You've gained a lot of weight. Did you do anything special?
Choi:
My best weight is about 113 kg but I had to lose weight for my first fight against Imamura, who was less than 100 kg.
Pride:
What's your training schedule like for this fight? You said before that you train for 5 hours a day, 7 days per week.
Choi:
About the same but I also train my students. I train myself when I am training the, too, so maybe my training has increased by 1 hour.
Pride:
You take a lot of punishment in your fights. Have you been working on your defense?
Choi:
I focused my training on defense against punching, and takedowns after punching.
Pride:
Have you ever fought a sambo fighter before?
Choi:
I've fought against some Russian fighters when I was an amateur wrestler but sambo is new to Korea and I don't have any experience with them.
Pride:
Where do you think you've improved the most in PRIDE since your debut with Imamura? Where do you think you need to improve more?
Choi:
I've fought 5 matches so far, including PRIDE matches and matches in Korea. I used to be more of a teacher, than a fighter, in Korea. Through those matches, I learned a lot about MMA. I think that through those 5 matches, I had a good experience and they have increased my mental and physical strength. I don't think my condition is like when I was on the national wrestling team but I feel that there is a lot more that I can develop and I can grow more. The most important thing is that I don't want to forget the feeling of when I fought my first fight. PRIDE has taught me so much during those 4 matches.
Pride:
What do you think about Kharitonov?
Choi:
I think he's very strong but we'll see the results on the 20th. I promise that I will do my best.
