while waiting for the bus to the stadium, i was kidding around with Bas Rutten in the lobby of the hotel as if he were just another MMA fan on the way to a show.
when Art of War came to Macau, Wanderlei Silva went up into the stands to chat and have a picture with our Kylin guys.
at the recent Fury cage fight in Macau, a BIG Japanese guy in a very bright yellow shirt had all heads turning. he was none other than Tsuyoshi "TK" Kosaka of Pride, Rings, Deep, Pancreas and UFC. he's also known as the only man to beat Fedor - even if it was by ref stoppage due to a cut. In Pride 2006 he beat Mario Sperry, but went on to lose by TKO to Mark Hunt in "Total Elimination Absolute". he had a pretty awe-inspiring aura about him, even though he was easy to approach.
another MMA legend - Yuji Shimada - was a referee at Fury. this man is a walking encyclopedia of MMA, Pride and Dream. and what many people outside of Japan don't know is that he also knows his professional wrestling - he's even had his own persona and once spoofed "Sexyama". when the last fight was over, everyone working the event made a beeline to the beer - and i was delighted that Yuji joined us. Nathanael Amacker, one of the judges, engaged him in some light conversation and learned a few more interesting things about him:
NA: "You are known over the world, and you've reffed some of the biggest fights in history. Do you ever get nervous when you go in the ring?"
YUJI: "Not really. Only sometimes I do."
NA: "Who would you say is your favorite fighter?"
YUJI: "I like Fedor. Oh, I also really like Brock Lesnar."
NA: "Do you think that Sakuraba is diminishing as a fighter?"
YUJI: "No, he's just getting older."
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