Sina Karimian will take on Daichi Kimura, 4th Bigbang Heavyweight Champion, in the 13^th match of K-1 WORLD GP 2024 in TOKYO FINAL on December 14 at the Tokyo National Yoyogi Studium 1st Gymnasium. During a pre-fight interview alongside his trainer, Nicholas Pettas, Karimian expressed his anger against his rival, Claudio Istrate.

Karimian’s last encounter with Istrate in October during the K-1 WORLD GP 2024 Openweight Championship Tournament Asian Qualifiers ended in chaos. After claiming that he was struck illegally in the back of the head, Karimian collapsed. The bout was then ruled a no-contest. Despite this, Istrate advanced to the final 8, prompting Karimian and Pettas to appear at Krush.166 on October 25^th, where they protested to Krush producer Mitsuru Miyata, stirring up further controversy.

Meanwhile, Kimura emerged victorious in the K-1 Amateur All Japan Tournament and made his debut at Krush-EX in July 2022 with a KO win over Isami Sano. He went on to capture the Bigbang Heavyweight title from Hidenori Sakamoto in September 2023 by 3^rd round KO. He also beat Yu Fujikura at Krush in March 2024. He lost his Bigbang title in June and a fight in Australia in September this year. He is now looking to use the lessons from his setbacks in this Karimian’s fight.

Interview with Sina Karimian and his trainer, Nicholas Pettas

— Your opponent has changed from Shota Yamaguchi to Daichi Kimura.
Karimian: It doesn’t matter who my opponent is. I will smash my opponent in the ring. Nothing changes for me.

— Let’s revisit your match against Istrate during the Asia Qualifier. After being knocked down, you claimed to have been struck illegally on the back of the head during a clinch and were taken out on a stretcher. Some have suggested that you intentionally went down because you didn’t want to lose.
Karimian: I spent a lot of my money for special training overseas. I wanted to win more than anyone. But I’m not the type of person who acts to win. I just want to make that very clear. The real issue is my opponent was cheating to win.

— So it wasn’t an act, and the damage was real?
Karimian: Absolutely. I trained hard for that fight. I never thought about giving up. I trained from morning to evening. This time, I wanted to win cleanly. That’s it. Even if I could only fight at 1%, I would have kept standing. But it was impossible in that condition.

— Istrate claims it was a light tap telling you to stop clinching.
Karimian: He can say whatever he wants. I cannot shut his mouth. But I cannot lie to myself. If I had been acting, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself. Why does everyone focus on me instead of his foul. Isn’t that strange? Sure, I fouled in our first fight. But I got a yellow card and a penalty. But why was there no penalty for him this time?

— In sports like soccer, exaggerating fouls can be part of the game. But it’s harder to judge in combat sports.
Pettas: This is my opinion. I was with him the whole time, even as he was stretchered out. Karimian 100% suffered a concussion. He continued to experience nausea for two days. There was no mistake that he was in danger. Continuing the fight would have been dangerous.

— Some might argue that it was the knockdown before the foul that caused the damage.
Pettas: That’s possible. But when he got back up, I told him, “You’ve got eight minutes left; you can do this,” and he nodded. He was fully aware at that point.

Karimian: With two rounds remaining, I was confident I could turn things around. I’ve won the K-1 Fighting Spirit Award before—I would never act. At that time, it was really tough for me and I want people to understand that.

— So your anger towards Istrate runs deep.
Karimian: I will never forgive that guy. I want to fight him right now. But I also have something to say to K-1. We fighters beat opponents up in the ring. So you need to not forgive fouls and protect us fighters. That’s the referee’s job in the ring.

— It looked like Istrate tapped lightly to the back of the head.
Pettas: I understand what you want to say, but only the fighter knows the extent of the damage. For me, who was with Sina, I saw that he was unable to walk straight after the fight. When you see that, can you seriously call that acting? When we protested at Krush, it was a call for K-1 to do better to protect fighters.

— What’s your take on the criticism you have faced?
Karimian: It’s frustrating. I’m an honest person that cannot act. If I don’t like something, I say it. Sometimes it is bad for me, but that is the person that I am, so there is nothing I can do. So everything I said is the truth.

— Can you describe the damage?
Pettas: He was carried back to the dressing room by a stretcher, completely immobilized. His eyes were open, but he had no strength. Even when you hit him, the response was slow. This continued for 20 minutes. Even after he stood up, he was dizzy and nauseous. Taking him home was a struggle.

— About calling the ambulance?
Pettas: At the day of the event, he refused to call an ambulance. As a fighter, he didn’t want to do it. After he went home, he was still nauseous. So, he eventually had to call an ambulance. The doctor advised two weeks of rest.

— What would you like to say to Istrate now?
Karimian: A lot of things. From the first fight, he’s been pulling dirty tricks, like spitting out his mouthpiece to stall for time. Why is he allowed to get away with it while I’m the one being blamed? At the press conference before our match, I wanted to punch him, but Kazuyoshi Ishii told me to be polite, so I didn’t do it. But enough is enough, next time I’ll beat you up!

—This time, Kimura is your opponent.
Karimian: Don’t let that Italian potato anywhere near me. Who knows what I’d do to him? Why’s the cheater in the tournament while I’m stuck with a single match. It’s ridiculous! What’s happening to K-1? And I don’t want referee Hakozaki in my fights again!

— If you meet Istrate again, it sounds like things could get dangerous.
Karimian: I’ll not forgive him. He’s a thief that stole my dreams. Next time, I’ll turn him into mashed potatoes!