Legendary Japanese fighter Satoshi Ishii today inked a deal with Final Fight Championship and he will fight in his promotional debut October 21 at FFC 30 Linz!

Ishii (15-8, FFC 0-0) is one of the best Japanese MMA fighters and winner of gold medal in judo at Olympic Games in Beijing in 2008. He will be a big boost to the FFC roster. Moreover, Ishii is a very humble fighter who originally came to Croatia to train and spar with Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipović who beat him twice.

‘I came to Croatia to train with Mirko because I wanted to learn from him. That’s why I contacted him. I fought him twice and I lost. He also won the Rizin belt. He is 43 but he’s in great shape. One must always improve. That’s why I came to learn from him. I want to improve. I want to learn his techniques and I want to become Rizin champion,’ explained Ishii and added: ‘I already knew about FFC. It is a good promotion and very big in the world. I was already interested in this organization. Mirko suggested I should fight in the FFC. I’ve seen the event and it’s just like Pride,’ said Ishii with a big radiant smile while mentioning the legendary Japanese organization.

At FFC 30 in his promotional debut, Satoshi Ishii will square off in a heavyweight bout with Germany’s Bjoern Schmiedeberg (12-6, FFC 0-0). Schmiederberg will step into the ring with two wins at Superior FC under his belt. But Satoshi Ishii is not intimidated.

‘My opponent Bjoern Schmiedeberg is from Germany. I watched his fights on YouTube. He is experienced and he is a good fighter but I’m confident I will win. I’m preparing with Mirko.’

Besides being fascinated with Croatia’s legendary fighter, Satoshi Ishii loves Croatian weather, people and food, especially ‘ćevapi’. He is enjoying his hard core training sessions with Mirko and swears that ‘Cro Cop’ never takes him out partying. But Ishii will surely celebrate in case he wins in Linz on October 21.

FFC President Orsat Zovko today welcomed Ishii to the FFC in Zagreb.

‘This is a big thing for FFC. Ishii is one of the biggest and best fighters in the world. He is also Olympic gold medalist in judo. We signed a deal until 2019 and in case Ishii wins in Linz, he will fight for the FFC heavyweight belt at our next event.’

Watch Satoshi Ishii vs. Bjoern Schmiederberg headlining Final Fight Championship 30 that will take place October 21 in Linz, Austria. FFC 30 tickets are available for purchase now: http://bit.do/FFC30_Tickets. Watch FFC live from TipsArena on Fight Channel World HD or www.fightchanneltv.com.