Murilo Bustamante

Pride Fighting Championships: This is the first time for you to fight in your weight class here in Japan, right? Murilo Bustamante: Yeah, it's very exciting.

Pride:	You're still 38?
Bustamante:	Yeah, 38.
Pride:	Who's going to be in your corner?
Bustamante:	My partner, my boxing coach and my personal trainer.
Pride:	Is your record 9-4-1?
Bustamante:	Yeah, sounds right.
Pride:	7 times Brazilian National Jiu-Jitsu Champion?
Bustamante:	Something like that.
Pride:	1991. Was that when you first started MMA?
Bustamante:	Yeah.
Pride:	You've also done some professional boxing in Brazil, right?
Bustamante:	What? No. I box a little bit but I never fought, just training.
Pride:	I read that you knocked someone out with a high kick.
Bustamante:	Yeah, I'm an expert. (laughing)
Pride:	You said the only person you feel you really lost to here in PRIDE was Nakamura. You thought he was the better man that night. The other two fights we've talked about before.
Bustamante:	Yeah, I think so. It's my only loss.
Pride:	How are you mentally?
Bustamante:	I'm okay. It's very exciting. I hope they make the ??E3 Grand Prix. That's where I want to be, fighting for the belt. It's my real division, you know. I think my first fight in PRIDE was a strange situation but I think I did pretty well.
Pride:	You replaced Arona, right?
Bustamante:	Yeah. The second fight wasn't so good.
Pride:	What have you been working on for this fight? I know you work on everything at BTT but have you done anything specific to prepare?
Bustamante:	No. Everything is the same.
Pride:	A mix of standup and ground or are you so confident in your ground game that you just concentrate on standup?
Bustamante:	No, I work them the same. I train a little wrestling, a little boxing and a little jiu-jitsu. I try to train everything and be ready to fight on the ground and standing.
Pride:	What do you think is his strongest power?
Bustamante:	He's got a very good kimura. He's good at in-fighting. He has good hooks.
Pride:	Yeah, dirty boxing.
Bustamante:	He has good takedowns but he's not a specialist. He's a good fighter. He knows something on the ground.
Pride:	You've lost some weight since last time, right?
Bustamante:	Yes, of course. I went to Hawaii for vacation, surfing a little bit. Then, they invited me for this and I trained 3 weeks for the fight.
Pride:	You guys are always in shape, though.
Bustamante:	Yeah, I trained in Hawaii a little bit. I don't think I'm 100% but I'm okay for this fight. My mind is ready. I'm excited for this opportunity and the new division.
Pride:	What do you do mentally in the dressing room to prepare for the fight? Do you imagine the fight? That's what Nogueira says he does.
Bustamante:	Not in the locker room but in my room in the hotel, I do a lot of yoga. I imagine the fight. In the locker room, I just warm up.
Pride:	So, you prepare yourself before you head to the arena.
Bustamante:	Yeah, when I go to the arena, I'm ready.
Pride:	Do you want to keep it standing or take it to the ground? Do you have a game plan?
Bustamante:	No, I just want to win.