Comments on: Satoshi Ishii: The Olympic Factor

By: ironman

ironman — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 20:37:21 +0000

Yeah, I saw that. That was part of my assumption that he signed with FEG (since it says so in the piece). I posted the article they linked back to above.

By: Juno

Juno — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 18:48:14 +0000

Take a look at this. http://mmamania.com/2008/12/17/olympic-judo-gold-medalist-satoshi-ishi-headed-for-american-top-team/

By: ironman

ironman — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 16:49:22 +0000

No worries Coyote. For some reason I remembered the negotiations with the UFC panning out better.

I’ve seen a piece from mmamania saying that he signed with FEG. http://mmamania.com/2008/10/29/olympic-judo-gold-medalist-satoshi-ishii-signs-with-feg/ Given the date, I’m thinking he’s a free agent. Strikeforce, maybe?

By: ironman

ironman — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 16:47:43 +0000

Matt, I’m right there with you. I hope he fights a can in his debut so we can get a look at his skills, and then give him an opportunity to develop.

When I first hear he was going to train with ATT, my reaction was “wow, this is a guy who really wants to learn the sport.” He left his comfort zone and is learning about the sport with guys who can really teach him, and I hope he does well.

By: Matt C.

Matt C. — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 15:57:14 +0000

I don’t know exactly why but I can’t wait to see what Ishii can do. I totally agree about the willingness to learn theory. From everything I have read Ishii wants to be great and I think the evidence supports that. He wouldn’t bother going to train with all the different people he has went to train with if he wasn’t serious about learning.

I just hope DREAM or where he fights first doesn’t throw him directly into the deep end. I want to see him get a chance to get his feet wet against some lighter competition first. That way he can figure out what he needs to work on before facing top-tier competition.

By: Coyote Mexican

Coyote Mexican — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:33:07 +0000

Where is the Source of he is in contract with DREAM? The last year they say that for NYE and Ishii turn down the contract, no?

Good article, sorry for look a little angry¡¡¡ is just my bad english Joshua¡¡¡

By: ironman

ironman — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:34:06 +0000

Juno, that may very well be the case with his signing. There are a bunch of different reports which all say different things, none of which is particularly accurate. (Vee, if that’s the case, then it is a smart move)

By: VEe

VEe — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:59:58 +0000

I recall he was training with Lyoto Machida. Machida advised him to fight in Japan for a few fights before enterting the UFC. Smart move.

By: Juno

Juno — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 07:09:13 +0000

Also I’m not sure about him being a brown belt in bjj either. I think that was a mistranslation or something by someone. I think what was said that because he’s a black belt in judo means HE’D BE a brown belt in bjj skillwise, then people saw that and thought he was an actually brown belt in bjj.I don’t think he’s ever had a bjj lesson in his life. They were just comparing his judo skills to what his bjj SHOULD BE.

By: Juno

Juno — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 07:00:06 +0000

What happened was he verbally agreed to fight with feg/dream late last year but backed out because of his desire to fight for the ufc. Then I believe mmaweekly reported he had in fact signed with the ufc. But what it was that he had signed a contract for exclusive negotiations with the ufc, for like a month or something. He never actually signed with them to fight, just to negotiate. But I don’t think mmaweekly ever retracted or updated on the story leaving a lot of people thinking he’d officially signed with the ufc, which right now is not true. He is still very much a free agent to my knowledge.