Andy’s Blog

I’ve just inked a deal for a fight this summer and while I am always excited to be in the ring, this event will be extra special as my long-time coach and training partner Baret Yoshida will also be on the same card.  We started training and competing in MMA together back in 1999 and it’ll be great to have him training with me and competing together again.  We first fought on the same card together in 2000, when we went to Tokyo to take on a couple of Shooto stalwarts.  He faced off against eventual Shooto champion Masahiro Oishi and I battled future PRIDE and UFC fighter Akihiro Gono.  When you go through something like that together, going to a foreign country and fighting some tough dudes in front of their home crowd, you definitetly don’t forget the experience.  This will be the first time Baret has fought in America in several years and I’m very excited for him!

I did an interview today for the MMA radio station Carson’s Corner and it should be on the air in the next couple of days.  You can link to the show by going to www.adcombat.com or www.onthemat.com.  We discussed a lot of topics and I thought it was a pretty good interview in regards to what I’ve been up to since the UFC and what my future plans are.

I just turned in my last paper for my graduate classes at UNLV.  I’m not sure what made me think of going back to school, but it has been an interesting experience so far.  I’m currently studying Educational Leadership with the idea of perhaps someday returning to public education, but those kids were definitely more of a headache than any opponent I’ve ever had in the ring!

I’m not the only one that had a recent come back fight, as my good friend and training partner Kengo Ura fought at the Palace Fighting Championships in Lemoore, CA and came away with an impressive submission victory.  Kengo is originally from Japan and Enson Inoue’s Purebred Omiya gym.  He moved to Los Angeles a few years back to get his MMA career going and after some early success, he had a string of bad luck with injuries, etc.  It’s great to see him back and he’s one of my all-time favorite training partners.  Gambatte!

Poster for the next fight, which is in about 4 weeks.  Should be exciting with a lot of good match-ups!

We were all probably hoping for a longer fight, but Manny Pacquiao showed his ability to dominate and put on a display last night.  The only match left for him is Floyd Mayweather, Jr., which would be a true bonanza of a match.  I’m hoping boxing continues to put on high-profile matches as it is still the ’sweet science’ and maybe these lighter weight guys will start rubbing off on the heavyweight division in boxing and produce some exciting bouts!

Apologies for the long delay in updating; was hoping on a few more photos but those are taking longer than I expected.  I posted this one on Facebook and it is my favorite one from the fight last Thursday night as it captures the moment: this is what it feels like when all the hard work pays off.

I did not know much about my opponent before the fight and it worked out great as I just concentrated on myself and what I needed to do to win.  After over a year of being out of action, I was worried a bit about ring rust, etc., but once I stepped back in I just felt so happy and enthusiastic to be comepting again.

The situation is a bit different this time around, as I will be fighting Kit Cope on May 30th at Viejas Casino in San Diego.  Kit is well known for his appearance on MTV and also having fought Kenny Florian in the UFC a couple of years back.  I think Kit is a formidable opponent with proven muay-thai skills (he holds a notable muay thai victory over the late, great Alex Gong) and it will be a classic match-up of grappler versus striker.  He has been training with the Diaz brothers, Nick and Nate, so I’m sure heis improving in many aspects.

But staying true to what worked for me this past fight, I’m focusing on the things I need to do.  I have always felt that with my experience and skill set, I can compete with anybody on any given day and this fight is no different.  It’s definitely going to be a step up from my last fight but it is a challenge I am looking forward to.