Todd Medina vs Akira Shoji - After Fight Interview

I had the opportunity to talk with Todd Medina regarding his recent fight with Akira Shoji in the King of the Cage. Here is what he had to say:

Kibun: I noticed that you took a pretty hard kick to your left leg in the first round.

Todd: Yes, Shoji threw a powerful Thai roundhouse kick to my left leg which immediately tore the lateral meniscus and ruptured part of my knee. Shoji is an excellent competitor and he landed a solid kick.

Kibun: That must have hurt a lot. How did that affect your plans in the fight?

Todd: It did hurt but I wasn’t about to let myself or the fans down by giving up. I still able to use my jab but I lost the majority of my boxing. I wanted to go to the ground but when I was able to put Shoji against the fence I was not able to brace off of my leg to secure the take down.

Kibun: I know that the second round was very close with each of you knocking the other one to the ground.

Todd: Yes, in the second round Shoji caught me with a good punch and I went down. I was hoping that Shoji would continue forward and we could fight on the ground but he did not want any part of the ground game.

I could see that he was open for the right cross but with my knee blown out I did not want to chance it. Finely I saw the opening too many times and decided I had to take the chance and throw the punch, and I hit him. He fell to the ground and before I could finish him the bell rang and the round ended. The judges ended up giving Shoji the split decision. I believe that the judges were fair with their decision.

Kibun: In terms of your fighting what are you going to do next?

Todd: Well there are several possibilities. I have the opportunity to fight the King of the Cage Champion Villa Senior for his belt. I am also looking at the WFA, UFC or Pride as possible organizations. But immediately I am concentrating on filming with Hurley International.

Kibun: I noticed that you are setting up a new cage. What is the filming about?

Todd: It is a big event involving Hurley and surfer magazine. They are filming the Surfer’s Poll. Each year they have a theme and this year is going to be cage fighting. BJ Penn, Quinton Jackson, Alan Goes and I will be showing some top surfers what it is like to fight in the cage. They are great people and I enjoy working with them.

Kibun: After filming is done, are you going to have surgery on your knee or are you going to fight a few more times first?

Todd: I will probably do a few more fights but I am looking to get back into promoting fights. I have seven fights that I promoted under the name Strike Fighting Championships. I am in the process of working out the details with a casino to carry the fights and expect to have a fight before the end of the year. I also just opened a new clothing line called Strike Fight gear and hope to have it available soon.

Kibun: Thank you for taking the time to speak with me.

To find out more about Todd Medina and his fight promotions go to Thefightschool.com

Submitted by:
David Welp
KibunInc.com