Kimo talked about his upcoming fight with Tank Abbott on Tuesday's MMAWeekly Radio Show. Kimo made the bold statement that he thinks he will submit Tank in about 40 seconds. Kimo said that Tank is just a puncher, and that while other fighters have learned about many different kinds of fighting styles as the years have gone by, Tank hasn't really changed his game since the early days of the UFC.
Kimo said that Tank is very stubborn in this regard, and that Tank had some potential at some point to make something of himself as a fighter. Kimo said that his cardio is not where he would like it to be right now, but he said it would be for his June 6 fight with Tank Abbott. Kimo also said that he is back in MMA full-time: His job is to fight regularly and to train every day. On the other hand, Kimo's former training partner, Joe Son, is out of MMA and is now "in Hollywood focusing on his movie career."
When asked about a potential rematch with Royce Gracie, Kimo said, "Royce knows better than to take a rematch with me." When asked about a potential rematch with Ken Shamrock, Kimo said that from what he understands, the winner of Kimo vs. Tank will be fighting Ken Shamrock (if Shamrock can get past Ian Freeman).
Kimo said that when he fought Shamrock the first time, he came into the fight at 270 pounds with very poor conditioning. Kimo also said that he didn't know anything about submissions back then; whereas now, he doesn't think anyone can submit him with anything.
Kimo is clearly not thinking about his UFC return as a short-term thing, as he said he wants to be in the UFC for a long time to come. He said that after Tank and Shamrock, he would like to get a shot at Tim Sylvia, assuming that Sylvia is still the Heavyweight Champion at that time.
Kimo said that he didn't want to take anything away from Sylvia's abilities, but he referenced Sylvia's title reign by saying, "It's a nice belt, he gets to wear it for a little while." Kimo said that the most difficult fighter for him to face would be someone like Vitor Belfort used to be: 210 pounds, extremely fast, and able to hit you with a lot of punches. Kimo said that Sylvia's larger size would actually benefit Kimo, because Sylvia would throw big haymakers and be too predictable
Kimo said that Tank is very stubborn in this regard, and that Tank had some potential at some point to make something of himself as a fighter. Kimo said that his cardio is not where he would like it to be right now, but he said it would be for his June 6 fight with Tank Abbott. Kimo also said that he is back in MMA full-time: His job is to fight regularly and to train every day. On the other hand, Kimo's former training partner, Joe Son, is out of MMA and is now "in Hollywood focusing on his movie career."
When asked about a potential rematch with Royce Gracie, Kimo said, "Royce knows better than to take a rematch with me." When asked about a potential rematch with Ken Shamrock, Kimo said that from what he understands, the winner of Kimo vs. Tank will be fighting Ken Shamrock (if Shamrock can get past Ian Freeman).
Kimo said that when he fought Shamrock the first time, he came into the fight at 270 pounds with very poor conditioning. Kimo also said that he didn't know anything about submissions back then; whereas now, he doesn't think anyone can submit him with anything.
Kimo is clearly not thinking about his UFC return as a short-term thing, as he said he wants to be in the UFC for a long time to come. He said that after Tank and Shamrock, he would like to get a shot at Tim Sylvia, assuming that Sylvia is still the Heavyweight Champion at that time.
Kimo said that he didn't want to take anything away from Sylvia's abilities, but he referenced Sylvia's title reign by saying, "It's a nice belt, he gets to wear it for a little while." Kimo said that the most difficult fighter for him to face would be someone like Vitor Belfort used to be: 210 pounds, extremely fast, and able to hit you with a lot of punches. Kimo said that Sylvia's larger size would actually benefit Kimo, because Sylvia would throw big haymakers and be too predictable
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