KAIN
"Ryan Bennett: You've got a good base in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. How did you get in touch with your training coach, Joe Moreira?
Kimo: It was in Puerto Rico before UFC 8, where I fought Ken Shamrock. Joe was training with Allan Goes and a few other guys. Somehow an argument kicked up between Tank Abbott and Allan Goes, and it looked like there was going to be a big fight. Tank had this whole big group, and Joe just had himself and Allan. So I just said, "If anything happens, I'm with you guys." Once they saw that I was with them, they realized that I wasn't about what everyone thought I was about, and they took a risk and started showing me some Jiu-Jitsu.
Ryan: I know you've moved on from it, but a lot of fans will always remember your entrance at UFC 3 with the cross, and Joe Son, and all of that. What went into all of the stuff that was going on back then?
Kimo: Back then I was in a state of confusion. I was wondering what's going on, is this all there is to life, and I had a little drug problem. There were just a whole bunch of issues I was dealing with at the time that led me to the Lord. So that just turned my whole life around because I wanted to do everything for God, and use all of the skills I had, and try to make an impact. I used to get into a lot of fights and it was a negative thing, but when the UFC came out it was a positive thing and possibly something that could be a career. As far as the cross goes, our whole mission was to put a different light on Christianity other than a weak Christian, or a weak person who is physically weak and might turn to God for that reason. Our objective that night was to shed a whole new light on Christianity.
Ryan: How did you meet up with Joe Son?
Kimo: Joe Son was hanging around in Huntington Beach at that time, and I feel that certain people come into your life at certain times for a reason. At that point, he was just a mouthpiece for the Lord, planting little seeds here and there, reading from the Bible, and he also had a reputation for being a good fighter. So I was just kind of feeding off him spiritually and physically in the fight world. People still remember us from the early days of the UFC. It was just a powerful thing, and he was quite a character.
Ryan: Do you still keep in touch with Joe Son?
Kimo: Yeah, but not as much as before. He's in Hollywood trying to get his movie career going, so that takes a lot of his time, and I went in the other direction with fighting. Training for fights is an all-day thing, and even your relaxing time is still just a minute of rest before you have to go back to the gym and train again.
Ryan: Do you feel pretty confident about your fight with Tank Abbott at UFC 43? You told me before that you think you can choke him out.
Kimo: He's open to that. He's open to a few things, and that's just the thing that I think I'm going to catch him with eventually. He's going to get caught in something eventually. He's just a puncher, and he's really not that much of a wrestler, and he's definitely not a grappler.
Ryan: You know he's going to come out swinging and ready to fight, so how do you counter that?
Kimo: He's been doing the same thing since he started in the UFC. I don't know what his mentality is, but you have to be open-minded. You have to see what skills you have and what skills you need to get. He had the potential a long time ago to make something of himself in terms of improving as a fighter. All these other fighters from back then have done their homework and tried to improve. They try to make themselves better all-around fighters, so there isn't one thing to pick on, or one thing to look forward to, or one thing to avoid. He's hindering himself that way. I've learned a lot of different things, and I have a lot of different weapons. A lot of people don't know that, so the only way to prove it is out in the ring. You know, they say talk is cheap, so it's only talk until I prove it... but he's leaving himself open for a few things. I think a choke is what it's going to be, and I think it's going to be 40 seconds into the fight.
Ryan: Do you train full-time now, or do you still have a day job, or what?
Kimo: This is my job: Training and fighting. I'm back.
Ryan: Is this something where you think you can revitalize your career and stay in the UFC for a while?
Kimo: That's one thing about that lay-off I took from fighting. I didn't jeopardize my career by taking fights and losing, so I still have a decent card. Now that I'm training again, my mind is on right, my body is coming back. It's wide open for me, and a career is what I'm looking that. I'm looking to do this for a while.
Ryan: How is your cardio doing in training?
Kimo: It's getting there. It's not there yet, but it will be there by fight time.
Ryan: Do you want to stay at heavyweight, or maybe drop down to 205 and join the light-heavyweight division?
Kimo: Well, when people see me, some people have told me that I look like I weigh 195 pounds. I might look like I weigh 195 at a time when I actually weigh 230. I just have a heavy bone structure. So for me to drop down to 205, I really don't think it's possible.
Ryan: If you beat Tank, how do you feel about a potential rematch with Royce Gracie?
Kimo: I think Royce knows better. Royce knows better than to take a rematch with me. I know way too much Jiu-Jitsu now for him to have any offense on me. I'd love it, but I just don't think he would take the fight.
Ryan: Take us through your fight with Ken Shamrock, where you lost by submission.
Kimo: I came into that fight at like 270 pounds, so I was really heavy and my cardio was terrible. I was still learning and I thought bigger was better, so I went up to 270. I knew some submissions, but nothing on how to deal with a leg-lock. So I ended up getting caught in a leg-lock. I don't think he was better than me, I think he just knew more than me at that time. With my submissions now, I really don't think that anybody can catch me with any submission.
Ryan: Do you still keep in touch with some of the guys from the early days of the UFC?
Kimo: I really don't make friends with any of the people I fight. I did become pretty close friends with Pat Smith after the fight in Japan, but it was mainly just when I ran into him somewhere. I never really called him just to get in touch.
Ryan: In the UFC right now, there are a lot of really big heavyweights like Tim Sylvia, who is 6-foot-8 and like 260 pounds. What is your take on the current UFC heavyweight division?
Kimo: I don't want to take anything away from Tim Sylvia. He won the belt, it's a nice belt, and he gets to wear it for a little while. For me personally, the hardest fighting style for me to fight is someone like what Vitor Belfort used to be. Someone who is 210 pounds with quick hands, good takedown defense, and maybe he can't knock you out with one punch, but he's going to hit you with so many punches that it will eventually catch up with you. Tim Sylvia is just going to throw one big haymaker, and it's probably going to do some damage if you just stand there and get hit by it. But he's predictable and he can only do certain things. He's not going to be able to step to your side; he's going to be right in front of you the whole time. That's an easier fight for me than someone who can step to your side, change it up, and constantly come at you from different angles.
Ryan: I get the sense that you've got pretty big ambitions for this UFC run, and you want to go after the UFC Heavyweight Title.
Kimo: I haven't had it yet, and I want it. I've been out here for a while. A lot of the guys these days... part of the reason I came back was just from watching some of these guys win belts. I just think Sylvia is really underdeveloped.
Ryan: What about someone like Cabbage?
Kimo: He's the same thing as Tim Sylvia. He's just a big, slow slugger. He's going to swing at you, and if you just stand there and get hit, then you don't deserve to win that fight. But you can do things like make him come to you, change it up, kick his legs, go to his side, and make him change his position a lot. If you take down a big guy like that, he's going to have to get on his hands and knees to get up. Anyone who is on their hands and knees is just giving you their back, and if you give any Jiu-Jitsu fighter your back, the fight is over. My gameplan for big guys like that would be take him down, let him roll over and get up, take his back, and then choke him out.
Ryan: What do you expect for the rest of 2003?
Kimo: I expect to be smiling the whole year."
z mmaweekly
Leniwy i d****ny Kain
HIT Jedi
http://www.mma.sfd.pl/
Kimo: It was in Puerto Rico before UFC 8, where I fought Ken Shamrock. Joe was training with Allan Goes and a few other guys. Somehow an argument kicked up between Tank Abbott and Allan Goes, and it looked like there was going to be a big fight. Tank had this whole big group, and Joe just had himself and Allan. So I just said, "If anything happens, I'm with you guys." Once they saw that I was with them, they realized that I wasn't about what everyone thought I was about, and they took a risk and started showing me some Jiu-Jitsu.
Ryan: I know you've moved on from it, but a lot of fans will always remember your entrance at UFC 3 with the cross, and Joe Son, and all of that. What went into all of the stuff that was going on back then?
Kimo: Back then I was in a state of confusion. I was wondering what's going on, is this all there is to life, and I had a little drug problem. There were just a whole bunch of issues I was dealing with at the time that led me to the Lord. So that just turned my whole life around because I wanted to do everything for God, and use all of the skills I had, and try to make an impact. I used to get into a lot of fights and it was a negative thing, but when the UFC came out it was a positive thing and possibly something that could be a career. As far as the cross goes, our whole mission was to put a different light on Christianity other than a weak Christian, or a weak person who is physically weak and might turn to God for that reason. Our objective that night was to shed a whole new light on Christianity.
Ryan: How did you meet up with Joe Son?
Kimo: Joe Son was hanging around in Huntington Beach at that time, and I feel that certain people come into your life at certain times for a reason. At that point, he was just a mouthpiece for the Lord, planting little seeds here and there, reading from the Bible, and he also had a reputation for being a good fighter. So I was just kind of feeding off him spiritually and physically in the fight world. People still remember us from the early days of the UFC. It was just a powerful thing, and he was quite a character.
Ryan: Do you still keep in touch with Joe Son?
Kimo: Yeah, but not as much as before. He's in Hollywood trying to get his movie career going, so that takes a lot of his time, and I went in the other direction with fighting. Training for fights is an all-day thing, and even your relaxing time is still just a minute of rest before you have to go back to the gym and train again.
Ryan: Do you feel pretty confident about your fight with Tank Abbott at UFC 43? You told me before that you think you can choke him out.
Kimo: He's open to that. He's open to a few things, and that's just the thing that I think I'm going to catch him with eventually. He's going to get caught in something eventually. He's just a puncher, and he's really not that much of a wrestler, and he's definitely not a grappler.
Ryan: You know he's going to come out swinging and ready to fight, so how do you counter that?
Kimo: He's been doing the same thing since he started in the UFC. I don't know what his mentality is, but you have to be open-minded. You have to see what skills you have and what skills you need to get. He had the potential a long time ago to make something of himself in terms of improving as a fighter. All these other fighters from back then have done their homework and tried to improve. They try to make themselves better all-around fighters, so there isn't one thing to pick on, or one thing to look forward to, or one thing to avoid. He's hindering himself that way. I've learned a lot of different things, and I have a lot of different weapons. A lot of people don't know that, so the only way to prove it is out in the ring. You know, they say talk is cheap, so it's only talk until I prove it... but he's leaving himself open for a few things. I think a choke is what it's going to be, and I think it's going to be 40 seconds into the fight.
Ryan: Do you train full-time now, or do you still have a day job, or what?
Kimo: This is my job: Training and fighting. I'm back.
Ryan: Is this something where you think you can revitalize your career and stay in the UFC for a while?
Kimo: That's one thing about that lay-off I took from fighting. I didn't jeopardize my career by taking fights and losing, so I still have a decent card. Now that I'm training again, my mind is on right, my body is coming back. It's wide open for me, and a career is what I'm looking that. I'm looking to do this for a while.
Ryan: How is your cardio doing in training?
Kimo: It's getting there. It's not there yet, but it will be there by fight time.
Ryan: Do you want to stay at heavyweight, or maybe drop down to 205 and join the light-heavyweight division?
Kimo: Well, when people see me, some people have told me that I look like I weigh 195 pounds. I might look like I weigh 195 at a time when I actually weigh 230. I just have a heavy bone structure. So for me to drop down to 205, I really don't think it's possible.
Ryan: If you beat Tank, how do you feel about a potential rematch with Royce Gracie?
Kimo: I think Royce knows better. Royce knows better than to take a rematch with me. I know way too much Jiu-Jitsu now for him to have any offense on me. I'd love it, but I just don't think he would take the fight.
Ryan: Take us through your fight with Ken Shamrock, where you lost by submission.
Kimo: I came into that fight at like 270 pounds, so I was really heavy and my cardio was terrible. I was still learning and I thought bigger was better, so I went up to 270. I knew some submissions, but nothing on how to deal with a leg-lock. So I ended up getting caught in a leg-lock. I don't think he was better than me, I think he just knew more than me at that time. With my submissions now, I really don't think that anybody can catch me with any submission.
Ryan: Do you still keep in touch with some of the guys from the early days of the UFC?
Kimo: I really don't make friends with any of the people I fight. I did become pretty close friends with Pat Smith after the fight in Japan, but it was mainly just when I ran into him somewhere. I never really called him just to get in touch.
Ryan: In the UFC right now, there are a lot of really big heavyweights like Tim Sylvia, who is 6-foot-8 and like 260 pounds. What is your take on the current UFC heavyweight division?
Kimo: I don't want to take anything away from Tim Sylvia. He won the belt, it's a nice belt, and he gets to wear it for a little while. For me personally, the hardest fighting style for me to fight is someone like what Vitor Belfort used to be. Someone who is 210 pounds with quick hands, good takedown defense, and maybe he can't knock you out with one punch, but he's going to hit you with so many punches that it will eventually catch up with you. Tim Sylvia is just going to throw one big haymaker, and it's probably going to do some damage if you just stand there and get hit by it. But he's predictable and he can only do certain things. He's not going to be able to step to your side; he's going to be right in front of you the whole time. That's an easier fight for me than someone who can step to your side, change it up, and constantly come at you from different angles.
Ryan: I get the sense that you've got pretty big ambitions for this UFC run, and you want to go after the UFC Heavyweight Title.
Kimo: I haven't had it yet, and I want it. I've been out here for a while. A lot of the guys these days... part of the reason I came back was just from watching some of these guys win belts. I just think Sylvia is really underdeveloped.
Ryan: What about someone like Cabbage?
Kimo: He's the same thing as Tim Sylvia. He's just a big, slow slugger. He's going to swing at you, and if you just stand there and get hit, then you don't deserve to win that fight. But you can do things like make him come to you, change it up, kick his legs, go to his side, and make him change his position a lot. If you take down a big guy like that, he's going to have to get on his hands and knees to get up. Anyone who is on their hands and knees is just giving you their back, and if you give any Jiu-Jitsu fighter your back, the fight is over. My gameplan for big guys like that would be take him down, let him roll over and get up, take his back, and then choke him out.
Ryan: What do you expect for the rest of 2003?
Kimo: I expect to be smiling the whole year."
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http://www.mma.sfd.pl/
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