Kazushi Sakuraba has decided to entrust his own rejuvenation to a man whom he respects, Federico Rudimar. He left Japan on August 18th to train at the Chute Boxe Academy in Curitiba, Brazil.’I am going to engage in intense sparring with (Wanderlei) Silva and those boys there.’ Sakuraba, who recently revealed his decision to keep fighting at the 205 lbs & under category, was in his usual mode, ‘I want to look very muscular when I come back to Japan. I might even fight in the heavyweight division then.’ Even when he was asked about his next fight, Sakuraba was on his own pace, ‘It has to be when I feel like I can fight. New Year’s Eve? Well, that would be OK with me.’Back in 1998, Sakuraba experienced ‘kaigai shugyou (training or perhaps disciplining ones self in a foreign country)’ when he went to Los Angeles, but as Nobuhiko Takada’s training partner, so this is going to be his first ‘kaigai shugyou.’He finished this brief press conference at Narita International Airport with a typical Sakuraba-like comment. ‘I might find this great farm land and end up living there permanently.’
