Olympic gold medalist Satoshi Ishii stalls UFC negotiations to consider alternate offers

by Stefan Manojlovic on Feb 3, 2009 8:13 PM EST

For someone who's never fought in a single mixed martial arts bout, 2008 Olympic Judo gold medalist Satoshi Ishii is sure making a lot of noise.

Ishii was expected to make his mixed martial arts debut last New Year’s Eve at the FieLDS Dynamite!! supershow scheduled for December 31. He verbally agreed to sign with Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG) and even held a fan club celebration party on November 3.

Then out of nowhere, Ishii retracted his commitment and announced he would pursue a career in the United States for The Ultimate Fighting Championship.

From Ishii:

"I made up my mind finally - the UFC is where I want to fight. I’m a white belt in MMA. I understand the possibility of starting from WEC. If I was an unknown judoka, I would definitely build up my MMA experience in Japan first. However, I have decided put my Judo gold medal to use. I believe my name value will attract the UFC."

The 22-year old Ishii was apologetic for his failure to commit, and his hero status took a serious hit when he headed to the famed American Top Team (ATT) camp to begin his quest.

Now it appears that pursuit is also going by the wayside, as Ishii reportedly wants to consider some stateside competition, namely the "T-shirt guys" over at Affliction according to Nightmare of Battle.

Maybe Ishii hasn't been keeping up with the times, but UFC President Dana White hasn't been very forgiving to fighters who play footsies with Atencio and Co.

It should also be noted that this hardly the first time Ishii has made waves in the world of MMA.

After winning his gold medal in Beijing, Ishii issued an open challenge to heavyweight deity Fedor Emelianenko. I guess he didn’t see what Fedor did to silver medalist Naoya Ogawa at PRIDE Final Conflict back in 2004.

Fedor of course smiled and went about his business, as Ishii has yet to prove that he can transition from Judo to mixed martial arts - and a few questions have been raised of his ability to strike (or be struck).

In addition, his Judo Federation doesn’t seem too keen on the idea of him making the jump from Judo to mixed martial arts, despite Ishii’s persistence.

From Tokyo’s Kokushikan University program leader Kazuo Yoshimura:

"This guy turns everybody into an enemy. He’d better get out [of Japan] without delay."

I don't know who's steering the boat on the open waters of Lake Ishii, but it sounds to me like the Captain is about to go down with his ship.

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Comments

Hes gona want more than what hes worth! He hasnt even had a MMA fight right?

by JV on Feb 3, 2009 8:15 PM EST reply actions

I’ve never even seen this guy in action, but have heard nothing but good things. I would love to see this guy in the UFC to see how far his Judo can take him. Anyone know what weight class he fights at?

by c-war on Feb 3, 2009 9:27 PM EST up reply actions

…This guys already bugging me.

by rawbert on Feb 3, 2009 11:04 PM EST up reply actions

He is a heavyweight, but I believe he will cut down to 205 to fight in the UFC.

I have watched some footage of him training at extreme couture, and he looked better then I thought he would! Still he is years away from making any real noise!

by john on Feb 4, 2009 7:39 AM EST up reply actions

He’ll get a bigger pay check over at the t-shirt company (let’s be honest he’ll get 1) but will burn his bridges with Dana. When they go out of business he’s assed out.

by DSmith on Feb 4, 2009 12:02 AM EST up reply actions

Karo would fuck him up

by Dan on Feb 3, 2009 8:19 PM EST reply actions

his judo is 60 times better and he has like a solid 50 pounds of muscle on Karo.

by Bill Maher on Feb 3, 2009 8:35 PM EST up reply actions

Yep! How do you compare someone who was a Junior Judo champ in the States with someone who won a Judo Gold Medal at 100kg????

by kukuxumusu on Feb 3, 2009 8:51 PM EST up reply actions

Former olympian Rhadi Ferguson killed him so i doubt karo can do much against a gold medalist.

by NameNotRequired on Feb 3, 2009 9:20 PM EST up reply actions

Did you know Rhadi Ferguson is Kimbo’s cousin! I am serious!

by john on Feb 4, 2009 7:40 AM EST up reply actions

Dan=Karo

by McArthur on Feb 4, 2009 7:55 AM EST up reply actions

dan = Karo? I dont get it?

by john on Feb 4, 2009 9:02 AM EST up reply actions

He’ll probibly sign with Affliction and they’ll pay way too much for him and he’ll ebd up sucking. No big loss for the UFC.

by DB on Feb 3, 2009 8:19 PM EST reply actions

im not impressed with your performance!

by brendan on Feb 3, 2009 8:19 PM EST reply actions

Shits Weak…Wizzeak

by Treg12 on Feb 3, 2009 8:28 PM EST reply actions

lol isnt that from that adam sandler movie about the video game nerds?

by brendan on Feb 3, 2009 8:43 PM EST up reply actions

Grandmas Boy

by Diceman on Feb 3, 2009 10:22 PM EST up reply actions

maybe he will sign with them and get one fight before they go out of business

by matt on Feb 3, 2009 8:32 PM EST reply actions

and his contract would be tied up forever.

by DB on Feb 3, 2009 8:55 PM EST up reply actions

Haha, how do you sink your career well before even your debut fight?? Ishii doesn’t sound like the sharpest tool in the shed.

by Razzel on Feb 3, 2009 8:39 PM EST reply actions

Being good at Judo does not make you good in MMA. Karo sucks, Soku sucks, Stun Gun sucks….and this guy is probably worse than all of them!

by brand0 on Feb 3, 2009 8:43 PM EST reply actions

Then again, Fedor is probably the best heavyweight to ever live and he is primarily Judo and Sambo. Also, Karo doesn’t suck, he’s just an incredible underachiever and is as soft as the Michelin man.

by ScissorSweep on Feb 3, 2009 9:16 PM EST up reply actions

and Yoshihiro Akiyama might be one of the few fighters out there who could beat Anderson Silva – definitely a top 5 MW – and he is a judoka

by ScissorSweep on Feb 3, 2009 9:19 PM EST up reply actions

Seriously…? Sarcasm doesn’t translate well over the internet, hopefully you didn’t realize that and continued to use it.

by Goomba on Feb 3, 2009 9:46 PM EST up reply actions

akiyama is NO JOke!

I would love to see Akiyama vs. Jacre in DREAM!

by john on Feb 4, 2009 9:24 AM EST up reply actions

Judo translates well to MMA. Just look at how many fighters are using the Harai Goshi throw. I saw it at least five times this past weekend. Fedor also comes from a strong Judo background. I know I know he’s known for His Sambo but if you know anything about Sambo you’ll know they implement a lot of Judo techniques. With that said Ishii is already messing up by stalling.

by kukuxumusu on Feb 3, 2009 8:49 PM EST reply actions

meh wasnt there a judo silver medal who got beat the fuck up by wandy. oh well i hear this kid has an amazing work ethic and i think that will help him quickly build his mma skills. if he trains as much as reports say he should become a decent mma fighter in a few years

by Jared on Feb 3, 2009 9:09 PM EST reply actions

Ishii will not sign with the UFC…no way no how. I think it will be Affliction and will be their way into a co production with Dream.

by Wags on Feb 3, 2009 10:49 PM EST reply actions

Bingo!

by wims on Feb 3, 2009 11:46 PM EST up reply actions

i think it is ridiculous that Affliction is referred to as the T-shirt guys,T-shirt guys is a term which Dana White uses as an insult, professional websites should not refer to Atencio as the T-shirt guy. Be professional

by jmere05 on Feb 3, 2009 11:07 PM EST reply actions

Well as the fellas at sherdog learned, you better get on Dana’s good side. The guy holds a grudge like a scorned woman.

by pug on Feb 3, 2009 11:41 PM EST up reply actions

but they are the t-shirt guys, soon thats all they will be.

by Egads on Feb 4, 2009 12:12 AM EST up reply actions

Hey jmere05 I don’t think it was meant as disrespect to Affliction. I think it was more a point of Dana’s dislike for Affliction. Thus illustrating that Dana won’t be happy when he finds out Ishii wants to possibly join the “T-Shirt Guys” he hates.

by Defacto on Feb 4, 2009 1:44 AM EST up reply actions

his head looks just like antonio big foot silva. im sure he can take a punch, or more.

by kdawg on Feb 4, 2009 12:40 AM EST reply actions

I have watched his Judo matches on Youtube and am not impressed with his JUDO. Even though it won a gold medal. I would love to see guys like Jimmy Pedro, Nicolas Gill, Kieth Morgan or other bigger names from USA or Canada.

As far as people saying judo sucks…
Karo Parisyan, Manny, Nastula, Soko, Akiyama, Frye, Fedor the list goes on and on… Many people have a background in judo it maynot be prominant but its there. Judo is just BJJ with better throws and a bit fewer relevant subs.

He would be pretty sad if he couldnt beat Karo… Hes much bigger and his judo is more relevant.

I love it when goldberg says “oh look hes using those JUDO Tricks” it makes me giggle.

Maybe the UFC should have TUF show with nothing but Medalists from national tournaments (BJJ/Judo/Wrestling/Boxing etc)

by Prince E. on Feb 4, 2009 7:20 AM EST reply actions

the fighters make more money with affliction and it is far easier to get to the top they only have like 1 or 2 fighters at each weight worth a damn. Fedor already beat this guys ass once.

by hatteras on Feb 4, 2009 7:46 AM EST reply actions

Satoshii guy has 0 experience in MMA! This guy is putting the cart before the horse.

by bostonmmajunkie on Feb 4, 2009 10:21 AM EST reply actions

Wasn’t he supposed to get a huge payday over in Japan? It wouldn’t make sense for him to bail on UFC and go to Affliction just for the money since he bailed on Fields.

by Red on Feb 4, 2009 11:57 AM EST reply actions

He also has jiu jitsu skills. I think he is a purple belt or brown belt if I am not mistaken. The Japanese wanted to shell out a fortune to him so he must be able to bring it.

by edward on Feb 4, 2009 1:24 PM EST reply actions