Yasubey Enomoto: “I’m focused only on my fight with Rashid right now”

M-1 welterweight champion Yasubey Enomoto talks about his next opponent Rashid Magomedov, training camp in Thailand, possible move to middleweight and Russian fans

- Do you prepare for the fight with Rashid only in Switzerland? If not, where else did you train before this fight and who was helping you with it?

- I just arrived today from Thailand. I was there because my brother Felipe was fighting in Indonesia and I went right after my holidays in Thailand to corner him in Jakarta. Felipe won the fight in spectacular fashion.

I was training very hard for about 2 weeks in Thailand at the Tiger Muay Thai camp. I had a great time at Tiger and the training was excellent too, I could already fight this weekend, if I should, I feel more than ready right now. Also I had a possibility to get a little suntan in Phuket and I didn’t had to freeze in Switzerland where is -12 Celsius (laughs). I always go during winter to Thailand to spend my holidays and train. Thailand is the perfect place to get my muay thai sharper and a nice brown tan (laughs). Now I am at home and I will do the rest of my training here in Switzerland in the Enomoto Dojo.

- What do you think about your future opponent Rashid Magomedov and his style?

- Rashid is a well-rounded and experienced fighter with crisp stand-up technique, good takedowns and also good takedown defense. He will be a tough opponent as always. I am used to fight tough guys, this is the sport where, if you are the champ or Nr.1 contender, you always have to fight the toughest guys out there

- Rashid’s style is different than Shamil’s, he is more of stand-up fighter. Did you make any changes in your trainings comparing to your training camp before December fight?

- No, I did not make too much changes in my training schedule. Rashid’s style is a little different in stand-up fights, also he like to mix things up and take people down to the ground and attack them with his ground-and-pound skills. Only in Thailand my trainings were a little bit different, because you can’t tell Thai coach who has over 200 muay thay fights in his resume, how he has to hold the pads for you (laughs). Plus, I always do everything to improve as a fighter and have better technique, because I want to be better in every aspect of fighting game

- In your opinion, is he better or worse opponent than Shamil stylistically for you?

- I think it will be an exciting fight for the fans, like the ones that I had with Shamil. I can’t say if Rashid is better or worse opponent, because I never had to fight him before (laughs). Rashid is a good opponent and a worthy Nr.1 contender that’s it

- After the second fight with Shamil you told that you are happy, because this fight was long enough, so you had the chance to test yourself. How do you see the possible outcome of the fight with Rashid, is it going to be another five-round battle?

- Yes, I was happy because I had a brutal training camp, I trained very hard and I didn’t want that this fight to end on the first minute, because when you shed so much sweat and blood in the training, you want to show the people what you did on the trainings and what you are capable of. That’s the situation when the fans can see that your overall skill set is improved. Also it was mentally good for me to to see that I can go five rounds maintaining high speed and intensity of the fight. I don’t want to do any predictions, but I will give all that I got to win this fight before the championship rounds start. That means I want to win this fight within the first three rounds. Five rounds are OK, but I fought 49 minutes with Shamil and I don’t want to go 25 minutes more with Rashid

- What was your overall impression from ONE FC 2 tournament where your brother Felipe won in the main event? How high was the level of organization?

- I was impressed with the ONE FC show. They did a good job and took care of their fighters very well. Felipe did a great job by winning in the main event. It was an awesome display of the gameplan we made for this fight. I was very proud of him, he will be back on ONE FC tournaments very soon.

- Do you have any plans to participate in the tournaments in other sports in 2012 (muay thai, grappling etc.)?

- I don’t know yet if I am going to participate in any other martial arts events except MMA tournaments. The problem is if, for example, I will get injured in a grappling tournament and I wouldn’t be able to fight on MMA tournaments, I will lose a lot of money. Thats why I want to focus on MMA right now. If I will get some free time between the fights I would love to participate in some grappling, BJJ or maybe sambo tournaments, that would be cool

- Shamil Zavurov and Alexander Yakovlev will fight on the same card in St.-Petersburg. Of course, it’s to soon to make any predictions, but if you will win, which one of them would you like to see as the next contender in the welterweight division?

- Yes, I saw that Shamil and Alexander will fight on the same card with us and I wish them both the best in their fight on March.16. To be honest with you, my focus is only on Rashid and fight against him now, I don’t think about any other opponents now. I don’t care to much what is going to happen after it, I want to win this fight and defend my title for the first time – that’s the main goal for me right now

- You are quite big welterweight, you cut weight from about 90 kg. Did you ever consider the possibility of fighting in the middleweight division?

- Usually my weight does not go over 90kg, normally it’s about 85-87kg. I get bigger only in winter, when it’s very cold outside and I need a couple of kilos more to get myself warm (laughs). But this winter I was very big, because this winter Felipe went to Thailand for 6 weeks, I was training by myself in Switzerland, lifting weights twice a day and eating a lot. When I came to Thailand, I gained a lot of muscle mass. Maybe If I will defend my belt on M-1 Challenge 31, I could try to make a run for M-1 middleweight title to become the champion in two weight classes at the same time

- Fighting in M-1, you have visited four cities: St.-Petersburg, Kiev, Phoenix and Costa Mesa. Which of the cities did you like the most?

- It’s awesome that M-1 organizes the tournament all over the world, because I love to see new countries and other cultures. Costa Mesa was cool because that’s where I became the champion and I love to go to shopping in US. But the best atmosphere so far was in St.-Petersburg, when I made my debut for M-1, my first fight in organization that was for the title. Ice Palace was awesome. I also had a little bit of time to see the city, because I was staying for three more days after my fight. It’s a very nice city and I also love Russian fans, because they are very fair people who love athletes regardless of where are they from. They don’t boo when you walk to the ring, they cheer for you when you make some nice move, even when you have to fight one of the local guys. I can’t wait to defend my title in St.-Petersburg and I hope Russian fans will support me in Ice Palace as a champion, that would be awesome!!!!

http://www.m-1global.com/2012/03/01/yasubey-enomoto-im-focused-only-on-my-fight-with-rashid-right-now/

I´m hoping Enomoto can finish Rashid with his striking but this will be a difficult fight. Enomoto hasn´t finished anyone with punches since Sanae Kikuta at Sengoku 13 but he choked out some opponents. This will be a war.

This fight will be very good Rashid looks like a tough opponent.

Johan Lofgren wrote:I´m hoping Enomoto can finish Rashid with his striking but this will be a difficult fight. Enomoto hasn´t finished anyone with punches since Sanae Kikuta at Sengoku 13 but he choked out some opponents. This will be a war.

Ya, I agree. Enomoto's KO power is a little suspect. Even though he's a striker his sub game is still pretty slick to fall back on.

his mask is absolutely kickass, I wish I could have one too....

Johan Lofgren wrote:I´m hoping Enomoto can finish Rashid with his striking but this will be a difficult fight. Enomoto hasn´t finished anyone with punches since Sanae Kikuta at Sengoku 13 but he choked out some opponents. This will be a war.

Enomoto is a can. How can you take a Swiss Asian seriously as a fighter... though the Swiss 'are' well known for their combat sports.