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East Coast / West Coast had a recent training day with the 2008 Olympic Judo Gold Medalist from Japan, Satoshi Ishii, East Coast MMA fighter Phil Baroni and West Coast MMA fighter Ben Moreland. The fighters came out to American Gym in Costa Mesa to go 3 rounds with Head Strength Coach - Scott Brengel.
Satoshi Ishii is currently expected to make his professional debut at Sengoku’s New Year event against Japanese MMA veteran and 1992 judo Olympic gold medalist and PRIDE veteran Hidehiko Yoshida (8-7-1).
The 22-year-old had been in talks with the UFC before he ultimately decided to fight for Sengoku in his home country of Japan.
Ishii, who’s expected to compete at approximately 240 pounds, set his sights on Fedor Emelianenko soon after winning his medal, and he’s also talked about his desire to fight Josh Barnett. Phil Baroni is rumored to square off against Ultimate Fighter 7th season winner - Amir Sadollah at UFC 106 in Las Vegas on November 21st.

Satoshi is an amazing athlete, I hope he can translate his skill over to MMA successfully.