What has the reception been like, as a U.S. athlete with some international history?
They’re knowledgeable fans, so they know who I am and they know what kind of athlete I am. At first, they were a little stand-offish. They’re a lot nicer now. It’s a quality-based fan base. So now they’re interested in my background. Overall, extremely hospitable and nice. That’s even after you beat one of their heroes (Kid Yamamoto) last time out. Yep. I told them I was gonna (beat him), but they didn’t listen to me. That was a split decision. Do you think it was tough to get that decision? Do you feel like you had to do anything extra because you were in Japan? I’m very new at the sport still. I was just going as hard as I can. What I learned after the fight is that usually Americans do not get split decisions over there. Probably that means I won overall, but they were saving face by keeping it a split decision. After watching the fight, it was a lot closer than what I thought. He’s a great competitor, and it was a great fight. I understand you got some help from Urijah Faber for th
