UFC 92 Before the Bell

Okay, here we go.

Chonan spent 3 weeks training in LA with Jason Miller prior to arriving in Las Vegas. They drove down and I flew in the morning of December 23rd to check in with the UFC.

We all met at the MGM Grand, the hotel we would be staying in during the days leading up to the event.

We couldn't have asked for a better location because the training area, resturants, and the areana were just a short walk away.

In between interviews for the event, we used the first couple of days to get situated and get an idea of how much weight Chonan would need to drop for the fight.

Although Chonan spent 6 months training with Team Quest earlier this year and is picking up English really quickly, the UFC videographer and staff asked me to do the interpretation and voice-over for the interviews.

The Japanese media also showed up to interview Chonan and Okami, another Japanese fighter on the card. To my suprise, Ishii Satoshi who took the Gold Medal in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing was with them. Rumor has it that he will be fighting in the UFC in the near future. I should have taken his picture as well...

We spent Christmas Day in the hotel lol. The UFC planned a nice dinner for us but, it was a day before wigh-ins so the figters couldn't eat much.

Chonan began his final weight cut after Christmas dinner. Two days out(the day before weigh-ins) and he still had 10lbs to lose. But, it came off a lot easier than in the past.

After about 30 min on the pre-core and sparring lightly with Jason, he had shed 5lbs.

We called it a day and decided to have Chonan drop the rest of the weight before heading to the weigh-ins the next day. Most nites, Chonan had Yamamoto Sensei stop by the room and adjust him. His body was beginning to tire and with the help of Yamamoto Sensei, he was able to regain his energy.

Aside from the training and the fight itself, a lot goes into entertaining the crowd. Chonan always dyes his hair before a fight. This time, the theme was: The land of the rising sun.


With so many big names on the card and everyone's pride on the line, you could feel the tension in the air at weigh-ins. Chonan and his opponent both made weight without too much trouble.

About 24hrs and several meals later, Chonan had his energy back has we arrived at the areana and entered the dressing room. We shared the room with Yushin Okami, Matt Mamil, and a few other fighters.

Yamamoto Sensei, Jason, and I all played a significant role in helping Chonan warm up for the fight. He was scheduled to be the second fight of the nite, so we didn't have to kill too much time.

After Yamamoto Sensei warmed up his muscle with a massage and he has his hands wrapped by one of the UFC cutmen, I helped Chonan get a sweat going working the mitts together.

With Chonan warmed up and ready to go, all that was left to do was wait for his call and make his walk to the Octagon...