Spoilers after the jump, along with the Fedor/Ishii fight, the Sylvia/Le Banner “fight,” and the bantamweight tournament final match between Bibiano Fernandes and Antonio Banuelos.

It’s official: Satoshi Ishii is a dead man walking. Don’t call it a comeback, but Fedor Emelianenko was spotted on his return flight home from Holland donning none other than the Glorious Sweater of Absolute Victory, or as MMA Mania calls it, The Ultimate Sweater of Destruction. I’m not going to lie to you, Potato Nation, I had to paste that name directly from their article, because as I tried to type it, it was as if some otherworldly force took over my body, choked me within an inch of my life, and then forced me to smash the ice cream cone I was eating into my face. Weird.

The sweater, which was retired amidst an undercover attempt by the Russian government to assassinate “The Last Emperor” and use its powers to bring on a new Ice Age, has been the sole factor in Emelianenko’s recent three fight skid, which saw him submitted by Fabricio Werdum before being TKO’ed by Antonio Silva and Dan Henderson. After a recent, secret shift in the Russian power paradigm, Emelianenko told CagePotato in an exclusive and possibly fake interview that he feels safe to wear the sweater again, and looks forward to going on another 30 fight win streak that will culminate in a “two man enter, one man leaves” match against Dan Severn.

(Photo courtesy of Scott Hirano. For more from this gallery, click here.)

By Anton Gurevich

A week away from his encounter with Fedor Emelianenko at Fight For Japan: Genki Desu Ka Omisoka 2011, it seems like not many people are giving 2008 Olympic Games Gold Medalist Satoshi Ishii a chance to get his hand raised at the Saitama Super Arena. After all, Ishii will be entering just his seventh professional MMA bout, as he currently holds a record of 4-1-1.

However, Ishii’s career decisions speak for themselves. The 25-year-old Judo phenom left his comfort zone in Japan to pursue a full-time Mixed Martial Arts career in the U.S. Ishii become a student of the game by training under Muay Thai extraordinaire Ed Buckley, and touring between some of the most famous gyms on the west coast.

Ishii could easily be labeled one of the most high-profile martial artists currently competing in the sport. The fight with Fedor could serve as a turning point for the decorated Judoka, who has set himself a clear goal of becoming one of the best MMA fighters on the planet. It’s an opportunity Satoshi Ishii will take full advantage of, especially when fighting on his home turf in Japan.

We had an opportunity to speak to Satoshi Ishii, who shared his thoughts about the December 31st date with “The Last Emperor,” and his preparations coming up to the fight…

Read the interview with Ishii on Lowkick.blitzcorner.com

(Chick vs. dude grappling match ends badly for the dude. Props: nate53202)

Some selected highlights from our friends around the MMA blogosphere…

- Strikeforce ‘Melendez vs. Masvidal’ Fighter Salaries (MMA Convert)

- The Outlaw and the Losing Streak (MMA Fighting)

- Top 10 Biggest MMA Upsets in 2011 (The Fight Nerd)

- Meet the Flyweights: Interview With Debuting UFC 125-Pounder Ian McCall (MMA Mania)

- Photo Gallery: Satoshi Ishii Trains at Black House for Fedor Emelianenko Fight (Lowkick.Blitzcorner.com)

- Jordan Breen: People Wouldn’t Intensely Hate Jon Jones if He Was White (Fight Opinion)

- Josh Barnett Booked for Pro Wrestling Match in Dream’s NYE Event (5th Round)

- Why There Will Never Be a Dominant UFC Heavyweight Champion (BleacherReport.com/MMA)

- Cooking With Tim Kennedy: Killer Texas Chili (MiddleEasy)

- Update on Zuffa vs. New York Lawsuit (MMA Payout)

- Fourth Time’s a Charm: Kenny Florian Back at Lightweight Seeking UFC Gold (FightLine)

- Jorge Masvidal Fought With an Injured Right Hand Against Gilbert Melendez (Five Ounces of Pain)

(Penny for your thoughts, Brett.)

Heavy.com is reporting that the planned heavyweight bout between Brett Rogers and Tim Sylvia has been scrapped because “Da’ Grim” was denied a travel visa to Japan due to his recent dust-up with his wife that landed him behind bars and on trial for domestic assault.

(What? Was Zuluzinho not ready for a rematch?) 

Fresh off a unanimous decision victory over Jeff Monson that snapped the only multiple fight losing streak of his career, word has just broke that Fedor Emelianenko will be fighting in Japan for the first time since his armbar victory over Hong Man Choi at Yarennoka – New Years Eve 2007. As luck would have it, “The Last Emperor” will be fighting on New Years Eve once again, this time under the DREAM banner and against 2008 Olympic gold medal winning Judo practitioner Satoshi Ishii.

Not exactly the freak show bout that Japan (and Fedor) have been known to dabble in, but to call it a mismatch would be somewhat of an understatement. After winning the gold medal in Beijing, China over three years ago, Ishii has built up a 4-1-1 MMA record, with wins over the likes of Ikuhisa Minowa and former K1 great Jerome Le Banner, but has not fought since his draw with pill popper and occasional fighter Paulo Filho back in September. Ishii’s lone loss came in his MMA debut at the hands of fellow Judoka gold medalist Hidehiko Yoshida.

We’d tell you how we can do this to that poor girl, but it’s already been asked.

We’re back with yet another installment of Ask the Potato. You know the drill by now. You ask us somewhat serious questions. We give you bitter, sarcastic responses. Those Black Friday discounts we got yesterday have us feeling pretty stoked, so we’re not going to be nearly as facetious as usual. Sarcasm? Only one way to find out…

RSparrow asks: Who’s the black guy that’s always at the weigh ins? Like some kinda hype man, wtf?

(Main event, huh? Interesting choice.)

Just a friendly reminder that the inaugural Amazon Forest Combat show is tonight and for those of you who want to watch it, we’ll have a stream Thursday afternoon. Sorry for the inconvenience, but we’re told that there was a scheduling issue and even the networks in Brazil who were to carry the event live are not airing it until tomorrow and this weekend, respectively.

Fair warning: Chael Sonnen tells us the Internet quality in Brazil is slightly better than dial-up, so the quality may be a bit less than 720p.

Anyway, the card for this show is a good one and definitely worth watching.  It should be live around 4:00 pm ET Thursday, we’re told.

VidProps: ijfchannel/YouTube

Funny thing about literal translations: they’re rarely very good at saying exactly what you mean, rather they tend to sort-of-in-a-general-way communicate a rough idea. And sometimes, they’re downright misleading. Take judo, for example. The Japanese translates into English imprecisely to begin with: ju translates literally as “gentle” or “soft”, while do is “way” or “path”. Both of these concepts relate more to the philosophy of judo — conservation of energy and an emphasis on technique — than a description of the style and action. Ask anyone who’s ever tried a few classes in the “gentle way“, and they’ll tell you that it’s anything but. Any class that begins with learning how to fall down with minimal pain runs a significant risk of being brutal.

Judo was born in the late 19th Century by a Japanese jujitsu fella by the name of Jiguro Kano, known to his brodogs as “Da Jigumon”. Kano had begun training as a result of being bullied growing up –a story that still rings true through time. At the time, “jujitsu” was something of a generic term for unarmed fighting, and schools varied wildy in technique, training methods, and instruction.

By Mike Russell

(Parisyan says he’s motivated to beat Smith and get back on the winning track.)
Karo “The Heat” Parisyan (19-7) will take on Jordan “Mata Ele” Smith (15-2-1) September 14 at the upstart Amazon Forest Combat promotion’s first event in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil.

Parisyan informed CagePotato.com last night that the bout agreements for the fight have been signed and said that he’s excited to get back out and put on an even better performance than he did in his last outing in May at MMA Live 1 against Ryan “The Real Deal” Ford in London, Ontario, Canada. He was winning the fight heading into the third round, having controlled the action using takedowns and his trademark judo throws, but was caught with a well-timed knee by the Canadian welterweight standout who recently signed with Bellator and the bout was stopped due to a cut. The heartbreaking loss left a bad taste in Parisyan’s mouth and motivated him to up his training intensity while awaiting word of his next bout.

Genki Sudo vs. Royler Gracie, from K-1 Romanex 5/22/2004

When we last checked in on Royler Gracie, the forty five year old Brazilian was looking for an opponent for Amazon Forest Combat’s inaugural event on September 14^th. Initially, we reported that Royler turned down an ADCC bout with Eddie Bravo in hopes of getting him to fight at this event. Later, it was revealed that Hideo Tokoro was initially targeted as an opponent for Royler Gracie, but that fight fell through because Tokoro will more than likely be fighting at a Dream September event. Now, as Sherdog reported earlier today, former Shooto champion Masakatsu Ueda has stepped up to fight Royler Gracie in what will be his final MMA bout.

Royler Gracie is 5-4-1 in his professional MMA career. He hasn’t fought since losing to Hideo Tokoro at K-1 Premium 2006 Dynamite!! on New Year’s Eve, 2006. Ueda, meanwhile, is 13-1-2 and riding a three fight win streak. He most recently knocked out Rumina Sato with a body kick on July 18^th. If you’re a believer in “momentum” and/or “cage rust”, then Ueda is easily the early favorite.

(Size advantage goes to Ishii; shitty tattoo advantage is all Filho.)

A bout between former WEC middleweight champion Paulo Filho and Olympic judo gold medalist Satoshi Ishii, presumably at light heavyweight, is being targeted for Amazon Forest Combat’s inaugural event in Manaus-Amazonas, Brazil on September 14. According to a report by TATAME, the promotion is also in talks with several notable ex-Zuffa fighters including Marcus Davis, Nate Marquardt, Patrick Cote and Ronys Torres.

(“Well, maybe *you* can’t tell the difference between 18k gold and 14k gold…”)

Though he was slated to face Scott Lighty in a featured light-heavyweight matchup at this Friday’s Strikeforce Challengers event at the Stockton Arena in Sad City, Olympic gold-medalist judoka Satoshi Ishii has been forced to withdraw from the fight. Strikeforce announced this morning that due to the recent natural disasters in Japan, Ishii was unable to acquire a visa permitting him to leave his homeland in time for the event. Stepping in for him will be Lorenz Larkin, an undefeated knockout-artist who is currently 9-0 as a pro, following a 7-0 amateur career.

The Stockton Challengers show — headlined by a lightweight meeting between Justin Wilcox and Rodrigo Damm — would have been Ishii’s first MMA appearance in the United States. After losing his MMA debut in a decision to Hidehiko Yoshida on New Year’s Eve 2009, Ishii went 4-0 in 2010, with notable victories over Ikuhisa Minowa and Jerome Le Banner. Maybe when his visa issues are sorted out, a judoka vs. judoka bout between Ishii and fellow Strikeforce light-heavyweight Rhadi Ferguson is in order.

(Alistair Overeem vs. Todd Duffee. Fight starts at the 3:41 mark and ends 19 seconds later. Good night Ireeeene.)

Full results from today’s New Year’s Eve event in Saitama, Japan, are after the jump, along with a few must-see videos courtesy of ZP420MMA. Note: Bob Sapp apparently backed out of his IGF slap-fight-rules bout with Shinichi Suzukawa at the last minute.

(Ishii misunderstood the SEG reps when they offered for him to sign for a K-1 bout with LeBanner. He thought he was signing for to get a K-1 belt with LeBanner.)

In keeping with Japanese tradition of announcing bouts at the last minute,  K-1 revealed the majority of its competitors for its FieLDS Dynamite!! show on New Year’s Eve at a special press conference held in Japan last night.

Besides the rumored featherweight championship bout between champion Bibiano Fernandes and Hiroyuki Takaya and welterweight title tilt between Marius  Zaromskis and Kazushi Sakuraba, SEG also confirmed Satoshi Ishii vs. Jerome Le Banner, Sergei Kharitonov vs. Tatsuya Mizuno, Shinya Aoki vs. Yuichiro Nagashim, Kyotaro Fujimoto vs. Gegard Mousasi and Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Josh Thomson among among other bouts.

They also announced that Strikeforce heavyweight champion and K-1 Open Weight Grand Prix winner Alistair Overeem will be on the card against a yet-to-be-named opponent and that depending on the caliber of his  challenger, the fight could be for the DREAM heavyweight strap. Bobby Lashley and Todd Duffee are the two leading candidates to face The Reem, but according to sources, an announcement likely won’t happen until next week as they are working through a few hurdles with their number one choice.

A strange addition to the card is a pro wrestling bout between Bob Sapp and Shinichi Suzukawa which will be contested under Antonio Inoki’s Inoki Genome Federation (IGF) rules. At least it will give us a chance to go to the washroom and to grab a sandwich and a beer.
———-

(Video courtesy YouTube/Middleeasy)

Remember when Gegard Mousasi was on a 15-fight win streak, was knocking and tapping fools out left, right and center and everyone was calling him the next Fedor? That was awesome.

Then King Mo came along, laid Mousasi on his back and peppered him with more non-committal shots to the face than Jenna Jameson took in her heyday for the majority of their 25-minute fight.

While he isn’t necessarily a better fighter, Mo, who is regarded by anyone who has spoken at length with him about the sport as an MMA savant, executed the perfect game plan to beat Mousasi. In his next fight against Rafael Cavalcante...not so much.

(Video courtesy YouTube/DREAM)

If you’re a diehard MMA fan or you get home from the bars tonight and are looking for something to watch, remember that DREAM 16 is on HDNet at 2:00 am ET tomorrow morning. 

Besides the Sakuraba-Miller fight that is advertised above as if it were a Japanese game show, only with worse music, there are some solid match-ups that haven’t gotten a lot of media attention, including Mousasi-Mizuno, Hansen-Tokoro, Miyata-Inoue and Takaya-Beebe.

(In my recurring nightmare a Brazilian spider chokes me out with his legs. He’s right behind me isn’t he? / Photo courtesy of Inphotography.com.)

Despite a general consensus that Fedor Emelianenko’s days as a Strikeforce fighter are likely over after he fulfills his last fight obligation with the organization, "The Last Emperor" says that he is happy with the California-based promotion and that he will likely sign another deal with them.

"So far I feel very comfortable fighting, very good with my fighting, and I’m planning [to fight] as long as I can physically," he said in a recent interview with M-1global.com. "As far and I’m concerned we should discuss the possibility of signing another contract for four to six fights." 

(Bro grabs!)

There was a time during 2009 when Satoshi Ishii was one of the more sought-after free agents in mixed martial arts, but after a spate of failed contract negotiations and inactivity stalled his momentum the Olympic Judo gold medalist’s MMA career has so far been typified more by taking pictures with the sport’s biggest stars rather than actually fighting them.

With just two bouts under his belt to date (one of them a decision loss to Hidehiko Yoshida), Ishii’s career hit another speed bump this weekend  when he was disqualified during an exhibition match at something called X-1 World Events “Nations Collide” in Hawaii after he failed to heed the referee’s instructions to stop punching opponent Myles Tynanes.

(Gegard Mousasi tells reporters that training for the Gary Goodridge fight was "not good," and it was difficult to stay motivated. That’s the spirit. Video courtesy of YouTube.com/DREAM.)

We’re about 12 hours away from Fields Dynamite!! 2009 (3 a.m. ET, HDNet), which means it’s time to take whatever disposable income you have left after the holiday season and throw it all away on ill-informed sports betting. Check out the official fight lineup below courtesy of MMA Junkie, and the odds courtesy of Bodog, which seems to be the only major online bookmaker taking wagers on this mess. You ready to see some squash matches?

– Masato (-175) vs. Andy Souwer (+145) (K-1)
– Gegard Mousasi vs. Gary Goodridge — odds not listed on Bodog, likely due to the lateness of the booking, though the line is reportedly -1100/+600.
– Shinya Aoki (-500) vs. Mizuto Hirota (+300)
– Alistair Overeem (-1100) vs. Kazuyuki Fujita (+600)
– Satoshi Ishii (-325) vs. Hidehiko Yoshida (+250)
– Norofumi "Kid" Yamamoto (-550) vs. Masanori Kanehara (+350)
– Tatsuya Kawajiri (-525) vs. Kazunori Yokota (+325)
– Hideo Tokoro (-215) vs. Jong Man Kim (+175)
– Kazuo Misaki (-180) vs. Melvin Manhoef (+150)
– Hayato "Mach" Sakurai (-205) vs. Akihiro Gono (+165)
– Hiroyuki Takaya (-135) vs. Michihiro Omigawa (+105)
– Katsuyori Shibata (-135) vs. Hiroshi Izumi (+105)
– Hiroya/Noiri winner vs. Ishida/Shimada winner (K-1 KOSHIEN final)
– Ray Sefo (-600) vs. Yosuke Nishijima (+400) (K-1)
– Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (-325) vs. Ikuhisa Minowa (+250)
– Katsuki Ishida vs. Shota Shimada (K-1 KOSHIEN semifinal)
– Hiroya vs. Masaaki Noiri (K-1 KOSHIEN semifinal)
– Tsukasa Fuji vs. Ryuya Kusakabe (K-1 KOSHIEN semifinal reserve)

Now then…

(Come on, man — think of all the good times you had here! Photo courtesy of daylife.com)

UPDATE, 12:35 p.m. ET: Cro Cop is official for UFC 99.

The UFC’s quest for foreign expansion is hitting some spike-strips, with two big-name fighters potentially slipping out of their grasp. First off, despite his blog-post enthusiasm that led everyone to believe he’d be returning to the Octagon at UFC 99, Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic still hasn’t signed a contract with the UFC. As Dave Meltzer explains:

(Props: MMA Fanhouse)

Dana White has been a busy little beaver during his New York media tour, promoting UFC 98 and 2009 Undisputed with a series of television and live appearances. Here are his video blogs from the last two days. Monday’s features the requisite Pinkberry visit, some fan meet-and-greet at a GameStop in Times Square, and Dana getting punked by a sidewalk chalk-artist at the very end. Yesterday, he did Opie and Anthony and ESPN First Take, pressed flesh at Nasdaq, and taught Jimmy Fallon how to punch. The vlog cuts off after that, but we’re guessing he went back to his hotel room, sat down in the bathtub, and cried for about a half-hour.

(Props: MMA Videos)

Is there such thing as elusive judo?  We may get to find out if this video is any indication of where Japanese judo gold medalist Satoshi Ishii is learning the MMA game from.  He even pulls a nice little fireman’s carry on Lyoto Machida at 2:53 in.  You know it’s slick when Machida is smiling even as he hits the mat.

Say this for Ishii, he’s taking his entrance into MMA very seriously and is getting some of the best training he can find.  First he worked out with Randy Couture, and now Machida.  Next maybe he goes to Greg Jackson’s and starts flipping people on their heads.  Better soak it up while everyone still thinks of you as that harmless, nice Japanese guy from the Olympics.  

After the jump, a study in how YouTube’s “Related Videos” feature gets weird in a hurry.

Fox Sports Net aired their Fedor: The Baddest Man on the Planet documentary special last night, in which "the mystique of Fedor is uncovered," and "the secrets of the world’s most dominant fighter are finally revealed." And it was pretty damn entertaining, actually. Maybe not quite on the level of UFC Primetime (second episode airs tonight!), but we do get some insight into Emelianenko’s state of mind before and during fights, his shadowy training camp in Stary Oskol, his sado-masochistic bath-house routine, and his uniquely awesome way of trash-talking during grappling sessions. ("The crazy is coming. The crazy is going to happen now. It’s coming. Very soon.") Parts 1 and 2 are above, and parts 3-6 can be found at YouTube.com/DirtyFedor.

Below: This Japanese TV clip shows Olympic judo gold-medalist Satoshi Ishii visiting Las Vegas, where he steps into the Octagon for the first time, tries on the UFC’s "open-finga-glovos," takes some standup tips from Stephan Bonnar, and gives Randy Couture quite a workout.  

(Props: Nightmare of Battle)

After the jump: Frank Mir has something very important to say.

("And when can I meet famous retard Kevin James?" Props to BloodyElbow.)

A few more stories coming out of the Octagon this weekend…

— The UFC has begun exclusive contract negotiations with Olympic gold-medalist judoka Satoshi Ishii, who attended Saturday’s event. Said Dana White: "Satoshi Ishii has the potential to be very successful in mixed martial arts…we look forward to helping him with his training, his career, and his eventual debut in a professional fight." Ishii reportedly planned on starting his MMA training with Fedor Emelianenko’s Red Devil team in St. Petersburg, Russia, but White talked him out of it, and encouraged him to train at Xtreme Couture in Las Vegas. White also suggested that the 238-pound Ishii drop down to light-heavyweight for his MMA debut.

— Following the kind-of-late stoppage of the Evans/Griffin fight, and the ludicrously late stoppage of the Kongo/Al-Turk fight, the UFC may no longer be requiring the services of referee Steve Mazzagatti.

— Though MMA fans are already clamoring for Evans vs. Jackson, Rampage would rather settle some business with Forrest Griffin first.

— At UFC 92′s post-event press conference, Dana White confirmed that Diego Sanchez vs. Joe Stevenson would indeed be the main event of UFC 95 (February 21st, London). Sorry, mates.

— Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is open to a fight against Randy Couture. “It would be a nice match,” Nogueira said. "He lost his last fight, but he is still a legend." Likewise, buddy.

— The UFC is looking to return to Chicago in July.

— Of all the fighters who have left the UFC, the only one that Dana White regrets losing is Andrei Arlovski. Could he be welcomed back if this Affliction thing doesn’t pan out?

(Junior Dos Santos spars with Mauricio Rua at the Team Nogueira gym in Rio.)

Even though we’ve been pretty much off the clock since Tuesday, and didn’t post any actual news, you honestly didn’t miss much. But let’s get you up to speed…

– Junior dos Santos, the Team Nogueira heavyweight who scored a shocking upset knockout of Fabricio Werdum during his UFC debut in October, will meet new UFC signee Stefan Struve at UFC 95 (February 21st, London). Struve is a Dutch fighter whose 16-2 record includes 12 wins by submission.

– Cristiane "Cris Cyborg" Santos has signed a one-fight deal with Canadian MMA organization XMMA, and will fight at their February 27th event against an opponent to be named later. (Don’t get your hopes up, it won’t be Carano.)

– Though MMA competition is currently banned in Ontario, the UFC will be pushing hard to do a stadium event in Toronto in 2009.

– Frank Mir is openly bitching about how he has to go five rounds tomorrow night. Don’t worry, buddy, we’re sure Big Nog will be kind enough to sub you before the fourth.

– Satoshi Ishii is a total UFC mark.

– WEC bantamweight Will Ribeiro, who suffered a serious head injury during a motorcycle accident in Brazil, is starting to make some recovery. According to Ribeiro’s manager Ed Soares, "the doctor seems very hopeful." 

– Sherdog is infecting your computer with spyware and adware.

(Dave Kaplan cleans up on "The Singing Bee’s" Girl Power Night.  No joke.  The money line: "You’re making me nervous, Fatone!" Thanks to reader bpd for this.)

- Inside MMA previews Arlovski/Fedor. (MMA Scraps)

- Wagnney Fabiano in no hurry to get WEC belt. (Tatame)

- Phil Baroni wants back in the UFC.  Good luck, bro. (Five Ounces of Pain)

- Joe Rogan’s "Fight For The Troops" rant is pretty right on. (Fightlinker)

- Satoshi Ishii celebrates his birthday. (Suki MMA)

- Hong Man Choi not worried about midget Cro Cop. (Fighters Only)

- Dodgeball, Xtreme Couture style. (Xtreme Couture)

- If alcohol labels were more realistic. (Holy Taco)

- Goodbye Sparks, you will be missed. (Wall Street Fighter)

- The weirdest Jeff Goldblum moments are really weird. (Screen Junkies)

- Cop hits deer at 75 mph, and it goes flying. (Nothing Toxic)

(Yeah, they are less impressive in real life.)

From MMAFighting.com:

I initially doubted that the UFC would have much interest in Ishii, since he’s an MMA newbie with very little name recognition in the States (and a hefty price tag, probably). The only way this would make sense is if the UFC was planning on expanding into Japan soon, as some are suggesting. Even then it might not be worth it, unless they intend to put on as many shows in Japan as they do in the U.K. now. But Ishii is undeterred; he wants to fight in the Octagon so badly that he may be leaving an obscene amount of cash on the table in his home country. 

(You call it: happy or sad?)

According to a new article translated into English for us by Robert from betwwx.com, Judo olympic gold medalist Satoshi Ishii says he is definitely getting into MMA, and he wants to fight Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic and…Hong Man Choi?

Japan’s Olympic gold medallist Satoshi Ishii has quit judo to enter mixed martials arts. His ultimate goal is to fight the likes of Mirko Cro Cop and Hong Man Choi also known as the “Techno Goliath”.

The Reuters articles mistakenly nicknames Mirko Filipovic as the ‘Terminator’, although the Croatian fighter has not fought under that name but is widely known among fans as ‘Cro Cop’.

‘This is a new chapter in my life and I’ll have to now start from scratch or with a white belt. Mixed Martials Arts has the words best fighters and I wanted to face many of them even before I won my Judo gold medal . I want to get myself in good shape and want to face the best as soon as possible. There’s no need to hide. That’s is my goal.” Said the 21 year old Ishii.

Let’s say you’re Cro Cop and you hear this. Are you psyched for a potential big money fight with Japan’s most recent judo hero? Or are you blinded with rage at being mentioned alongside Hong Man Choi, as if the two of you are interchangeable? I have to think it’s the second one, but Cro Cop has baffled me before.