pbp courtesy of sherdog
Next up Alex ( Eleianenko, Fedor`s bro ) vs Matt
Matt and his twin bro come out dressed almost the same so we don`t know which one is fighting!! lol
Round 1
Matt tries to Rush Alex twice and eats several punches before getting the clinch......Alex then takes him to the ground and is in his guard pounding similar to Fedor......looking good.
Matt is already cut and bleeding above the eye.....he`s gives his back but quickly stands and gets to his feet....they stop it to wipe the blood, then go back to it with Alex landing some shots followed by a knee....they clinch and Alex again takes him down, has side, then swings into full mount.
Matt gives his back again and gets choked out.
Point of not...Alex is 26kg bigger than Matt and it showed.
Bad luck, im sure he will get another crack at it though.Atleast he was over there and in there!
Well done Matt, hope you enjoy the rest of your trip. Hamish
found some pics of Matt & Mal on pride site, its just in Japanese so i cant understand any of it and can't find it on english pride site.
Tough break....26kg thats alot to give up!
Great job Matt!
Tough fight, 26kg weight advantage to a dangerous opponent. Sounds like Matt went after him though!!!
Great to see the Foki's in Pride, hope Matt gets another shot, Mal also!!!
Respectfully
Gerald
Congratulations for getting there, Matt. That big russion bear got you this time but next timE victory will just be that much sweeter.
Just getting there and giving it ur best already makes u a champion, ttt,. And i hope we get to see some more of our Aussie MMA fighters in big shows like this.
Bad luck Matt very hard to give up that weight.
I have just finished translating the interview with Matt and Mal Foki. I'll post it below. Forgive any minor variations, but I haven't had time to check it.
There is a very interesting New Zealander fighting on the May23rd Pride Bushido at Yokohama Arena. Matt "The Tiger Twin" Foki, who has also been making a name for himself in the Australian MMA event "Spartan". We were able to catch up with him and his twin brother Mal, also a pro fighter, whilst they were in Japan.
Photo caption:
Matt (right, the younger) and Mal (left, the older). Together they make up the Tiger Twins.
Interviewer: Nice to meet you. I know you are twins, but your face, your body shape: exactly alike! It's uncanny. Anyway, what attracted you to the martial arts?
Matt: We both liked to wrestle from when we were kids. And our oldest brother, David, was doing kickboxing, so we also started doing that too. We both did rugby too, but wanted to get into more of an interesting, extreme sport. So that's how we got into MMA.
Interviewer: So what is your fight record?
Matt: I've only been fighting in MMA for two years so far. Six fights for no losses to date. I also won the Australian wrestling title.
Mal: I have always trained and fought alongside my brother. I have had five wins and one loss. In the wrestling tournament my brother won, I came third.
Interviewer: And I believe you two are the real stars of the "Spartan" MMA event in Australia?
Matt: Probably because we are twins. We also try really hard to give the fans some spectacular fights, so that's probably why the fans like seeing us in Spartan.
Interviewer: I understand you don't get too many opportunities to fight in Australia. So what do you usually do for a living?
Matt: We work as bouncers.
Mal: We've been working nightclubs together for nine years now. We manage a nightclub at the Gold Coast. We manage and work the doors at our nightclub, "Shooters". It's nice; it has a theatre, and aquarium, and it is known as a bit of a surfing Mecca. Probably the best known nightspot in the area.
Interviewer: But isn't bouncing kind of dangerous? Knives and all that?
Matt: (Laughing) It's not that bad. Although we do get plenty of bikies on Harleys and so on. But we're fairly well known around the place, so if there is any trouble and they see us coming, they tend to hotfoot it out of there pretty fast! (Laughs)
Interviewer: This time, Matt's opponent in Pride Bushido is Aleksander Emilyenko. Is Pride well known in Australia?
Matt: Of course! It's huge, about the most famous event in the world. Everyone knows about it!
Mal: Amongst Pride fighters, guys like Sakuraba are very popular. We'd like to meet him this time in Japan if we get the chance.
Interviewer: And how do you feel about being able to fight in Pride?
Matt: It's a real honour. I still can't believe we have been invited. And in response to those expectations, I hope to really give a good fight on the day.
Interviewer: So can you tell us a little about your fighting style Matt?
Matt: Well, it's not so much that I have any particularly outstanding skill. I am more a total fighter I think. I prefer the stand-up, so my style is centred there, but I also like the ground.
Mal: Our gym has a number of pro kickboxers and muay thai fighters, as well as Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighters, so we get to do all kinds of training. So it's not so much that I am especially a stand-up fighter or a ground fighter. I like to be a more of an all rounder.
Matt: At our gym, the Five Rings Dojo, we train stand-up and Muay Thai with Nathan Corbett, who has also fought Shootboxing in Japan (Note: Corbett is currently ranked No. 1 in Shootboxing Light heavyweight division, and was in Japan as Hidehiko Yoshida's stand-up trainer/sparring partner building up to the Pride Middleweight GP).
Interviewer: So what is your main specialty?
Matt: If you look at me you can see! I like to eat, so that is my specialty! (Laughs) Only joking... The point is until I climb into the ring and fight, I am not sure what to expect. I am quite explosive though, so I hope I am able to show the Japanese fight fans some of that power.
Mal: I am certain my brother will really give the Japanese fans something to enjoy! It will definitely be a really exciting match. So I hope the fans come to see the fights!
Matt: the thing is I am fairly laid back usually, but when I get in the ring it all changes. So I really want to salute the crowd with a real victory shout at the end!
Interviewer: And Mal, do you think you'd like to fight on Pride some time?
Mal: If the opportunity comes, of course I would like that! Even if the offer was for June, I am ready! What we would really like to see is a tag team match. What do you think if we had a tag team match against a couple of the Pride fighters! (Laughs.)
Interviewer: That sounds very interesting! But for now, we are really looking forward to seeing your fight on Sunday!
Kezza i think you should ban Cameron from your events because of this! ;)
Yes Keat. How dare he do a really good job on translating that interview. Damn him and his intelligence!
I thought Cameron would have learnt not to report or comment after his last effort. ;)
Now all he has to do is upset Shooto and then he will have to move to another country to be an official.