TOKYO, Japan -- MMA Fighting was on hand for Wednesday's media interviews at East 21 Hotel in Toyocho, Tokyo ahead of FEG's end of year Dynamite!! 2010 event to be held on December 31st at the Saitama Super Arena.Hayato "Mach" Sakurai spoke about the difficulties of cutting weight and why he keeps fighting as a fighter that is starting to feel his age while his opponent, Jason High predicted a first round, first minute end to the year for "Mach," while DREAM Welterweight Champion Marius Zaromskis talked about exactly what went wrong in his Strikeforce expedition and challenger Kazushi Sakuraba daydreamed about flying.
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Hayato "Mach" Sakurai on Fighting Jason High
"[Jason High] is a wild sort of fighter. I have really improved my physical condition. I have to fight to really be sure that I have made an improvement though.
"I feel honored [that Sakuraba has made the cut to welterweight]. I would like to fight him some time in the future. Maybe before that I should challenge a lightweight though. It'd be fun to fight both weight classes.""Well, I lost a lot in 2010 so I want to win [at Dynamite!!]. I'm over 30 years old now. Somebody told me that once you are over 30 you really start to feel old and I was feeling that while I was fighting. Even if I think that I'm that same fighter that I was while I was in my twenties then I cannot do the same things. This is why I need to improve my physical condition, so I can keep up with the younger fighters. My coach pointed this out and so this was the focus of my training. If I keep training as was when I younger then I can't keep fighting. I don't want to call myself and older guy, I want to feel that I'm still young. Before I was able to skip up the stairs but now I have to take them step by step. This is the difference that I'm feeling."
"Every time when I fight I am always intense and passionate about the fight. Every time I fight. Last time I fought I was very verbal with it and I pushed myself into a corner where I wasn't able to escape. The outcome was very unfortunate. The reason I continue to fight is that there are a lot of fighters old then me. [Kazushi] Sakuraba... Rumina [Sato]. If I want to give up, I can do that at any time. I want to keep challenging myself. Honestly speaking, I like fighting. It's fun. The lights ... the wind... it's like a beautiful scene in there. It's like feeling a nice breeze. If I can win a title match that would be a great pleasure. I continue fighting so I can keep feeling that."
"No body wants to cutting weight. It's the kind of thing that only fighters experience. You can never experience the same thing. Yes, I'm trying to find a way so that I don't have difficulty all the time. Can you imagine trying to lose 15 kilograms one month? I think I have started to find the smart ways [to lose weight] and that's why I look better."
Jason High
"Mach is a really good fighter and a lot of people think he is washed up but you know, I'm assuming that if he has accepted the fight then he is ready to go and in shape. I'm hoping for the best Sakurai and the best Jason High.""I would like to choke Mr. Sakurai out. That's how I would like to finish him. In the first round. First minute."
Kazushi Sakuraba on Fighting Zaromskis for the DREAM Welterweight Title
"I feel just normal [now that I'm cutting weight for the first time]. A little bit hungry. I started at 84 kilograms, I feel lighter now as I lose weight. I have the feeling that I might soon be airborne and start flying. When I used to fight at 93 kilograms, compared to that, I don't think my power will be much different but now that I'm lighter I think my opponent will have an easier time picking me up ... I would like to fly somewhere now."
"I didn't do any diet really. I just used zen. I closed my eyes and did nothing. I try not to think about anything. That's the way I lost weight. Meditation.""My goal next year will be to continue cutting weight so that I can fight Shinya Aoki, beat Mr. Aoki and then go to 90kg the year after. I don't think I can get down to 60kg. Do you think I'm serious? No, of course not."
Marius Zaromskis
"After 2009 I rested and then in 2010 I had some bad luck. First [problem was] my mind. Probably, after 2009 I relaxed too much. How do you say ... I slept on my belt. [Now] I'm back in business."
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