Pride Bushido 8 takes place on July 17th, with a North American pay-per-view debut of July 22nd. One of the fights is a rematch between American Top Team's Denis Kang and Red Devil's Andrei Semenov. These two originally faced each other in December 2003 in M-1 Russia vs. the World 7, a fight that was ruled a draw, but most observers feel should have gone to Kang. A photo gallery of shots from that fight is posted at http://malarky.udel.edu/~keith/2003/M1/kang.htm.

Since that fight Kang made has made a mark in Korea's Spirit MC. In the ADCC News archives are several updates with Kang during this run. Semenov on the other hand, followed up the draw with Kang with a loss to Trevor Prangley in what is viewed as the fight that got Prangley in the UFC. Semenov returned to M-1 where he won the October '04 tournament by beating three opponents in one night and just two months later captured another victory on a card that also featured Kang. Kang has since made his successful debut in Pride Bushido in April.

Kang came close to not making this show due to passport problems. All that has been worked out and Kang should be in Japan by the time this update gets posted. Special thanks go out to Denis for taking the time literally on the verge of boarding the plane to update the readers.

KM: You had passport problems but everything was worked out? DK: Everything worked out except for the fact I get there real late now. To be honest there was one day I didn't know if I was going to be fighting or not because I didn't know if I would get the passport in time. Thank God I got the passport office to put a rush job on it and it and I got it in twenty-four hours. Everything turned out well.
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KM: How do you feel about the jet lag issue in this case, that you can't arrive in time to recuperate? DK: Every fight has its obstacle. At least I don't have any injuries. This is the same thing that happened the last time I fought Semenov, I get there about a day and a half before. It is no big deal. I'm in much better shape than the last time we fought and improved a lot.

KM: What do you think of rematching Semenov? DK: I think it is great. It is a matchup that has been in my mind since we fought really. I think him and I both want it real bad. We both want closure on it and him being his first fight in Pride I think he'll come out ready. I think you are going to see a very competitive match.

KM: Everyone knows I thought you won that first fight but it was ruled a draw. That was before you started training with American Top Team. You just said your training improved since theno65533;can you explain? DK: Basically now I have a lot more sparring partners. I have more than a dozen black belts training there and a lot of bodies to spar with. We have a lot of coaches; a great boxing coach, great wrestling coaches, and the addition of a new conditioning coach has made a huge difference working with us with plyometric, strength, and conditioning routines. This is the first time I'm fighting since training with a new conditioning coach.

KM: That coach has been there about two months? DK: Month and a half.

KM: What is his name? DK: Andrei Onheimer. His nickname is "Benkei".

KM: ATT has been drawing a lot of people recently, not just you but Kurt Pelligrino and Mike Brown. DK: Everybody wants to be there because it is a great opportunity. There are so many guys to rotate with and that makes a huge difference. Most fighters have trouble rounding up sparring partners. If a guy says he is going to show up and he doesn't show up and you got a fight in two weeks it sucks. That used to happen a lot to me. Down at ATT we are lucky, fortunate enough not to have that problem.

KM: How do you feel about being a Pride fighter? DK: A lot of people ask me that, especially before the first fight. I'm very happy about it but before the fight it always just feels like every other fight. Of course it is great to have it in Pride and I'm always happy I'm among the elite of MMA but before the fight it may as well be in a small or local show. It is just a fight.

KM: Marcus Aurelio is already out there so you will have somebody from your team with you. What does that mean to not fight alone? DK: It is great because we trained together for this fight. Nobody else at ATT trains for those ten-minute rounds. Him and I have been doing a little bit different sparring and conditioning conducive to the rounds. Both been cutting weight together. It will be a little bit of home comfort there.

KM: We talked before about your Korean heritage and experience in Spirit MC. You are from Canada, training in America, and for your Pride debut you entered under the Korean flag. Are you coming in under the Korean flag again? DK: Yes. That was Pride's request.

KM: Anybody to thank? DK: Vastal Watches, Cytosport Supplements, and the American Top Team.

American Top Team