I'm weak... I pushed him in the corner and took many punches once we were separated. I knew I needed to grab him but...I'm weak. I didn't attend the rule meeting so I didn't realize that we would be separated if we were deadlocked in the corner. Regardless, I though I come win. I told (my second) from the beginning that if it looked like I couldn't go forward, if I was just going backwards, to just throw in the towel. I was fine in terms of conditioning but I went backwards. I think that's because I was losing mentally.
Jan "The Giant" Nortje:
I've very happy that I won. As a fighter, I respect Yasuda and all the other fighters. Today, with the help of my team, I was able to find Yasuda's weak point and win.
Pride Fighting Championships:
What was your strategy?
Nortje:
To use Yasuda's power when he came forward. I wanted to KO him by throwing punches while escaping from him. When Yasuda took a low stance in the first round, one of my uppercuts hit him. After that, I kicked him a lot. In the second round, I hit him with a lot of body blows and he gave up.
Pride:
What is Yasuda's weak point?
Nortje:
I figured his conditioning would be bad so I made him move a lot in the first round. As I planned, his movement became worse in the 2nd round.
Pride:
What do you think about Le Banner's loss (to Yasuda)?
Nortje:
I think Le Banner's loss was a big mistake on K-1's part.
Pride:
Are you going to mainly fight in K-1 from now on?
Nortje:
I got this offer from K-1 2 weeks ago. If K-1 calls me, I'll fight. Or do pro-wrestling or Pride. But mainly K-1.
