Apparently Satoshi Ishii (the judo gold medalist) has said he has made his mind up and wants to fight in the UFC and not in Japan. He also said that he will be training at American Top Team in March. Can't see it happening as it doesn't make sense. UFC won't pay anywhere near the amount he could get in Japan. I'm interested to see how he does, training at ATT should help him. Also there are rumours that Yoshihiro Akiyama (now a free agent) also want to fight in the UFC. I also can't see that happening for the same reason, even though I would like it to happen.
Ishii also said he wants to fight Fedor. Id take alot of what his saying with a grain of salt at the moment. So far he wants to forsake Judo to make pittance in MMA. Likewise he would be a legit MMA star in Japan but wants to make his debut in the UFC for even less? The kid must have got punched in the ear too many times.
Dana White has invited Ishii to attend UFC 92. Still probably doesn't mean much at this time as we have seen other fights invited to shows in the past and still not sign with the UFC.
If they are signing him, it's probably to do with trying to expand their audience to Japan (if it's not already out there). Not too sure why Ishii wants to be (most likely) underpaid in the UFC when he would make huge sums of money in Japan for the likes of Dream. Perhaps he genuinely wants to fight a good standard of competition, unlike what he would likely do in Japan.
although in japan he would be like a hero the ufc would probably be good for him. his wrestling would fit well with the cage. plus they never really have that many stand ups in the ufc. in japan he would have to fight better grapplers and would get stood up a lot more.
Satoshi Ishii meets with Dana White in Las Vegas Posted by Suki, MMAFighting.com 2008 Olympic judo gold medallist Satoshi Ishii met Friday with UFC president Dana White at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. In a conversation transcribed by Kamipro (White's quotes here are translated from Japanese print), Ishii expressed his desire to train in the US and asked White for recommendations, to which the UFC head suggested Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Georges St. Pierre, the American Kick Boxing Academy in San Jose or Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. One place White didn't recommend was when the judoka brought up Russia. "If you are serious about MMA, Russia is not the place you should go," White said. "Stay in the US. The best fighters and trainers are in the US now. "I want to invite you to Las Vegas for a month and let you train at Randy's gym. What do you think?" "Awesome," Ishii replied. "You will learn about real MMA fighters through training with best fighters," White said. "I will evaluate you based on what Randy's trainer think about you." Ishii had planned on training with Fedor Emelianenko and the Russia Red Devil Team in St. Petersburg, Russia. Ishii has also previously talked about training with Yoshihiro Akiyama's Team Cloud and the American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida. In addition to training at Xtreme Couture, White also presented the option of fighting his way up on a season of "The Ultimate Fighter" on Spike TV. Ishii said he weighs around 108 kg (238 pounds) and wants to fight at heavyweight, but White said Ishii should instead fight as a light heavyweight. "When fighters in your size fight in the UFC, they better lose weight and fight in the lighter weight," White said. "[Start training first] and you'll figure it out." at Dana if he thinks Ishii will go on TUF.
Dana obviously doesnt know who Ishii is or is playing hardball. Not sure if the kid can make 205 either.
SATOSHI ISHII STARTS EXCLUSIVE NEGOTIATIONS WITH UFC http://www.ufc.com/index.cfm?fa=news.detail&gid=16799 Japan's Olympic Judo Gold Medalist, Satoshi Ishii, yesterday started exclusive negotiations to enter into a contract with the UFC. Ishii, who won the gold medal in the men's over 100-kilogram event at the Beijing Olympics, arrived in Las Vegas on Christmas day to experience UFC 92. Over the next two days, Mr. Ishii toured Las Vegas and visited various MMA gyms, including the UFC Training Center and Xtreme Couture, where he trained and sparred with Randy "The Natural" Couture. Earlier this month, Mr. Ishii decided that he wished to start his MMA career in the United States, and that his dream was to fight in the UFC. He made his choice to negotiate with UFC last night after watching UFC 92. "I was impressed with the training programs here in Las Vegas and the UFC event," said Mr. Ishii. "I am looking forward to working with the UFC and to developing my mixed martial arts skills." "Satoshi Ishii has the potential to be very successful in mixed martial arts," said Dana White, UFC President. "We can't wait to start working with Mr. Ishii, we look forward to helping him with his training, his career, and his eventual debut in a professional fight." Ishii competed as a Judo heavyweight in the Olympics this year. Whether he will attempt to compete as a heavyweight or light heavyweight has yet to be decided.
