Nov 21, 2008 - The often light-hearted Kazushi Sakuraba has had harsh words recently for Kiyoshi Tamura, whom he'll fight on New Year's Eve at "Dynamite!!" in Japan.
"Other fighters do all the hard work and he reaps the benefits," Sakuraba said in the Nov. 22 issue of GONG magazine. "I don't like someone like him. There's nothing I like about him."
A long-awaited dream match for Japanese fans, Sakuraba (24-11-1) said in an interview posted Tuesday on the DREAM website that he was surprised Tamura (32-13-2) accepted.
"I actually wasn't expecting him to take the fight," Sakuraba said. "I wonder why he accepted this time despite the fact that he has refused to fight me many times in the past."
So when the fight was announced earlier this month, Sakuraba asked FEG to make this fight extra special.
"I seriously want to fight without gloves because recent MMA fights are not as exciting as before and have resembled sports entertainment," Sakuraba said. "For me, MMA is not sports but a battle. I'm not afraid that my face is covered with blood."
However one request was not so serious.
"I also requested to fight without a time limit. That was a joke."
The feud between Sakuraba and Tamura dates back to their pro wrestling days in the early 90s.
"I knew him but he was my senior and not my friend," Sakuraba said. "I want to knock him out badly."
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