Teruto Ishihara is back in action this weekend as he takes on Levi Mowles at Fury FC 48 in Houston Texas. Nicknamed ‘Yashabo’ which translates as ‘rascal’ he is certainly one of a kind.
Every fighter has their own reasons for stepping into the cage. During his time with the UFC, the Shooto veteran stated that he didn’t actually like MMA. Instead, he declared that he did it because, ‘it’s the best way I know of to get girls. If you fight, and you get the knockout, you get the girls. That’s my thing, getting the girls’.
The flamboyant star arrived in the octagon in 2015 having come through ‘Road to UFC Japan.’ After amassing a draw and two knockout victories in his first three, things began to go south for the Kagoshima-born striker and he lost five of his next six fights.
Keisuke Takazawa / Fightgraph
Losing streak
The streak of defeats did come against some tough competition including the likes of Kyung Ho Kang and former UFC bantamweight champion Petr Yan but the dip in form saw him handed his walking papers. His next encounter was a unanimous decision loss to Kazuma Sone at Shooto 0131.
The return to his old stomping ground may not have delivered a positive result, but Ishihara was full of praise for the organization,
“Shooto cares about their fighters, and I believe in them. I love Shooto and how they try to help people grow. Shooto cares about the success stories, and their organization is different from many other fighter organizations,” he told Asianmma.com.
Keisuke Takazawa / Fightgraph
Good life
Ishihari has certainly not let a disappointing run of results dampen his spirits and declared.
“Life is good! I’m enjoying every moment of it. I moved back to Sacramento, got a new roommate, and have been training hard to become both a superhero and sex symbol. I’m coming to rock the world.”
In Knowles, he faces a robust test. The local fighter has a 16-5 record that includes wins over several fighters on the current UFC roster like Jimmy Flick and Adrian Yanez. The 26-year-old is also riding a four-fight winning streak, but Ishihari fully anticipates leaving the American on his back,
“I just punch people. If I punch them, they get knocked down. That’s what I expect,” he said.
Keisuke Takazawa / Fightgraph
Having fun
As much as the Team Alpha Male stalwart is enjoying life on the west coast, he did admit to missing life in the UFC and the elite level of competition that came with his way,
“Yes, I do. Many people watch the UFC, and a lot of people know me that way. The most monsters are over there,” said the 30-year-old.
Living on the west coast, Ishihara doesn’t have any immediate intentions to return home. Instead, he has grand plans to perform what would a remarkable U-turn in his career,
“I have no idea about fighting in Japan, but I represent Japan. I’m going to be the first Japanese UFC champion. Every country has a fighter in the UFC, to represent their country. I am going to get every country. If I beat every country, I will be the UFC champion,” he said.
Whatever Ishihara’s next move might be after his clash with Knowles, one can be assured that he’ll be having a good time,
“Everything I do is fun. You don’t even know. I enjoy all of my time,” he said.
