CHRISTIANO MARCELLO VS MITSUHIRO ISHIDA Pre-Fight Interview

Tensei absolutely rocks, and has done these translations of the pre-fight interviews, so I am going to post them here for easy access

MITSUHIRO ISHIDA

- I never thought about matches being easier or harder in the summer. I fought in August last year, in the arena there's the cooler, I don't think it'll matter. I do feel I need to make sure my conditioning is good though. I'm a bit worried that the Captain of Ibaragi (Mach) is suffering though. Well I think he'll probably be alright, haha.

- It's two more days til the fight, but I haven't even met my opponent, I still don't feel like I am fighting. I'm relaxed as usual.

- I saw Marcelo's video but it was from four years ago. I can't really say anything about him since I haven't seen his recent fights....My impression is that he's aggressive. His attacks and advances from the bottom are great, so I want to make sure I'm not overwhelmed. His heart and ground technique are also very strong, so it'll be a battle of who has the biggest heart too.

- Marcelo broke Shaolin's arm in a match he lost by decision? If it was a recent fight it's amazing, but I don't really know what to think of a story from the past. I would think that Marcelo would be pretty formidable if he pushed Shaolin of now that far. I don't really care for past stories so I don't know what to make of it.

- I feel that Chute Boxe is always one with the team as the fighter is in a match. On the ring it's one on one, but feeling wise it seems like one on four. Of course I never got up on the ring with him so I'm not too sure though. I always thought that if I stepped up to the Bushido ring that I will fight a Chute Boxe fighter, but I never thought it would be in my third fight, haha. It'll be a good experience for me.

- I don't have any special plans for this fight, just to go all out. Last time I was thinking alot, so this time I'm going by pure instinct from the get go. Like last time, regardless of the results I want to fight an exciting match that only me and Marcelo can do. Theme is the same as always, it's an important fight. Not much has changed since the win over Aurelio, but it was a good experience. It's my first fight in Nagoya so I hope that MMA fans will come to watch. I want to meet their expectations with a great showing.





CHRISTIANO MARCELLO


- It was a good timing for me to fight in Pride in alot of ways. I'm a coach at Chute Boxe, I got married and my life is settled. I want to show everything I got, and for the Japanese fans I want them to think of me as someone who always goes for a sub or a KO, not win on points.

- When I first joined CB, honestly the ground skills of the academy wasn't vevry high. So Rudimar asked me to focus on being a coach rather than a fighter. I tried my best as a coach to think of what's good for the academy, and started wearing a Gi during practice to seriously start working on the jiujitsu. The academy's levels improved alot since then, and starting with Wanderlei there are 7 black belts in Chute Boxe now. Of course I'll continue to be a coach at the academy, but I think now was a good time to be a fighter again in MMA.

- My base is Gracie Jiu-Jitsu. I learned it in Rio, but that was an environment where you could only grow if you're truly strong. Due to the environment my jiujitsu skills rose very rapidly, and even when I was in Gracie's school I learned Muay Thai as well. Coming to Chute Boxe I believe I became a very complete fighter. My street fighting stories? I'm basically against street fighting. But that just means I won't start a fight myself, I will accept any fight I'm offered. If that was for my academy or my family's honor, I will definitely get him back!

- I lived at Rickson's house for two years learning jiujitsu. Rickson is like a father to me. I learned alot not only about fighting but about pride and lifestyle from him (Marcello shows the "To Rockson" tattoo on his back). Rockson was like a best friend and a smaller brother to me. He passed away, but I got this tattoo because I wanted to show that I always kept him in my heart.

- I never saw Ishida's fights before. I know that he beat some strong opponent, but I don't really care. I will fight Ishida with the intent to kill, and I will fight a good fight. Ishida says "you won't be able to get away from my tackle?" It doesn't matter to me. On the other hand if I bring him to the ground, I think he will be in big trouble. I hate stalling so I want Ishida to be aggressive like he was in the Aurelio match.