Hisaki Kato Says He Has To Be Ready For Desperate AJ Matthews

In an interview with MMA Junkie, Hisaki Kato (6-2 MMA, 1-1 BMMA) spoke about his upcoming Bellator 162 middleweight fight with AJ Matthews (8-5 MMA, 4-4 BMMA). It happens on October 21 at the FedEx Forum in Memphis, Tennessee. It airs on Spike TV after preliminary fights on MMA Junkie. Here are highlights:

On Matthews’ current slump: “What I know is when you’re desperate you do crazy things. I have to be ready for him to be boxing for three rounds or trying to rush me to try to knock me out in the first round or try to fake the striking to go to the ground. I don’t know, but I’m ready for all of the game plan. I’ve been training everything, so I’m ready for it all now.”

On why there’s pressure on him to win: “Matthews is a great fighter, but of course, compared to Manhoef he has a smaller reputation. I do believe I have more pressure than last time in the way that I really need to win the fight. I’m really motivated for this fight. I know the conditions, I know the rules perfectly, so I’m really excited by this fight.”

On his Bellator contract: “I do believe my style is more adapted to MMA, so I have a better chance to do good in MMA than kickboxing. I did the last fight in kickboxing, and it was a great experience. But right now, I have no plan of doing kickboxing. I really think I’m a better MMA fighter than kickboxer. My contract is with Bellator, so if I have a good opportunity with Rizin and Bellator is OK for me to fight, then why not? But for now I’m with a Bellator contract.”