins and a draw (should be five wins), the 25 year old Ishii has somewhat rekindled interest in his future, and now a chance to face Fedor Emelianenko on New Year's Eve has him set to finally make the big splash many fans were hoping for.
Lowkick's Anton Guervich had a chance to ask Ishii some questions about the upcoming fight and it resulted in a very interesting interview. A small sample:
Many people say Fedor is a clear favorite against you. Do you like being the underdog, or it's something that gets in your head?
That is fine that people consider Fedor the favorite. And it does not bother me at all that everyone thinks that I am the underdog. Less pressure for me. He is the one who has the most to lose going 1-3 in his last 4 fights.What in your opinion is your biggest advantage coming to this fight? How do you see your Judo skills coming in effect against Fedor Emelianenko?
I would not say that I have any real advantage over Fedor the man is a legend and has faced all styles. But I am confident wherever this fight goes. Whether we stand and trade or on the ground. As far as my Judo against him, well yes I do feel my Judo will play a big part of this fight if he decides to clinch with me.
Ishii also discusses training in America for this fight and being a Japanese fighter facing Fedor on a New Year's Eve card. Go give the full interview a read.
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Or let me, lol
by Rob Young on Dec 22, 2011 9:53 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Nice. Mostly I was just trying to help Brent out, but yeah, I’ll admit I was also waiting for someone to provide me the link. Thanks!
by Horselover Fat on Dec 22, 2011 10:00 PM EST up reply actions
Yeah, sorry about that guys.
I feel like a jerkoff since Anton was nice enough to e-mail the article over to make sure I saw it and then I forgot to link to it.
Managing Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
by Brent Brookhouse on Dec 22, 2011 11:29 PM EST up reply actions
Guess he won’t be doing that again, huh. On the plus side, I finally bookmarked lowkick because of this post. So they added at least one new reader. Yippee!
by Horselover Fat on Dec 22, 2011 11:44 PM EST up reply actions
An Ishii win would pretty much be the nail in Fedor's coffin
Wouldn’t it? I mean this is a guy that he should walk through; if he struggles or loses it would pretty conclusively signal the end of Fedor.
Da.
It would be really sad, but it is also inevitable in a way that he will end up trucked by a younger guy in the end. Fedor does not undergo Hendo or Couture style therapies to keep his body in the same line as the young’uns.
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by Unabomberman on Dec 22, 2011 10:10 PM EST up reply actions
Nah I hope Fedor's last loss to a relatively insignificant fighter happens in Russia
so then we can say “In Soviet Russia, cans crush YOU!”
You can apply that to Aleks instead.
"Now you see that evil will always triumph, because good is dumb."
by menckenstein on Dec 23, 2011 9:00 AM EST up reply actions
This would be a huge victory for Ishii if he were to pull it off, but he’d have to bring it to Fedor. Already, I can tell he’s going the passive route, and against the new Fedor (who fights safe), he won’t have many chances to win.
"Referees, be sure to step in and stop the fight on time tomorrow, because I might get carried away in the moment and my many punches may end up destroying my opponent." - Tatsuya "CRUSHER" Kawajiri
Yeah, I thought it was weird that he said he wanted to win by decision
I’ve always wanted to see Ishii show a killer instinct and he just doesn’t have it.
by MichaelDavidSmith on Dec 22, 2011 9:35 PM EST up reply actions
I don't think he has a killer instinct in MMA
The thing is that you can’t achieve what he has without some sort of “killer instinct.” The dude competed and won at the highest level of competition, beating the best in the world. It hasn’t translated to MMA but it is there somewhere (and he is 4-1). I haven’t been impressed with him yet but I still hold the hope that someone with that level of discipline could make the transition.
I think he has spent time at major gyms in the US and Brazil but I wonder what they could do if he settled down at Jacksons or ATT.
"Life isn't Fucking fair! Deal with it." Dad.
Don't get me wrong, he's an amazing athlete
Like you say, you don’t become Olympic judo heavyweight gold medalist without being a great competitor. For some reason he looks tentative when he fights, though, and he also looks like he wants so badly to be a well-rounded fighter that he doesn’t use judo techniques as much as he should.
by MichaelDavidSmith on Dec 22, 2011 10:23 PM EST up reply actions
More importantly, what would an Ishii win mean for Japanese MMA?
This show was cleared for TV in Japan right?
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Probably the one guy Fedor should blitz like he did Henderson and Werdum
Does Fedor’s Sambo and grappling = Ishii’s Judo?
Fedor is also a medalist in international judo competitions, and he is a black belt. Ishii may be better at Judo, but Fedor has more experience both in mma and in grappling imo.
On the Rogan podcast
Rousey mentioned that the Japanese style of Judo is far more Gi-dependant than other styles, so he may not be as adept as utilizing it in MMA as Fedor is. Interesting possibility IMO so I look forward to seeing it play out.
Jab, jab, towards, short, fierce.
It's really more of a youth/age/experience deal as opposed to Gi/No-Gi
As Fedor played Sambo in a Gi most times
Ishii is impressive
Having beat Jerome Le Banner and Minowaman in his first few fights. This might actually be a competitive fight; also considering he won the Gold medal in Judo in the 2008 Olympics at 22 years old.
Son, I am impress.
Damn, that is impressive. Although Fedor at one point was the worlds greatest Sambo practitioner, so…
BTW, YES! I am a Fedor nuthugger.
But Ishii is getting better while Fedor is fading.
I’ll be so bummed if Fedor loses this one.
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by Unabomberman on Dec 22, 2011 10:29 PM EST up reply actions
Very very true, but still!…
FEDOR NEVER DIE1
by juanchoD on Dec 22, 2011 10:43 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
You're impressed? Have you even seen those fights?
If he had the skills to beat Fedor, then he should put Le Banner and Minowa away rather than laying on them until the final bell. The Japanese audience even booed him.
His Olympic gold medal is more than impressive…
by juanchoD on Dec 23, 2011 6:53 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
Please, he beat Le Banner after Le Banner lost to Kyotaro, and he beat Minowaman, who basically is a freakshow contender. He will get destroyed by Fedor. And if the 5% chance of losing that Fedor possesses actually happens, then Fedor is done for and will become a joke of the MMA world.
There is no upside for Fedor in this fight and his management is fucking stupid.
It's just a world, it's just a life.
You forget to use the sarcastic quotes – I hope atleast ? Did you not see that Le Banner fight ? Ishii was lucky he won that fight ? he could not even take JLB down at the end of the fight plus he was sucking for air and gassed himself out about half way htrew that fight and from what holding JLB down thats it. If that Ishii shows up I don’t care how bad Fedor has looked he will crush hm
Classy.
The Internets: Where there are no girls and men become children.
by Unabomberman on Dec 22, 2011 9:56 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs
Didn't this guy see the sweater?
It’s over.
Fighting is like champagne. It goes to the heads of cowards as quickly as of heroes. Any fool can be brave on a battlefield when it's be brave or else be killed.

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