Photo via Asian MMA
Koji Takeda on Johnny Case fight “Probably the biggest win of my career”
Koji Takeda emerged victorious at Rizin 37 over Johnny Case by way of a unanimous decision towards the end of July.
He has his next fight lined up for Rizin 39 against Zach Zane on October 23rd.
Fight announcement for RIZIN.39
Koji Takeda vs. Zach Zane#RIZIN #RIZIN39 pic.twitter.com/Q11VovJ9Vm
— RIZIN FF English (@rizin_English) September 16, 2022
Takeda appeared on Bowks Talking Bouts, with the aid of an interpreter, and several subjects were touched on in the wake of his July 31st win over Case.
Excerpts from our chat are below.
Koji Takeda
If this Johnny Case win is the biggest win of his pro MMA career so far
“When you just simply look at the results, yes, that is probably the biggest win of my career. But I think the hard road, the thorny road begins now. So I’m sure there’s more to come.”
If Takeda thinks a title shot is next potentially
“So the main reason why I got into MMA is because of the UFC. The UFC definitely influenced me and inspired me to start. Eventually, it would be nice to end up in the UFC but right now, I’m not at that point. So my number one motivation is to face tough guys and the priority is that.”
“So if I had to choose getting the title fight, I don’t really have that much of an obsession with the title fight right now. I just want to fight tough guys and beat them. If it happens so that the Rizin titleholder is a tough guy, you know, it makes sense. So for me, the title really doesn’t matter. I just want to continue to face better competition and raise myself.”
Rizin 37
Parting thoughts for Koji Takeda
“So I don’t really have any goals and like particular thoughts. But for this year alone, my goal is to continue to fight international competition. I just want to fight the best. I want to fight tough fighters. Continue to challenge is my theme for this year… I want to fight two more times this year and I want to fight tough fights. I want to continue to show the performance that defines Koji Takeda. Want to show the fight style that characterizes myself.”
“Recently I’ve been receiving this from the fans that they’ve been inspired by my fights and they look forward to seeing me again. So I want to be that type of guy. That gritty guy who inspires people. Gives them hope, energy, and power to wake up and go to work the next day. So that’s what I want to do and that’s what I want to pursue. So I would definitely appreciate everybody’s continued support and please keep your eyes on me.”
