my head was aching and numb from reading the crappy english translated versions of the fedor and nog interviews that were recently posted here. so I took it upon myself to translate the crappy english version to a bit better one.
I am sure it lost some of the original intent but I just didn't want anyone else going through the brain numbing crap that I went through in reading the ones I read.
K:the final fight of the pride heavyweight grand prix championship came to an unexpected result
F: yes, it did. nobody could have predicted that result, especially nogueira and I.
K: the collision of heads was an accident but how do you feel about it?
F: I think, in this world, anything can happen. but concerning this incident, the only thing I can think of is "bad luck". I was moving quickly and nogueira used some new tactics and when I moved, he lifted his head, therefore the result of the match.
K: what did you feel when your heads collided?
F: basically, I felt nothing. I felt no pain.
K: but that wound is pretty deep
F: yes, it's a deep wound, but I don't feel the pain
K: did you think you could continue in the fight?
F: I still could have continued to fight. I would have rather the fight continued.
K: do you feel disappointed in the "no contest" result?
F: I am very disappointed. not only am I, but I feel the fans are disappointed too. in fact, there were so many fans watching, to see who would be the best. in this aspect, I am very disappointed also.
K: if the fight didn't end the way it did, how do you think it would have went?
F: I can't make such predictions...and I don't want to. the fight ended with "no contest". but there are many assumptions with the headbutt
K: what was your strategy?
F: both nogueira and I had a different strategy than our previous fight. I think that this is natural. the next time we fight, there will be yet a different strategy.
K: the fight didn't go too long, but what little happened was very entertaining.
F: if it had come to the end, without an unfortunate incident, then it would have been great.
K: noguiera tried a submission on the leg, which is popular in sambo. you were not suprised by this?
F: not at all. yes, leg submissions is popular in sambo, but others use this too, so there was nothing suprising to me about this.
K: if I am not mistaken, this is the second time you have been stopped by a cut in a fight(the first by tsuyoshi kohsaka on december 22, 2000 in Rings)
F: this was an illegal move. he cut me with an elbow, which is illegal. I think many japanese fans remember this. I don't think of that as a loss
K: good, let's not continue that discussion. it makes the probability of it happening again moreso.
F: yes, these things happen. but it is impossible to know when they will happen. but the rules should leave room for different situations.
K: I understand. we can hope that DSE will see also. what do you think about your fight with ogawa?
F: it is hard to analyze ogawa. he has had such different results in the ring. I respect him in that he was the silver medalist winner in the olympics. and the way he beat stefan leko was great. he showed a lot of power, with stefan being a world class striker
K: were you afraid of his unpredictability? you easily won that fight, but did you think it would end that way?
F: I don't understand the question...are you saying do I think I would have lost?
K: yes.
F: well we know the result. there is no point in thinking "what if" or "what could have happened" etc. the result is the result. it's all shown in the ring. I don't like speaking about these things subjectively.
K: I completely agree with you. but all the same it is okay to make assumptions.
F: I understand. People are free to make predictions. but I, being a fight, don't like to.
K: in parting, is there any message you would like to give to the fans?
F: I apologize that I cannot appear to you as the champion of the pride heavyweight grand prix. but I promise that I will fight nogueira again as soon as possible. my cut is healing, there are no problems now, and I can start training. I also want to express my gratitude to all the fans for their warm support. I didn't do it this time, but in the near future I want to show that I am champion. I think another fight will be very hard, but in any case I hope for your support.
K: we also hope for another fight.
nog interview next...
in the final fight at the pride heavyweight grand prix, no one expected an incident like this one. we expected the best person to prevail, but it didn't happen. antonio nogueira wants to say some things about the incident to his fans.
K: after the fight, you left the arena refusing to comment on the fight. how do you feel now? do you feel better?
N: well, not better really...moreso I am
K: the fight was stopped because of a cut on fedor. after the fight stopped how were you feeling?
N: I thought the fight would be continued. I still wanted to fight. I trained a lot for this fight.
K: right after they stop the fight to check the cut on fedor, you seemed to think you won the fight.
N: yes, I was confident that I won. nothing has changed. I still think I won the fight against fedor. the result shouldn't have been "no contest". if it was not a delibrate action, then it could have been a "no contest" but fedor did it delibrately.
K: can you tell us how you know fedor did it delibrately?
N yes. in the part of the fight, I was going to go for his back. but the way he prevented me from taking his back was by headbutting me. if you watch the tape, it is obvious. I have a cassette, would you like me to show you?
K: yes, please. (noguiera shows a tape and then demonstrates on me what would have happened to fedor if he hadn't headbutted him, resulting in a rear naked choke)
N: (regarding the tape) you see, how fedor intentionally headbutts me?
K: yes, and if you grab him that way, his body should move sideways. certainly it would work if fedor didn't show resistance.
N: as you can see, he moves his body toward as mine, resulting in a delibrate headbutt
K: and what is this submission move?
N: it is called a-mudorekku. the capturing of the right hand and the subsequent transition to the back in very popular in jiu jitsu. I have done this in my fights against yokota and kikuta. and my movement with his movement resulted in a delibrate headbutt. he tried to keep his position, but the only way he could was a collision of heads, and that was a breaking of the rules. I want the fans to know this.
K: was in not a casual incident and not a delibrate action?
N: the same thing happened in the UFC with vitor belfort and randy couture. during their fight randy got a cut on the eyelid from vitor
K: their second fight?
N: yes, and though the headbutt and the eyelid cut are different things, the doctor stopped the fight and vitor got the belt. but it is still the same situation as mine(doctor stoppage).
K: sure. was the fight with fedor, until the stoppage, going as you wanted it to?
N: yes. the fight was going just as I planned.
K: you say it went as you planned, but this time, just as last time, you were on the bottom. and last time, fedor beat you by throwing his hard blows while you were on the bottom.
N: even though I was on the bottom, I constantly attacked. fedor did throw some hard punches, but only a couple affected me.
K: so you were sure this time that you could avoid those punches?
N: this time I had a completely different strategy. I was moving the whole time and my strategy was that as soon as the opportunity presented itself, I would submit him.
K: it seems that there were many "diving" submissions. was that also part of your strategy?
N: yes. taking into account the strength of fedor, I would keep him on the defense. so I would dive inside trying to take away his base of power. this has been known to work in fights.
K: you have said to our magazine before that kharitonov is better standing than fedor is. but still you chose to stand with kharitonov and in the fight with fedor you chose to go to the ground.
N: in the fight with kharitonov I simply believed that I was the better one standing, so I chose to strike with him. and I wanted to conserve my energy.
K: conserve your energy?
N: if I tried vehemtly to submit him, there is the danger of not having as much energy for the next fight. if it was a single fight, I would have tried to submit him, but this was a tournament. but on the other hand, the fight with fedor was the last one, so I tried for the submission.
K: so everything was going according to plan?
N: actually, I really thought I could beat fedor this time...I came in excellent shape, compared to last
K: speaking of good shape, I was suprised to see you run backstage after beating kharitonov.
N: I was excited. I was just waiting to get that belt. I was in the best shape of my life and I had absolute confidence that I would win. and this is why it is such a pity that the fight ended in a "no contest". it is especially a pity taking into account that I was pleased with how the fight was going.
K: after the fight, fedor said up to the point of the stoppage that he had the advantage.
N: fedor simply didn't know what I was up to. he didn't realize what I was doing from the bottom. I think those that saw the fight understand that he eventually would have lost stamina(pigpen note: not sure if that last sentence is correct)
K: well, it is a pity that we couldn't see a champion for the grand prix
N: yes. I think there was no mutual understand between the organizers and the fighters. but I do think I was going to submit him and he headbutted me to prevent that. that's all I really want to say.
K: what explanation did you receive right after the fight?
N: I heard it right away and the second I heard it I wanted to just leave the ring. and this is why I left in such a hurry and gave no comments
K: yes, it was a chance for you to prove to be the best.
N: no I think I proved I am the best. for me I see it as me winning by a TKO via doctor's stoppage. that night I came out the victor.
K: pride plans on organizing a third fight with you and fedor within a year. fedor has also agreed to this fight.
N: this is business for my manager. I cannot make that decision. but I can tell you that I have no objections to a third fight.
K: you spoke of having a break and spending time with your daughter, after the tournament. will it be hard after what happened?
N: I have already promised to take my daughter to disneyworld in florida, and I'll stick to that. and my motivation is even more now...there will be no problem
K: if you beat fedor in your third fight, who would you like to fight next?
N: with a martian. that's a joke obviously, there are still many strong fighters out there. actually kharitonov is the one I wanted to fight.
K: you wanted to fight kharitonov?
N: he is a fighter that is quickly rising in the ranks. I am very happy that I won against such an up and coming fighter, just like my win against heath herring, who was on the rise. and bob sapp, when he was at his best. also semmy schilt and mirko filipovic.
K: yes, you fought many fighters who were on the rise.
N: I hope I receive good pension from dream stage. I think it's necessary to have severence pay on the contract. taking into account the great fighters I will fight, I hope they will also provide a nurse
end of interview
whew that was hard
I hope at least a couple people appreciate it ;)
again, I know I fucked up a couple(or a few things) but the gist of it is there
sweet - thanks pigpen!
oh, and if you would like to read the crappy english versions of the interviews then here are the links for ya(is dared)
Thanks for the work!!
Its funny, the more interviews I read:
The more I think that Fedor is a cool, nice guy.
Mino is bitter and a little arrogant.
double post
Thanks pigpen!
good job pigpen.
and this quote made me LOL:
K: what did you feel when your heads collided?
F: basically, I felt nothing. I felt no pain.
classic fedor.
Lame that Nog considers the fight a win and insists Fedor's headbutt was deliberate. More fuel for the anti-Nogueira/anti-BTT/anti-Brazilian factions. I'm still rooting for him in the rematch, though Fedor is such a cool guy it's hard to root against him.
thanks
ttt
cheers pigpen! TTT 4 ya!