Pride Grand Prix bracketing is in!!!

[NHBMARK1]

"Let's say that Sakuraba beats Silva (which I can't see happening), Silva's fights are brutal and I doubt Sak would have the endurance to continue another 2 fights in the same night."



So you're saying Sak is the Japanese Ken Shamrock a decade later?

[salamat po]

Kazushi Sakuraba Training for Wanderlei Silva
July 18, 2003
Sakuraba Kazushi held a public sparring session at Takada Dojo on July 14th. Sakuraba was training heavily with Daijiro Matsui and Yusuke Imamura for his 3rd match-up against Wanderlei Silva. He was a little tired after practice but the reporters had a present to liven him up, a birthday cake for Sakuraba's 34th birthday.

Sakuraba opened up 2, 5-minute rounds to the press corps with cartoon music playing in the background. Sakuraba was as fluid as ever, practicing smoothly with a smile that we haven't seen in a while.
Sakuraba is currently weighing in at 90kg. He was approximately 83kg for his fight with Royce and his first fight with Silva. He would sometimes be less than 80kg after a hard workout so this is a big increase in weight for him. However, according to his training partner, Matsui, "He feels very heavy when he pins you. I could reverse him before but not now. He hasn't lost any speed, either." Even Sakuraba himself could feel the difference: "I don't get reversed easily like I did before. I don't think there's really any change in my movement, though." Apparently, Sakuraba has also been on a weight gain program; "I got a lot out of my special training in Osaka. I was climbing mountains every day. I'm trying to gain weight but I just can't eat that much!" Sakuraba went on to say that he would like to be about 90~92kg by the time he fights in the Grand Prix.

Even before, people that have sparred with Sakuraba often said that he sticks to you so well that he didn't doesn't feel like a middleweight. Now he's gaining strength and we may be able to see a new kind of Sakuraba on August 10th.

When asked about researching Silva, Sakuraba replied; "If I watch the videos too soon, I'll start training with that image in my mind. In the fight, however, the opponent won't fight like my image. I watch the videos just before the fight. I'll watch more of his fights with other fighters, rather than my own." Sakuraba also said that he's no training specifically for Silva but just hopes to be in top shape at the time of the fight.

Sakuraba smiled painfully when the conversation turned to his 34th birthday. "It's tough (laughing), but if you round off, I'm still just 30! Well, that's what I tell myself, anyway. The quantity of practice I do has decreased but the quality has increased." When asked about his future, Sakuraba replied; "I'd like to keep going until the same age as Mr. Takada."