Many of you might already be familiar with the wisdom of the late Johnny Cash, especially the lyrics to the song A Boy Named Sue. Sue encounters a man in a bar room fight, and eventually learns that this man had abandoned him and his mother at a very young age. Not only was this man his father, but he was also the man who named him Sue, typically not a man's name.

If your name is Lynn, Rory, or Sanae, you might relate. At the end of the song we find out why he named him Sue. It was to make him tougher, a survivor, especially without his old man being around to protect him. I'm not saying that this is the reason why Sanae Kikuta is such a great fighter or a major figure in Japanese MMA. This Judo turned MMA man has a calm nature and intellectual aura about him. We met him at the "New" Grabaka Gym, which is modestly sized and could easily fit next to Mojo Guitar in the East Village. When we met him at the gym, Kazuo Misaki was rolling around, as well as Akihiro Gono and some other urban fighters; we took off our shoes. We introduced ourselves, (bows) took some photos, and strolled out into the street into what looked like an IHOP. So, after ordering, we did the interview in this quiet little family restaurant setting. The best part was that after he ordered a sandwich - he didn't eat the potatoes - he looked around suspiciously and popped open a little can of tuna, eating straight out of the can, in New York it would be a flask instead.  
 
Q: Thank you very much for granting us this interview today, I know you are very busy. Arigato Gozaimas.

Kikuta: Arigato Gozaimas.

Q: After winning Abu Dhabi you became very well known in MMA, and of course you started GRABAKA, known for training in public facilities for a minimal fee in Tokyo. You once said that this was the ideal way to train, because it allowed you to focus purely on your training. But now you run your own gym, and your status and popularity have risen, has it affected your fight?

Kikuta: In terms of practice spaces, in Japan there are sparse training facilities. But those public places have larger training areas, so it was ideal in the sense that we could just go there, and did what we wanted.

Q: So owning your own gym, does that put more pressure on you, since you are the leader of Grabaka?

Kikuta: During my career I've had many ups and downs and people are aware of that, but right now since I have this gym I feel I'm more responsible about the whole thing. In that sense it's good.

Q: But doesn't this responsibility make it more difficult to concentrate on your own fights?

Kikuta: Not really, although I do have a project in mind to increase the number of members for the gym, and this is a way to do it. But, I'm promoting the gym and gaining membership within a level where it doesn't distract my training. So the business hours are very short. (laughter) The gym is open to the public only one and a half hours a day. So I am definitely concentrating in the fighting aspect primarily.

Q: You fought in Pride 2 against Renzo Gracie, this was before you won Abu Dhabi. You then fought against Alexander Otsuka, and won a very controversial fight because of Otsuka's illegal strikes to the cup and the referee's lack of control. So what took you so long to come back and fight in Pride the third time?

Kikuta: After I lost to Renzo I had a little bit of time to concentrate on fights, this was the very beginning of my fighting career. Since it was the beginning and I lost, it was very difficult for me to get a fight card from the promoters. I was freelancing at the time, no one represented me, so I was managing myself. Although it was early on, each fight was too important to me. That's why in the first Abu Dhabi combat series I didn't do very well. Then I realized that the most important thing for me at that time was experience. I wanted to take the time to gain experience and train correctly. But, in terms of Pride or MMA, we can't be doing that type of fight too often. It could be dangerous and we raise our risk of get injured. After going through those experiences, right now I know I feel I have a specific idea of what my fight style should be. From this point on I feel that I could get better because I know what I have to do.

Q: Why did you choose to go into Pancrase? Although it has a great reputation in MMA and a very high level of fighters, it has less exposure than other events.

Kikuta: Pride was a one shot thing because I was freelancing. That's why I couldn't get fights, and I had to work on the side. Pancrase is an organization, which will give you a one-year contract so you can concentrate on fighting instead. So I decided to do that so I could become a full-time fighter and gain ability and become an experienced fighter.

Q: After you won Abu Dhabi your reputation rose and you became more known internationally. Did you have a choice of picking out a larger organization perhaps? At that time you were known as the world's best grappler.

Kikuta: At that point I still hadn't won any titles in Pancrase, and getting a title was definitely one of my objectives. Then I fought in Pride again after that, and I fought in Legend (fought A. R. "Minotauro" Nogueira) and I did have the UFC in the back of my mind. But at that time I thought I wanted to fight the strongest Japanese man, someone I had never fought, Yuki Kondo. I wanted to raise my motivation level by beating Kondo and then going outside, but unfortunately I lost. (first fight was a draw) I can't fight immediately at this point right now. So I'm looking for the right timing, I'm used to the Pancrase rules. I'm waiting for the right moment to go outside.

Q: Is your priority right now to regain your King Of Pancrase title?

Kikuta: Not necessarily, I would like to go to Pride or some bigger place to fight.

Q: I know that you once fought in UFC Japan, where you beat Eugene Jackson by submission. Your reputation has spread into the United States, so would you like to fight in the UFC in North America?

Kikuta: Of course, but there are two things going on. They are both very tough environments to fight in, but Pride has two better points than the UFC. (laughs) I'm below 93 kilograms (light-heavy in UFC), but I could go down to 88 or 87 (middle in PRIDE), I can adjust my weight. 85 kilos or less (middle in UFC), that would become a question of dieting, cutting weight. Of course from the Japanese fans point of view, Pride is much bigger. (laughs) I want to do it (fight in US) but for me to really step into that, I have previous obstacles, which are in the way. As far as the general public is concerned, fighters like Yoshida or Tamura, who fight in Pride, have much greater recognition than someone like Uno, who fights in the UFC.

Q: In your single experience in the UFC, how did you feel about the cage? It's larger, harder to cut the opponents off. There are no yellow cards, you can stall, deliver elbows to the face, but there are no knees while on the ground. Can your style adjust itself to the cage? You were once victorious already.

Kikuta: I guess so, although it is very different. When I fight in the ring, I am sometimes concerned with getting thrown out of the ring, but you don't have to worry about that in the cage. In that element only, the cage might be better.

Q: Is the cage better for a grappler? I know that you are from Judo.

Kikuta: It's hard to say, although you do get stuck against the fence very easily. For example, the Gracies are very good at going at it, bringing on the fight and taking you down. If it's in a cage, it's very difficult to do that sometimes. If you're a striker and you get cornered, t he striker will wait for it to be broken up. You then go back to the middle and the striker has the advantage, that's what happens in the ring.

Q: After your last fight, what do you need to adjust, what is your strategy?

Kikuta: Since that fight I've had many thoughts and realizations going through my mind. But, I'm not going to train in striking. (laughs)

Q: Why?

Kikuta: I used to, in the summer time I did practice my striking, but then when I fought Kondo, I had a hard time taking him down. So then I thought, maybe I should do something I've practiced? During the striking, I got nailed. I think I forgot that I was a grappling champion, and the reason I had been winning was because of my grappling technique. I have been working on striking and grappling, but perhaps it's the grappling god who's telling me that it's not helping me out here. During a fight for example, if you're only a grappler, even if you shoot and can't get the takedown, you keep on trying it. You rely on one thing, you're very confident about the primary thing, grappling. Striking wise, then you start thinking "well maybe I'll do something else instead of concentrating on one's strengths." One more thing is that Kondo has tremendous stamina. I think that every aspect of his training was focused around the issue of stamina. He ate lots of fruits, he's always thinking about his posture, he goes to yoga. Every single thing he did seemed to increase his stamina. In my case it was different, because all my practicing was centered around grappling. When I was in striking practice, if I got a little bit tired, that's when the grappling practice comes in. But, just because I was tired from striking, sometimes I didn't do as much as I should have; I would slack off. Grappling, I only do three or four times a week. Mondays, I don't do any grappling, instead its running and weight training. So even though I don't do any actual grappling on Mondays, everything is for grappling. When I was doing the striking, I was less focused on the grappling aspect. So your concentration is very different, and you can lose your concentration.

Q: If you had an opportunity for a rematch against Yuki Kondo, for the belt, what would you do differently, would you focus more on the submission aspect?

Kikuta: My top priority is wrestling. First you have to control the opponent with grappling techniques and then you can apply the submissions. My capacity is usually one hundred percent, and in the last fight with Kondo I don't think I was at even one percent. I'm finally understanding the correct way to train, and the Gracies are very good at it. Since they run a big chain of gyms, they practice the same things everyday, over and over. When they fight, people tend to think that they have a konjo (guts, a hungry attitude), but that's not true. Royce may be different, but it seems that Gracie Jiu-jitsu fighters, instead of trying to beat the opponents, they apply everything that they have learned. In my last fight, I tried to beat Yuki Kondo, and that was my mistake. Instead of trying to beat Kondo, I should have stacked up everything that I do everyday, and concentrated on them. For example, when Mario Sperry fought Kondo, he took him down very nicely, that was his strategy. Once on the ground, he tried an Achilles hook, but it didn't look like Mario's normal fighting style. He was also out to "beat" Yuki Kondo as well, so he rushed into a heel lock, which is not common in Vale Tudo fighting style. "Do you choose to fight, or to show what you know?" Kondo has incredible stamina, and Mario fought in "Kondo's world" instead of taking it into his own fight world.

Q: So is that the mistake you made, you didn't focus on your strengths, and it also affected your stamina?

Kikuta: Very good question. (laughter) I actually had a plan, I knew about Kondo's stamina. When I fought Kondo I was running out of wind in the second round so I was waiting for him to come at me so I could reverse him. It wasn't really a physical matter this time, I think it was the mental. The fact that I was at Kondo's pace did make it more tiring. Then I realized, that within my own style of fighting, even though I may be tired, it's my realm of fighting. I was too conscious of Yuki Kondo, and not enough of myself. I think that this was my worst fight because I didn't do anything that I normally practiced.

Q: You wrote an essay in sixth grade, in which you said that you wanted to be a pro-wrestler, but you wanted to change the rules and make it a true fight sport. So do you think the entertainment aspect is essential to mixed martial arts?

Kikuta: Actually, I don't really remember why I wrote that. I felt a great fight tension from pro wrestling, but others said, well that's not real, so I was kind of mad about this. I don't really remember if perhaps I was rebelling against the people who criticized pro-wrestling. I think entertainment is very interesting and I would like to do that some day. In baseball for example, Tsuyoshi Shinjo who played for the Mets, he's flashy, he has a lot of exposure. That's opposed to Nomo in the Los Angeles Dodgers, he just keeps on pitching, more like a workhorse, that's how I feel I am. Nomo , no matter which batter is up, he just keeps on throwing them that splitter.

Q: Did you ever do pro-wrestling?

Kikuta: I really wanted to do pro-wrestling, so I did Judo. I did Judo and other sports in a serious manner since elementary school. So by age twenty, I was actually burned out. (laughs) Constantly cutting weight, making it through tournaments, and I had to think about getting a job. In martial arts you need to have a job on the side, unless you are big time. Back then, the exposure, the status, the money, it was in pro-wrestling. It was way too hard for me to continue.

Q: I know that at one point you went through various organizations, you were with Nobuhiko Takada (in UWF International) for a short period, and then you went to train in Australia with Stan The Man. What made you choose Australia?

Kikuta: I always wanted to be a pro-wrestler, and I tried so many times, but I couldn't, I had to quit. I never had the confidence that I was strong enough to do a real fight, or that I could be strong enough. I wanted to be a professional more than anything, but in order to make a living as a professional you need to have a strong mind. You also need to have a job, and fight once in a while. But in Japan when you have a steady job you become Mr. Kikuta, company man, so it's no longer professional fighting at that point. Then there's regret, of course. The reason I went to Australia and Thailand, was that I wanted to do something that I couldn't do or experience in pro-wrestling. Of course I like going overseas, and since I quit pro-wrestling I was a bit embarrassed. I was afraid to see my friends because they would think I was such a loser for quitting so many times. (laughs) I would quit and then join the next year and then do it again, so I needed to settle down, and that's why I went abroad. While in Australia, I didn't have enough time to learn English so I had no real communication for at least a year, and that's when I had the realization of what I needed to do. I didn't worry anymore weather I was strong enough, I would get a side job and concentrate on fighting, and keep fighting till I'm forty.

Q: So is MMA now a full-time job for you, do you make your living from fighting and running your dojo?

Kikuta: Two years ago my contract changed, so I no longer have the one-year type of contract, it depends on each fight. Since I won Abu Dhabi, I'm the first fighter doing this in Pancrase, since they are used to giving the fighters a one-year term.

Q: The UFC just crowned a new light-heavyweight champion in a polemic fight, would you like to fight Vitor Belfort? Do you watch the UFC, are there any fighters you might like to fight? There is also no middleweight champion currently.

Kikuta: In general, I think the light-heavy category is extremely difficult in world standards. In that serious level of fighting, I might would cut down to 84 kilos, which is what I should be at, middleweight.