Post by James Hetfield on Jun 10, 2010 9:23:41 GMT -5
On media/publicity commitments:
"I don't like it, but it's part of the job and I will swallow it. If you think I'm unhappy … I don't want to be a star, I don't want to be in the magazines. I just don't like it. I just want to be a normal family man. I'm doing this sport because I like it. I started in this sport as a kid, when I was 12, 11 years old. I enjoy fighting."
"I don't see the point of all these things. It's always been the same questions throughout all my career: 'How did you train?' 'No, you know what? I didn't train.' What should I say to that question? Always the same questions. I just swallow it. I just swallow it."
Moving from PRIDE to UFC:
"It was a bad time for me. I was sick of everything, of training. I'd just won the Grand Prix in PRIDE. To tell you the truth, the money attracted me here. The money attracted me because I knew PRIDE was going to be finished. But that is the worst motivation, to fight only for money.
"I trained some, but not the way I should have. Then, I underestimated the phenomenon called the cage. It's a huge difference in your career. The cage is twice bigger than the ring; there are no ropes. It's different rules. It was a shock for me. "It's also a different kind of public. That was a shock for me. In Japan when you're fighting, you feel like you're in Vienna at a concert listening to some opera. Everybody's quiet. They keep quiet. When you do some moves, they go, 'Ooooh.' Here, people are screaming and this and that. It's a different mentality. All those things are small, but put them together and it was a big thing for me."
"In Japan, it just wasn't like this. In Japan, I just came, the driver picked me up at the airport. I always stayed in the same hotel. I was the only fighter there. Here, we are meeting our opponents, [other] fighters. People don't really know the level of disruption. There are parties during the night that wake you up. There are maybe 3-4 fighters plus their corner men, and they're doing madness during the night. That makes you nervous. I didn't have any of that before in Japan. I had my peace. I just don't like it."
"I don't want to be a black sheep among all the fighters."
Fans/Autograph seekers:
"I respect the people. I'm aware many people like me and like my way of fighting. I respect that. Sometimes, it is hard. Sometimes, it is hard to be polite all the time. … I can sign one, two, three hundred times. Three hundred times, I can not [sign that many autographs]. I'm nervous. I want to get my rest. I want to have my peace. That's why most of the time, I'm in my room. It doesn't mean I hate fans. No, no, I'm aware of everything. We are here because of fans. I'm paid because people buy tickets to see me fighting.
"But it's hard. With all respect to other sports, this is not tennis. This is not swimming. They're very hard sports, but they're not sports where punches are involved, very huge injuries. I just don't feel good every day. [But it is] the difference of the American way of doing business and the Japanese way of doing business. It's huge, the difference. I just feel like I came to Mars when I came to the UFC."
Ranking?
"When you're considered as a top fighter in the world, always in the top three, and then some so-called expert puts you in 15th place, or No. 13 or 10th, it's kind of an insult for me."
Moving to 205...
"I would feel like a coward, like I'm running away. I've always been fighting in the heavyweight division, so why would I go there now?"
I thought a lot of it was interesting. He seems like a guy who just wants his privacy and no distractions. You can't dog him for that.
"I don't like it, but it's part of the job and I will swallow it. If you think I'm unhappy … I don't want to be a star, I don't want to be in the magazines. I just don't like it. I just want to be a normal family man. I'm doing this sport because I like it. I started in this sport as a kid, when I was 12, 11 years old. I enjoy fighting."
"I don't see the point of all these things. It's always been the same questions throughout all my career: 'How did you train?' 'No, you know what? I didn't train.' What should I say to that question? Always the same questions. I just swallow it. I just swallow it."
Moving from PRIDE to UFC:
"It was a bad time for me. I was sick of everything, of training. I'd just won the Grand Prix in PRIDE. To tell you the truth, the money attracted me here. The money attracted me because I knew PRIDE was going to be finished. But that is the worst motivation, to fight only for money.
"I trained some, but not the way I should have. Then, I underestimated the phenomenon called the cage. It's a huge difference in your career. The cage is twice bigger than the ring; there are no ropes. It's different rules. It was a shock for me. "It's also a different kind of public. That was a shock for me. In Japan when you're fighting, you feel like you're in Vienna at a concert listening to some opera. Everybody's quiet. They keep quiet. When you do some moves, they go, 'Ooooh.' Here, people are screaming and this and that. It's a different mentality. All those things are small, but put them together and it was a big thing for me."
"In Japan, it just wasn't like this. In Japan, I just came, the driver picked me up at the airport. I always stayed in the same hotel. I was the only fighter there. Here, we are meeting our opponents, [other] fighters. People don't really know the level of disruption. There are parties during the night that wake you up. There are maybe 3-4 fighters plus their corner men, and they're doing madness during the night. That makes you nervous. I didn't have any of that before in Japan. I had my peace. I just don't like it."
"I don't want to be a black sheep among all the fighters."
Fans/Autograph seekers:
"I respect the people. I'm aware many people like me and like my way of fighting. I respect that. Sometimes, it is hard. Sometimes, it is hard to be polite all the time. … I can sign one, two, three hundred times. Three hundred times, I can not [sign that many autographs]. I'm nervous. I want to get my rest. I want to have my peace. That's why most of the time, I'm in my room. It doesn't mean I hate fans. No, no, I'm aware of everything. We are here because of fans. I'm paid because people buy tickets to see me fighting.
"But it's hard. With all respect to other sports, this is not tennis. This is not swimming. They're very hard sports, but they're not sports where punches are involved, very huge injuries. I just don't feel good every day. [But it is] the difference of the American way of doing business and the Japanese way of doing business. It's huge, the difference. I just feel like I came to Mars when I came to the UFC."
Ranking?
"When you're considered as a top fighter in the world, always in the top three, and then some so-called expert puts you in 15th place, or No. 13 or 10th, it's kind of an insult for me."
Moving to 205...
"I would feel like a coward, like I'm running away. I've always been fighting in the heavyweight division, so why would I go there now?"
I thought a lot of it was interesting. He seems like a guy who just wants his privacy and no distractions. You can't dog him for that.
