MMAPredictions

Baret Yoshida.

Baret Yoshida, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Egan Inoue and frequent competitor at the Abu Dhabi submission grappling tournament, will make his return to mixed martial arts on March 28 in a Shooto fight against Hatsu Hioki. MMAPredictions.com caught up with Yoshida and got his thoughts on jumping in to MMA again after not fighting since November 2003.

MMAPredictions.com: We’re a couple of weeks away from your return to MMA in your fight with Hatsu Hioki in Shooto. Tell us about that. You’ve competed in MMA before, but that was a while ago.

Yoshida: I just wanted to fight Shooto again. I miss fighting in Korakuen Hall, so I figured I would try it one more time.

MMAPredictions.com: Has it been difficult to get into shape for fighting MMA again?

Yoshida: I trained a little bit less this time so I wouldn’t overtrain.

MMAPredictions.com: When did you sign the deal to fight again? How long have you been actively preparing for this fight?

Yoshida: About a month and a half ago. I was going to do another fight against another opponent, but my opponent got hurt and they asked if I would fight Hatsu instead.

MMAPredictions.com: Do you like the Japanese fighting scene a little better? I am sure that you could find a fight if you were looking for one around here. Is there a reason you decided to fight over there?

Yoshida: I like the rules better. When the guy opens his guard, there will be a lot of that leg kicking game, when the guy who is standing will kick the guy’s leg. They don’t really stand you up. I’m not too fond of the elbows (found in MMA in the USA). I don’t like the cage so much.

MMAPredictions.com: So that’s what makes you prefer fighting in Japan.

Yoshida: I’m just more familiar with those rules.

MMAPredictions.com: I imagine this isn’t going to be a one-and-done endeavor for you and you intend on fighting more than just this once. What are your plans?

Yoshida: We’ll see what happens. I just wanted to try again.

MMAPredictions.com: Is this part of a multiple fight deal?

Yoshida: They said they’ll use me at least three times, so it depends on me.

MMAPredictions.com: What do you know about your opponent Hatsu?

Yoshida: Good jiu-jitsu, good standing. Tall guy, really tall. For my weight class, that is. Goes southpaw to regular. Pretty tricky guy.

Undisputed Training Center in San Diego

MMAPredictions.com: How about your training partners? Who’s been helping you get ready for Hatsu Hioki here at Undisputed?

Yoshida: I’ve had a handful of training partners, like Jon “Warmachine” Koppenhaver, Ray “Kong” Seraille, a few other guys.

MMAPredictions.com: Is there one thing about returning to MMA that has you most excited? Is it the fans, the competition, the money?

Yoshida: It’s not really for the money this time. I have been paid more. I’m not getting paid that much. It was like one of those things I wanted to do, you know. When I first started fighting in the Shooto league, I had a few chances, you know every year they make guys fight often to see who can become champion. A couple times I got close, being one fight away from a title fight but I ended up losing. So I just thought I wanted to try one more run.

MMAPredictions.com: I know that you have a lot of fans out there. People have been watching you in grappling and in Shooto for a long time. Do you have anything that you would want to say to them?

Yoshida: Just that I will do my best!

MMAPredictions.com: Thank you Baret.

Yoshida: Thank you.

- Caleb

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