Trying to work on getting at least one last fight for this year. I still have 2 fights left on my Strikeforce contract so hopefully they can make that happen. i'm really hungry for a win... especially after the ridiculous outcome of my last one.

In the mean time, I've been working out regularly and training students at the academy. Anyone who is interested, come out and try a day's worth of free classes!

One of the academy fighters is competing in his 2nd pro mma fight. July 10, kenny quach will fight josh mejia at the quiet canyon country club in montebello, ca. call us for tickets and support our local guy!

here's a pic of me and pasna at the silver wolf gym in japan. don't know when i'll be back there. it would be great to go back again someday.

The Ma Du team finishes strong and I'm really proud of our guys! We took 2 guys and they both placed! Congrats to Max Thunyakij (left, featherweight) and Kenny Quach (right, lightweight) for both placing second in the open (advanced) brackets in their respective weight classes!!!

Interesting thing happened at the tourney that tells you that in jiu jitsu, you never know what can happen. Max actually won 2 medals!  He only wanted to compete in the beginner's but when I noticed one open spot left for the advanced division, I signed him up hehe. He wasn't crazy about the idea but I tell him it's good practice and besides, what have you got to lose?! He ends up placing better in the advanced division than he does in the beginner division!!! 2nd place in the open division and 3rd in the beginner's division.

Overall, it was a great accomplishment for our team. We celebrated with a wonderful home cooked meal made by my lovely girlfriend. It was healthy and delicious. But the celebration is over and back to training for our upcoming events. May 30 - both Max and Kenny have a kickboxing event at South Coast Kickboxing in Costa Mesa. The 3 of us also have a grappling tourney hosted by Grappling X in San Bernadino, CA, June 13. It's gonna be a busy summer!

I find out in the next 2 weeks if I'm gonna be back in Japan for Sengoku again. Still up in the air but I have my thoughts about who they might pair me up with. I'm thinking Jung Chan Sung. I'll post as soon as I know.

-NP

I took a week off to relax and recuperate. It's time to get back in focus for the next fight. Hopefully by the end of the month I'll know when, who, and where I'll be fighting. In the meantime, gonna find some jiu jitsu tourneys to compete in. After the FWGP, I'd like a rematch with Omigawa. Or maybe a chance to fight current Shooto World Champ  "Lion" Takeshi Inoue. I'm feeling good about fighting at 145. I would have loved to get a fight with Rumina Sato, but after his loss to Inoue, I heard he might retire or drop to bantamweight. I'm definitely NOT down with dropping that much!!!

I'm also prepping my guys Kenny and Max for the military pankration on May 16 at Camp Pendleton and a couple of kickboxing fights May 30. Kenny also has his 2nd MMA fight July 10 at the Quiet Canyon in Montebello, CA - opponent TBA. Come and support these guys! We'll have more details as the dates get closer. 

 

 

this is what I said to the ref after the fight backstage -
Me: With all due respect, you know that was an early stoppage. I had guard and was defending.
Ref: (in Japanese) Safety first.
Me: Have you ever heard of samurai spirit? (he nods) Well I have kamakazi spirit.
Ref: What do you mean?
Me: In the ring or cage, I am ready to die!
Ref: Oh my, you are crazy!

My cornerman replies: He is not crazy. He has "kokoro".
I later asked him: What does that mean?
He says, "You have heart!"

today was a very interesting day. i woke up this morning at 147.6, after my first one hour run at got down to 144.6, then after my second one hour run i made 142.00 on the dot. the reason why i got down so low is because the scale at the weigh-ins are a little bit heavier. 12 o'clock japan time was the pre wiegh-in trials, to see how much you are wieghing before the official weigh-ins. When i stepped onto the scale i was a little bit heavy, i was at 65.2 which equals out to 143.4. I was way too tired to go run again, so i told mr.Paz to go buy me some chewy type candy to build up some saliva to spit out. I filled up a cup full a spit and i went to go try the scale and the scale said i was still over. Then i decided to go use the restroom. I got back on the scale and got down to 65.15 which comes out to be 143.3. i went back to the chewing and check the scale again at 65.05 which is 143.11. i was getting so frustrated and tired, but i figure just suck it up for a little bit longer. i step on the scale for one last time and i finally made weight at 64.9 kg which comes out to be 142.78. i was so happy to finally make weight, i was standing in the middle of the room naked screaming my lungs out. ok, now off to the official weigh ins!

when i landed in Japan i was 147.6, so i was a little heavy. While i was waiting for my buddy Paz at the airport i figure i just should pick up my metabolism, so i started eating one tiger milk protein bar per every hour. When Paz finally got in, me and him went to eat some food. I got some gayonza and a bowl of rice and my weight got up to 149.6 . i figure, i will just wake up in the morning and run like crazy at the gold's gym in japan which is free for fighters. When i woke up this morning, metabolism was high so high i lost 3 pounds overnight just by sleeping. I got down to 146.6 and then after my run i got down to 144.6.
 
i'm heading off to the rules meeting now.