Post-PRIDE Open Weight Grand Prix 2006 Second Round Interview with Kazuhiro Nakamura

Kazuhiro Nakamura

Pride Fighting Championships: That was a wonderful submission.

Nakamura: I thought it was about time for a submission.

Pride: Last year you lost by KO How did you feel about the submission this time?

Nakamura: It's been about two years since I've won by submission so I thought I might have forgotten how.

Pride: How did it feel in the end?

Nakamura: I could feel that he was in a bad position on the bottom so I knew that if I punched him in the face I'd get an opportunity.

Pride: In the opening video, you said that you had a lot of stress built up.

Nakamura: I haven't been fighting and at the same time, Sakuraba left and everything had been crazy.

Pride: Were you able to get rid of that stress?

Nakamura: Yes, in the end it was good.

Pride: Did you have a strategy for Cyborg?

Nakamura: I had seen about three of his fights but none of the fights that he won. I thought he's an aggressive fighter.

Pride: In the end, you didn't allow him to do anything.

Nakamura: I expected him to come out more aggressively in the beginning but he didn't.

Pride: What are your goals now?

Nakamura: I want to study Rogerio, Alistair and the Champion, Silva.

Pride: What do you need to work on before facing them?

Nakamura: This was my 14th fight and I have a lot of expectations put on me. Honestly, I'm satisfied with my training environment so I just want to keep going as I am now.

Pride: You've started training at a boxing gym.

Nakamura: I train there continuously. It's out-boxing but I've learning how to in-fight and how to get rid of obstacles.

Pride: During your fight and after you won, could you hear the students from Yoshida Dojo?

Nakamura: There were too many voices and I couldn't hear them. Sorry.

Pride: What does PRIDE mean to you now?

Nakamura: I'm asked that occasionally but I can't answer simply. There are people here that have come from different organizations… I don't know anything about mixed martial arts other than PRIDE and it is the most important thing to me.