We from iOMMA News (Independent Online MMA News) had the pleasure to talk with both competitors of the only heavyweight fight of Bushido 4 - Showdown, only one day after theyr exciting fight. If you haven't seen the fight yet, click the video below! Thanks goes to SMOKECOMBS for recording and uploading this fight.
Interview Maeda:
Q: Masaru, yesterday you celebrated you biggest victory in your young MMA-career. How do you feel now?
A: I feel great! I feel like I made a important step into the right direction of becoming a HW champion. It was indeed my biggest victory so far. I hope to fight for the belt soon.
Q: Your actual opponent was Roy Nelson. Why did Bernardo had to step in as a replacement?
A: We talked about this before. I said he was scared of me, but back then I wasn't 100% sure. Now I am 100% sure of that. The event was just going to start, we had HD cameras ready and all (thanks to SMOKECOMBS), but this guy would just ignore me. He knew he would get smashed by me. I don't blame it all on Roy though. I think it is more his manager (bman), who decided to back out of the fight. This guy is a snake. I won't find any of his fighters, unless the promotions (the OMMA staff) gives me an guarantee that he will fight, or otherwise get punished. I don't want to talk about this anymore though. I just want to thanks Mike for being a man and taking the challenge.
Q: Before you could lock in the submission and take the win, it seemed you was badly hurt in the fight once, when he connected with a left hook. How much was you really hurt?
A: When a guy like Bernardo hits you right on the bottom, you are hurt, trust me. Fortunaly I have the ability to recover very quickly. When I rocked him with a high kick, I tryed everything to finish the fight and threw that big overhand right. I guess Mike, the experienced striker that he is, saw is coming miles away and countered me perfectly. It was a good experience though. I won't happen again to me.
Q: How hard was it to lock in that Heel Hook against Bernardo?
A: I was very suprised by his ground game. He was game, that's for sure. He did a god job on the ground actually. When I saw the opportunity for the submission, I went for it right away. It wasn't that hard to finish the hold though. He must practice his submission defense more.
Q: What are your future plans? Who are you going to fight next?
A: I have no idea yet. I don't even know at which event I will fight. If they will announce a Fight Force card, I will try to fight there too. My main goal is to become a champion here in Japan, but in the meantime, I also could make myself a name in North America, too. I think this will also help my popularity here in Japan, you know?
Q: Thanks for the interview, Masaru.
A: Thanks for having me here.
Interview Bernardo:
Q: Thanks for joining us so quickly after the match, Mike. Congratulations for a very good and exciting fight. Please tell us what went wrong in this fight for you.
A: Well, first of all, Maeda is just a tough son of a b*tch. I trained my ass off for that fight, so no excuses from me. The biggest thing was, he could take my punches. Man, this guy has an iron chin, and he recovers quick too. I don't know, we all know my ground game isn't my strong point. I've just gotta get back in there, sparring. And for my next fight I'm bringing in Cael Sanderson to work on my ground game. I've taken this part of my game for granted for too long
Q: You stunned Maeda at some point in the fight. How much you think he was hurt by your punch and why couldn't you capitalize more on it?
A: Yeah, well, no one ever accused me of lacking punching power (laughs). I recall that shot, it was a counter left hook after Maeda had just stunned me. I still had cobwebs from the shot he had landed on me and I hesitated maybe a split second to follow up on that punch, then he took me down. My takedown defense blows at this point, that's why I'm hoping these wrestlers (Sanderson) I'm bringing in will help me in that area. But Maeda has great recovery ability, he was hurt for a second and I think I was surprised he didn't go down from that shot.
Q: Earlyer the fight you was stunned by him, too. In fact, he stunned you with a high kick of his. Was you suprised that Maeda wanted to stand and trade with you for so long? Did you maybe focused too much on the takedown defense and got suprised by his stand up striking because of this?
A: (Laughs) Well, yeah, I'm always surprised when someone tries to stand with me. I mean I'm basically a boxer/kickboxer, so generally I don't think anyone in MMA is gonna be able to, or be willing to stand with me. At that moment when he rocked me it wasn't because I was worried about the takedown. I tried to throw a hook from too far a distance and he countered with that high kick. It rocked me pretty bad, but I still had enough wits to land some counters. MMA guys forget that us K-1 guys are used to taking hard punches and kicks. But yeah, throughout the fight I was trying to look for him to shoot in on a takedown. It's well known that's my achilee's heel. And after I stunned Maeda he put me on the ground and I was like a fish washed up on dryland (laughs). Hey, but I went for a submission for the first time! Bad move, cause that's when I got caught in that heel hook, stupid by me...
Q: Now how hard does this kid kicks? You already stood in the ring with the likes of Peter Aerts and Mirko "Cro Cop", so you might be one of the first to ask, when it comes to how hard someone kicks.
A: I compare it to a stiff summer breeze...(sheepish laugh), no man, I'm joking. That Maeda can kick. I knew he wasn't known for his hands, he's not a pro level boxer, but man, that dude can kick. I don't know if he has a karate background somewhere or what, but for a wrestler, that was the hardest kick I've ever taken. Maeda is up there, he can kick hard. I still think the hardest I've been kicked is by Jerome LeBanner and of course Ernest (Hoost), Ernesto's shins are like knives when he kicks you low. But yeah, Maeda gave me the hardest kick from any MMA guy for sure.
Q: We all know that you're a world class striker and not many people in the world of MMA want to stand and trade with you. You definatly showed some skills on the ground too, when Maeda took you down, though he was able to submit you within the first round. Do you feel the need of becoming a better grappler in order to be succesfull in Bushido or MMA as a whole? Or do you just concentrate on your takedown defense currently?
A: Well thanks, I thought I did horribly but I was able to get back to my feet a couple of times. Still, I could just feel his ability to control the action on the ground. I tried to put him in an armbar but he blocked my attempt easily. I definitely feel, to compete in this sport, I'll have to up my ground skills tenfold. I have worked on my takedown defense a little, but my timing just isn't coming along like I want it too. I've got to rework some things in the gym, and bring in the high level wrestlers I was telling you about. Randy Couture offered me the oppurtunity to train with him, and don't be surprised if there aren't rumors of Randy and I working together the coming months.
Q: This was your first fight at Bushido, but we all hope it won't be the last one. How do you see your future in MMA, Bushido and OMMA as a whole? Would you also consider to fight in North America, maybe at Fight Force?
A: Well, I'd love to continue my MMA career, but I also don't want to give up my K-1 career either. As long as one doesn't interfere with the other and I don't feel my skills in the K-1 arena are deteriorating I will continue this MMA thing. I think I would like to fight in Bushido again. And of course I wouldn't mind going to North America and fight at some point although I think the East has the best fans, I still don't mind putting on a show for the American fans. My first love is K-1, and would love to get in a kickboxing division at some point. I've still gotta see how Fight Force will pay me, if the moneys good and the competition is tough, I'm there.
Q: Thanks you very much for your time, Mike. Good luck in your next fight!
A: You're welcome, hopefully with my intense wrestling training you will see a different Mike Bernardo in that cage or ring next time. I will continue to work hard. Since getting married and the kids I think my training in general slacked off the past few years. Now that the kids are getting a little older I've got a little more time to train. My wife has given me her support but, man, I can't lie I've lost some intensity over the years with this family life. Let's see if I can get it back, I owe it to my fans...
Interview Maeda:
Q: Masaru, yesterday you celebrated you biggest victory in your young MMA-career. How do you feel now?
A: I feel great! I feel like I made a important step into the right direction of becoming a HW champion. It was indeed my biggest victory so far. I hope to fight for the belt soon.
Q: Your actual opponent was Roy Nelson. Why did Bernardo had to step in as a replacement?
A: We talked about this before. I said he was scared of me, but back then I wasn't 100% sure. Now I am 100% sure of that. The event was just going to start, we had HD cameras ready and all (thanks to SMOKECOMBS), but this guy would just ignore me. He knew he would get smashed by me. I don't blame it all on Roy though. I think it is more his manager (bman), who decided to back out of the fight. This guy is a snake. I won't find any of his fighters, unless the promotions (the OMMA staff) gives me an guarantee that he will fight, or otherwise get punished. I don't want to talk about this anymore though. I just want to thanks Mike for being a man and taking the challenge.
Q: Before you could lock in the submission and take the win, it seemed you was badly hurt in the fight once, when he connected with a left hook. How much was you really hurt?
A: When a guy like Bernardo hits you right on the bottom, you are hurt, trust me. Fortunaly I have the ability to recover very quickly. When I rocked him with a high kick, I tryed everything to finish the fight and threw that big overhand right. I guess Mike, the experienced striker that he is, saw is coming miles away and countered me perfectly. It was a good experience though. I won't happen again to me.
Q: How hard was it to lock in that Heel Hook against Bernardo?
A: I was very suprised by his ground game. He was game, that's for sure. He did a god job on the ground actually. When I saw the opportunity for the submission, I went for it right away. It wasn't that hard to finish the hold though. He must practice his submission defense more.
Q: What are your future plans? Who are you going to fight next?
A: I have no idea yet. I don't even know at which event I will fight. If they will announce a Fight Force card, I will try to fight there too. My main goal is to become a champion here in Japan, but in the meantime, I also could make myself a name in North America, too. I think this will also help my popularity here in Japan, you know?
Q: Thanks for the interview, Masaru.
A: Thanks for having me here.
Interview Bernardo:
Q: Thanks for joining us so quickly after the match, Mike. Congratulations for a very good and exciting fight. Please tell us what went wrong in this fight for you.
A: Well, first of all, Maeda is just a tough son of a b*tch. I trained my ass off for that fight, so no excuses from me. The biggest thing was, he could take my punches. Man, this guy has an iron chin, and he recovers quick too. I don't know, we all know my ground game isn't my strong point. I've just gotta get back in there, sparring. And for my next fight I'm bringing in Cael Sanderson to work on my ground game. I've taken this part of my game for granted for too long
Q: You stunned Maeda at some point in the fight. How much you think he was hurt by your punch and why couldn't you capitalize more on it?
A: Yeah, well, no one ever accused me of lacking punching power (laughs). I recall that shot, it was a counter left hook after Maeda had just stunned me. I still had cobwebs from the shot he had landed on me and I hesitated maybe a split second to follow up on that punch, then he took me down. My takedown defense blows at this point, that's why I'm hoping these wrestlers (Sanderson) I'm bringing in will help me in that area. But Maeda has great recovery ability, he was hurt for a second and I think I was surprised he didn't go down from that shot.
Q: Earlyer the fight you was stunned by him, too. In fact, he stunned you with a high kick of his. Was you suprised that Maeda wanted to stand and trade with you for so long? Did you maybe focused too much on the takedown defense and got suprised by his stand up striking because of this?
A: (Laughs) Well, yeah, I'm always surprised when someone tries to stand with me. I mean I'm basically a boxer/kickboxer, so generally I don't think anyone in MMA is gonna be able to, or be willing to stand with me. At that moment when he rocked me it wasn't because I was worried about the takedown. I tried to throw a hook from too far a distance and he countered with that high kick. It rocked me pretty bad, but I still had enough wits to land some counters. MMA guys forget that us K-1 guys are used to taking hard punches and kicks. But yeah, throughout the fight I was trying to look for him to shoot in on a takedown. It's well known that's my achilee's heel. And after I stunned Maeda he put me on the ground and I was like a fish washed up on dryland (laughs). Hey, but I went for a submission for the first time! Bad move, cause that's when I got caught in that heel hook, stupid by me...
Q: Now how hard does this kid kicks? You already stood in the ring with the likes of Peter Aerts and Mirko "Cro Cop", so you might be one of the first to ask, when it comes to how hard someone kicks.
A: I compare it to a stiff summer breeze...(sheepish laugh), no man, I'm joking. That Maeda can kick. I knew he wasn't known for his hands, he's not a pro level boxer, but man, that dude can kick. I don't know if he has a karate background somewhere or what, but for a wrestler, that was the hardest kick I've ever taken. Maeda is up there, he can kick hard. I still think the hardest I've been kicked is by Jerome LeBanner and of course Ernest (Hoost), Ernesto's shins are like knives when he kicks you low. But yeah, Maeda gave me the hardest kick from any MMA guy for sure.
Q: We all know that you're a world class striker and not many people in the world of MMA want to stand and trade with you. You definatly showed some skills on the ground too, when Maeda took you down, though he was able to submit you within the first round. Do you feel the need of becoming a better grappler in order to be succesfull in Bushido or MMA as a whole? Or do you just concentrate on your takedown defense currently?
A: Well thanks, I thought I did horribly but I was able to get back to my feet a couple of times. Still, I could just feel his ability to control the action on the ground. I tried to put him in an armbar but he blocked my attempt easily. I definitely feel, to compete in this sport, I'll have to up my ground skills tenfold. I have worked on my takedown defense a little, but my timing just isn't coming along like I want it too. I've got to rework some things in the gym, and bring in the high level wrestlers I was telling you about. Randy Couture offered me the oppurtunity to train with him, and don't be surprised if there aren't rumors of Randy and I working together the coming months.
Q: This was your first fight at Bushido, but we all hope it won't be the last one. How do you see your future in MMA, Bushido and OMMA as a whole? Would you also consider to fight in North America, maybe at Fight Force?
A: Well, I'd love to continue my MMA career, but I also don't want to give up my K-1 career either. As long as one doesn't interfere with the other and I don't feel my skills in the K-1 arena are deteriorating I will continue this MMA thing. I think I would like to fight in Bushido again. And of course I wouldn't mind going to North America and fight at some point although I think the East has the best fans, I still don't mind putting on a show for the American fans. My first love is K-1, and would love to get in a kickboxing division at some point. I've still gotta see how Fight Force will pay me, if the moneys good and the competition is tough, I'm there.
Q: Thanks you very much for your time, Mike. Good luck in your next fight!
A: You're welcome, hopefully with my intense wrestling training you will see a different Mike Bernardo in that cage or ring next time. I will continue to work hard. Since getting married and the kids I think my training in general slacked off the past few years. Now that the kids are getting a little older I've got a little more time to train. My wife has given me her support but, man, I can't lie I've lost some intensity over the years with this family life. Let's see if I can get it back, I owe it to my fans...
