Akihiro Gono

Pride Fighting Championships: What was going on in your entrance? Gono: I revealed one other side of me. I'm DJ OZMA.

Pride:	How long did you practice that?
Gono:	Please don't ask me serious questions. Even I can mature a little. People's ways of thinking can change and I decide to put on a performance that I would never have considered a few years ago.
Pride:	Why did you choose that?
Gono:	Shinjo's retirement.
Pride:	Lombard came out with an incredible rush at the beginning of the fight.
Gono:	His anger was more than I had imagined. It was like someone poured fire on him. That was still what I expected, though.
Pride:	Did his punches hurt you? How was his strength?
Gono:	I was really knocked around in the beginning but only in the beginning.
Pride:	Did you want to make this a long fight?
Gono:	Yes, I thought that would be the easiest kind of fight for me to win.
Pride:	He became slower and slower as the fight went on. Did you think you were going to win?
Gono:	I hit him with a kick mid-way and several right hands, and I thought he was really tough to still be standing.
Pride:	Are you satisfied with the overall fight?
Gono:	No, I'm not. I wanted to fight at my pace during the 15 minutes.
Pride:	You said that you were going to use something you learned in your last fight. Were you able to do that?
Gono:	A little but it was a little lacking from mid-way.
Pride:	How about Takimoto's loss?
Gono:	I saw that. I knew it. I had something ready to say on the microphone for when Takimoto won but I used all my power on the entrance.
Pride:	Denis Kang has said that you and he would probably be a good match-up.
Gono:	I'm not a Champion or anything like that so he probably thinks that I'll be easy, right? Because I'm the weakest guy in the tournament. Isn't that the way I'm thought of?
Pride:	Is there anyone that you would like to fight in the Second Round?
Gono:	Not yet. All I can think about is my next performance. I'll think of something since I have 3 tough months ahead.