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"Thought I'd be knocked out." The Kazakh fighter shared his thoughts on the title fight in Japan, his move to the UFC, and comments on Mayweather.

"I often hear about Rizin – it's a fantastic promotion that offers substantial payouts. You've fought there three times, winning two bouts by knockout. Are there any talks about a title fight? Actually, I've competed in Rizin four times. My first fight was back in 2018 against Mikuru Asakura, Kai Asakura's brother. I lost that match by decision, but later on, he faced Floyd Mayweather and is now considered one of the superstars in Japan with a massive fan following. It was only after six years that I returned to the league, thanks to my manager, Sayat Abdrakhmanov. We signed a contract for three fights."
"Thought I'd be knocked out." The Kazakh fighter shared his thoughts on the title fight in Japan, his move to the UFC, and comments on Mayweather.

Kazakh MMA fighter Dautbek Karshyga (17-3) gave an extensive interview about his career, reports Sports.kz citing Meta-ratings.kz.

— I often hear about Rizin — it's a great promotion that offers substantial payouts. You've fought there three times, winning two by knockout. Are there talks about a title shot?
— Actually, I fought four times in Rizin. My first fight was back in 2018 against Kai Asakura's brother, Mikuru. I lost that match by decision, but later this guy fought Floyd Mayweather and is now considered one of the superstars in Japan. He has a huge fan base. It was only after six years that I returned to the league, thanks to my manager Sayat Abdrakhmanov. We signed a contract for three fights.

— Only three?
— Yes.

— And is there no agreement now?
— They offered me a new contract, which I have already signed.

— How long-term was the previous one?
— I was supposed to fight three times in one year, but I managed to do it in seven months. We agreed in May, but the contract expired on December 31. According to the new agreement, I need to fight three more times.

— When you flew to Thailand to prepare for your third fight against Ren Sugiyama, we met at the airport. You mentioned he was very good at striking. Was it hard to knock him down, or did you plan to work until the end?
— Good question. Before the fight with Sugiyama, I trained in Shymkent, at my home gym "Turan Orda." The head coach there, Murat Yestanov...

— The brother of fighter Yerzhan Yestanov?
— Yes, his biological brother. When I was offered to fight Sugiyama, I immediately told Murat, and we concluded that I should accept. We watched his previous fights and how he performs in the cage. Ren often moves forward, even when getting hit, but his grappling is weak — he comes from K-1 after all. He fought about 20 times there, but only three in mixed martial arts.

So, I relied on my experience and planned to exploit Sugiyama's weaknesses in grappling — he simply can't defend himself well against takedowns. During preparation, I focused on that: working on takedowns, applying pressure from the top... After all, I started as a boxer. We decided it would be wise to fight at a distance until the start of the second round, but if nothing worked out, then to go for grappling. From there, I could throw strikes or attempt submissions.

However, it was a mistake to go to Thailand for training just 20 days before the fight. In the first week, the trainers there informed me how much the immune system can weaken due to acclimatization and sweating. There’s always a risk of catching something like staphylococcus, so I should have adapted to those conditions gradually. It took me about seven days, and only in the second week did I start training twice a day. And by the third week, I needed to cut weight.

— So you went directly to Japan from there?
— Yes. Essentially, I trained properly for only a week before that. Because of this, I lost my shape: I went to Thailand, conditionally prepared at 70-80%, and left for Japan at 50-60%.

— If you had been ready at 80%, Ren would have definitely fallen. But the main thing is that you fulfilled your plan, right?
— You could say that, but in the first round, I felt my weakness. In the initial exchanges, my arms and legs stopped moving properly.

— Did you ever think you might lose?
— No, such thoughts didn't cross my mind. Even though my limbs were cramping, I could see the moments when Sugiyama was throwing strikes. For a second, I thought that I might, God forbid, get knocked out — my legs just weren't working. At that point, I started to pressure and go for takedowns. I would grab him, take a short breather, and then let go. Again and again.

The feature of Rizin is that they don't allow you to work for long periods on the ground. If there are no active actions, they lift you up immediately.

— So did you get closer to a title fight in the end?
— On December 31, when I stepped into the cage for the last time, the local champion in the 66 kg weight class lost his belt — he was defeated by Brazilian Kleber Koike Erbst. He has fought around 40 bouts in his career and is primarily a grappler. He holds a black belt in BJJ. Kleber lives in Japan and owns his own gym. For now, he is the leader here.

There are three contenders, according to the matchmakers: me, young Kyrgyz Rajabali Shaidullaev, and an Azerbaijani who has been competing in Rizin for a long time — Vugar Kyaramov. However, the champion has his privileges here. He will choose who he defends the title against. If he picks someone other than me, I will have to fight again as a contender, but I also don't have time to wait. My age is catching up to me, I'm at my peak, thank God.

— When you were heading to the cage, I, being a promoter myself, paid more attention to the arena. I noticed there were no empty seats at all — it was packed. How many spectators were there?
— Recently, I've been fighting at the Saitama Super Arena, which can hold up to 40,000 people. I actually googled it because I was curious too. But if we count the floor seating, there were about 45,000 at the recent tournament, I think.

— There were no empty seats?
— There were a few, but very few. Essentially, the spectators filled the entire arena.

— Do the locals support you when you fight against their compatriots?
— Yes, they cheer for me. What I appreciate about the Japanese is that they respect sports and do not divide people by nationality. This was evident in my last fight: in both the first and second rounds, they created an incredible atmosphere. I'm very grateful to the fans who supported me. But many from Kazakhstan were also following the event — it was late December, and everyone was resting at home.

— How do you find the climate in Japan?
— It's like in Shymkent (laughs). The weather is the same — no snow, just occasional rain. I felt at home.

— And what do you eat there?
— One of the difficulties I personally face in Japan is the food. It’s not a Muslim country, so sometimes they might serve pork. There’s a lot that isn’t halal, so I have to be very selective about my diet.

Our brother Yersin Baltagul lives there, who practices sumo. He’s probably the only Kazakh in those parts. Just yesterday he participated in the Emperor's Cup. When I traveled to Japan in September, Yersin met me and showed me where to eat delicious food. He always calls to check if I need any help. He has been in this country for over nine years and has even learned the language, but he never forgets his roots.

— You once mentioned that the purse for one fight in Rizin could buy a house in Shymkent, and I wondered: are they paying that much or have housing prices suddenly dropped?
— I said that in an interview with a Kazakh journalist. He asked me that question on WhatsApp, and I jokingly replied (laughs). That wasn't the only moment when I decided to joke, but he published it as is. I actually hoped that would stay between us, but he went ahead and posted it.

In reality, I don’t like the hype, so in the first days after the interview was published, I felt uncomfortable. But then it all blew over. For my first contract with Rizin, I received a modest sum — at that time, I just needed to make a name for myself. I had a loss, and they didn’t know us well there. The pay was small. But the terms are better with the new agreement.

— Your affairs are managed by Sayat, who promotes many fighters in the UFC. Has he mentioned anything about that organization?
— We are always in touch with Sayat, and even today we spoke. Initially, my goal was to get into the UFC. Just as all athletes dream of the Olympic Games, all fighters dream of this league. Even to fight there once is already worthy of respect, but due to circumstances beyond my control, things turned out as they did. I would compare other promotions to the World Championship. Therefore, if you win a belt in Rizin, you can consider