PRIDE Fighting Championships: What was your impression of Tamura?
Yoshida: He's got great punches and kicks. When we clinched though, I felt that I was stronger and it was just a matter of figuring out how to overcome his striking.
PRIDE: What about when he took your back?
Yoshida: It didn't bother me. I was worried about his knees before that but I never felt in danger of being choked.
PRIDE: Do you think you were not being careful when you were hit and knocked down in the beginning?
Yoshida: I didn't even have time to not be careful (laughing). It knocked me down straight away. When I realized what was happening, he was already jumping towards me and I just got angry. It was like "you get hit, you hit back."
PRIDE: So you started trading with him.
Yoshida: I was thinking about striking from the beginning. It would be a waste of all the training I've received not to. I'd feel embarrassed to be in front of my trainer if I didn't get in at least one punch (laughing). In a way, it was like shedding my old skin. It was a good confidence builder and good practice for November.
PRIDE: What percent of your striking training were you able to use?
Yoshida: None at all. I was punching like I was in a street fight (laughing). My trainer told me, "That wasn't a punch. That was a clothes-line." I've got to keep my calm and not get aggravated. I also need to work on my guard and keeping the proper distance.
PRIDE: Were you planning on getting the sleeve-choke?
Yoshida: No, that's just how it turned out. When I got it on, I was just praying it would finish him.
PRIDE: What about the headlock?
Yoshida: Normally I can move from there to kesa-gatame and work for the finish but it looks like I haven't practiced it enough.
PRIDE: A lot of the fans want to see you up against Silva in the finals.
Yoshida: That's not up to me to decide. No matter who my opponent, I will be fighting as a Japanese fighter. It doesn't matter who my opponent is.
DSE President Sakakibara's Comments:
I haven't thought about replacing Yoshida at all. However, if he does need to be replaced, I want to be fair. The replacement would not necessarily be Japanese. I do want Yoshida to get into the ring in November as the representative of Japan, PRIDE and judo. We'll decide how the tournament finals will be put together based upon the surveys we distributed at the recent event. We want to give the fans what they want. If there's not a big lead for any particular matchup, it's still possible that it will be decided by lottery.
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