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November 09, 2009
“If Bisping is a Kraken then I will slay him like one...”
8 Weeks ago, the latest generation of UFC fans had barely heard of Denis Kang, if at all. I’ll spare you the history lesson but before there was GSP, there was Denis Kang.

Back then there were training partners and schools but nothing like the dynamic camps we see today. To truly gain experience you had to be somewhat of an Edo period “Ronin” living in modern times.

“He’s been in the game 11 years. From puking in a garbage can before his first ‘warehouse’ fight; to cage fights in the center of lavish Russian dinner parties, to competing at the highest level in Japan to, finally, the main card at UFC 105. For us, there’s no mistaking how he got here.” - says long time friend, fan and training partner Stephan Kesting.

With Denis now at American Top Team, and Bisping at the Wolf’s Lair, there’s no doubt they’ve watched each other’s fights over and over, developing strategies, training for the worst and planning for the best. With under a week left, both camps are likely to be wrapped and every blogger and every odds maker has picked their favourite for whatever reason. Every question worth asking has been asked and answered repeatedly for the last 6 weeks.

So when I caught up with Denis online, we went through the motions one last time (albeit candidly) to see where his head is at so close to the fight.

Q. You’ve obviously been getting a lot of press lately. Has it interrupted your routine?

Denis: “Not at all, I don’t let it.”

Q. This summer you were training in Brazil, Montreal and finished up at ATT in Florida. How important would you say it is for fighters to visit and train at different camps?

Denis: “It's important because it helps you develop and grow...when training with different people you learn different techniques.”

Q. Did you bring back any new tricks from Carlson’s or Gordo's?

Denis: “A few, the BJJ level was very high and I had some great matches down there.”

Q. When you faced kick-boxers Mark Weir and Professor "X", it was clear that you were going to have the advantage on the ground. Within the first 30 seconds of each bout, both fighters immediately came at you hard and fast, a strategy that seemed to temporarily throw you off. Do you feel Bisping will adopt the same aggressive strategy to try to catch you off guard? Or simply to redeem himself after the Hendo KO?”

Denis: “Well, in the end both of their strategies failed. As for Bisping, this is really hard to say until the actual fight. To be honest, I don’t really care about his strategy. I am prepared to handle all situations.”

Q. You have more experience than Bisping. Do you feel it will pay off?

Denis: “Yes, I have been through more than he has in the fight game.”

Q. Your experience has taken you around the globe. However, arriving at the MEN Arena in Manchester to take on a home town hero is going to be a lot different than say Japan. i.e. it will be LOUD and probably extremely unfriendly. Do you feel a little like Perseus vs the Kraken in Clash of the Titans? Or perhaps more like Daniel in the lion’s den?

Denis: LOL, if Bisping is a Kraken then I will slay him like one, and if I’m surrounded by lions, then I will tame them.

Q. What’s the prefight week like for you? Quiet? Do you meditate or something?

Denis: “A lot of the week leading up to the fight is spent monitoring my weight, and doing light work-outs....nothing too crazy, just things like reviewing strategies. I do think about the fight a lot of course, I try to make them all positive images and prepare myself mentally for everything that could happen.”

Q. “British paparazzi - they are said to be some of the most aggressive in the world, like Pit Bulls in heat. Do you think you’ll be hounded?”

Denis: “Maybe- if they can catch me. I’ll either go out incognito or I’m gonna go Sean Penn on them lol.”

Q. In some of your other interviews you refer to your opponents as meat bags, clones or robots etc...care to expand on that?

Denis: “Lol, when I’m in the fight, I feel like I’m living in a sci-fi world, they are not human– they must all be destroyed”

Q. Finally, the UFC main card, you’ve fought around the world in pursuit of this...you must feel kind of like Cane, in Kung Fu.

Denis: “ ...or like RYU in the end of Street Fighter 2. He would just walk off into the sunset...always searching for the next challenge - I used to love that ending in the game.”