By ProMMAnow.com contributor Pawel Sawicki
KSW 15 will take place on March 19 in Warsaw, Poland, featuring a clash between former Sengoku title challenger Mamed Khalidov and UFC veteran James Irvin, as well as a light heavyweight bout between former UFC and PRIDE competitor Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou and Jan Blachowicz.
ProMMAnow.com’s Pawel Sawicki caught up with Irvin and Sokoudjou to ask a few brief questions upon their arrival in Poland. (Editor’s note: Irvin was recently suspended after reportedly failing a post-fight drug test but took the fight against Khalidov on late notice. ProMMAnow.com did not get the chance to ask Irvin about the situation.)
Below is a rough transcript of the Q&A.
Sokoudjou
ProMMAnow.com: It is Your second time in Poland. Give us Your impression about our country.
Sokoudjou: I love Polish food. I don’t know what the meals are called, but it is so tasty. I like people in Poland, too. They are very nice.
ProMMAnow.com: Tell us about situation in Team Quest. Lindland has had some legal issues (the marijuana charge and a dispute over the naming rights to Team Quest), and Sonnen
has also had legal trouble. Does it affect the other fighters in the camp?
Sokoudjou: No, not at all. We are family, and every team, every family, has troubles, so it is normal. We finally find the way to get through it all. We just deal with it and keep training.
ProMMAnow.com: I heard that You have another fight in France, two weeks from now. Is that still happening?
Sokoudjou: No, that isn’t happening. It is to soon, and I decided not to take that fight in France. I’m just focusing on the KSW match.
James Irvin
ProMMAnow.com: This is your first time in Poland, so what do you think of it so far?
Irvin: I flew in yesterday and I haven’t had much time to do sightseeing, but what I’ve seen of Warsaw, it’s a beautiful city and Poland is a nice country. I plan on looking around in Warsaw later.
ProMMAnow.com: Do you have any worries taking this fight on short notice?
Irvin: I’m in training all year round. I was training when KSW called me. Mamed is good fighter. He is very similar to me [style wise] and he is perfect
match-up for me. It was an easy decision.
Check out Pawel’s Youtube page for some videos of the KSW open-media workouts from today.
Pawel covers MMA for top Polish site MMANEWS.PL