KP- You have just defeated Hayato Sakurai, one of the best fighters in Japan, how was the fight?
RG- I started the match by throwing some punches with the intent of not only hurting him but also getting him to the ground. My plan was to take him down, pass his guard and submit him. I was able to take him to the ground, but he has a very good guard and I spent a lot of time trying to pass. He does the sitting guard and keeps his hands on your shoulders for distance. He has short legs so if you give him distance and move away, he kicks you in the face! At the same time he doesn?t let you get close to him because he uses his stiff arm on your shoulders and the hooks to keep you away. He defended very hard, pushing my shoulders away, I tried to mount him and he?d push me away, and eventually he got tired.
KP- This is the second or third guy that you fight in a row that has a good guard!
RG- Yes both Sasaki and Takase had great guards. As a matter of fact Takase had a very strong guard. The Japanese have improved their ground game to a great level.
KP- You have been training your stand up punches and kicks a lot. Did that help?
RG- Yes, it helped a lot. I do a lot of wrestling and Muay Thai and my takedowns and my strikes are getting very strong. As a matter of fact I hit him with a punch that buckled his legs. Yes he was expecting that I throw an over hand right so he stuck his arm out and I changed and threw a Jab that caught his chin, not flush but it grazed it hard and he went down to his knees. That actually caught me by surprise, the fact that he went down from my jab! So I started to knee him in the head and he went to his back and pulled guard on me!
KP- Did you take him down as well?
RG- Well it seemed that every time he tried something he ended up in trouble. He tried to punch from the guard and I got a triangle on him. He tried a few things and I took him down, he ended up fighting a very conservative fight. As a matter of fact compared to his other matches, he fought a very conservative fight against me.
KP- Do you think that has something to do with the fact that you submitted Matsui? Because no one has been able to do so to this date and you basically did that on your first International fight! That might have left a big impression on the Japanese fighters?
RG- Maybe so, Matsui is a tough fighter, he faced Sanae Kikuta, Carlos Newton, Wanderlei Silva and Vitor Belfort amongst others and no one had or has submitted him yet. So maybe that has affected my opponents, because they have all fought very conservative fights against me.
KP- You have only faced very good, experienced fighters as well.
RG- I have faced tough fighters from the beginning and they still fight very conservatively against me. I have beaten them all so far but they have not fought an open fight against me! I am still learning, after all I have only five fights. I believe I have a lot to improve and I have improved from fight to fight. AS you stated, I have only fought against tough opponents, so I have not had an ?easy? fight yet, but this has helped me mature and learn tremendously. I hope some day to have an easy opponent (chuckles) or an open opponent then I can show all I can do. But until then I will take the experience that I am getting, I have been in the fire from day one and I think that has helped me a lot.
KP- When you have two top fighters the fight is more even right?
RG- Yes, if you have two top level fighters, the match is going to be a lot tougher, more equal. If I or anyone else for that matter get a lesser opponent, and there aren?t too many of those in Pride that?s for sure, then we can do more of a show.
KP- You now have a 5?0 record all against tough fighters. Who would you want to fight against next?
RG- (Without hesitation) Sakuraba!
KP- Did you challenge him?
RG- I basically challenged him on the interview we did prior to this last Bushido (Feb.10, 04) , and then I challenged him again after this fight. In the press conference I stated that I wanted to fight him.
KP- Why?
RG- He once stated in an interview that he didn?t care how many Gracies existed that he would submit them all. So I want to see if he will submit me, because I guarantee you that I am going to beat him up! Beat him up!
KP- A fight against him would be very exciting!
RG- It will be a great fight because he goes for it. I thought Sakurai was going to try to exchange with me and go for it, but he didn?t, he fought very tight, it doesn?t even look like him, he was hesitant to kick and punch. But the Gracie Hunter would be different, he would come forward and go for it!
KP- You think you are getting known as a good fighter and that is affecting your opponents?
RG- Maybe. I don?t know, but I am sure the Gracie Hunter wouldn?t hesitate or give me too much respect, he?d go for it!
KP- Who did you train with in Japan?
RG- I went to Japan with Daniel, then I met with Gordo and Soca. Gordo Correa was accompanying Soca for his NHB debut so we trained together in Japan. Then my cousin Crosley arrived and he helped me a lot, especially in tying up the feet and other things.
KP- You had a good team!
RG- Yes, at home I trained a lot with Renzo of course and my other guys, but I also trained a lot of wrestling and standing, as a matter of fact I believe I neglected the ground a little too much for this fight, I felt a little sluggish on the ground, like my reactions were not normal super sharp. I think I normally would be able to pass his guard, but you can?t train everything all the time. After the fight I watched the tape and I saw a few openings that I should have taken advantage. But I have to develop other areas of my game, because my Jiu-Jitsu is already at a good level.
KP- Back to Sakuraba. Do you think that by beating him you would be avenging the family or is it just another test for you?
RG- Yes, if I fight him it will be a good test. But I want to take away his nickname, he won?t be known as the Gracie Hunter after the fight any more!
KP- There are many new young Gracies, you, Ryan, Crosley, a new generation is coming. But also you have an older group, that has been fighting for a while defending the family name like Rickson, Royce, Renzo and Royler. Does the fact that you are one of the ?new generation of Gracie fighters? affects you in any way?
RG- It puts a lot of pressure on us. I see them fight and they have all done very well. I get a lot from them, as they pass their experiences to us. And they are all still kicking butt. So it puts a lot of pressure on us to do well. But I am sure we are ready to continue the push. We are continuing the push and trying to follow their example. They are our role model and it is a huge inspiration to be following in their foot steps. I believe that when they win they have helped us, so I think when I fight and win I help the next Gracies that are coming. Because when a Gracie fights, people just remember that a Gracie won or lost.
KP- What are your plans now?
RG- I want to rest a little bit with my wife Laura. But I also will give a lot of attention and pass a lot of what I have learned to my students. Because my students are some of my biggest supporters, they help me prepare and give me a lot of emotional support! You add that to my trainers like Renzo, with Keith Tremble, my kick boxing coach, he has helped a lot and my wrestling partners in Manhattan and in Long Island and you have a winning combo.
KP- Thanks Rodrigo!
RG- Thank you. I want to send a big thanks to all my fans and supporters!
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