No Arnold Schwarzenegger is not suiting up with the Governor of Minnesota for another sequel, this is the return of what some say is the first "true" cross-trained athlete to step foot in the octagon. Don Frye is a former collegiate wrestler, served a short stint as a pro boxer, earned a black belt in Judo, and added submission skills somewhere along the way. He breezed through UFC 8 with a total fight time of just over 3 minutes. He returned to the octagon and beat the snot out of BJJ black belt, Amaury Bitetti at UFC 9 and then fought three battles in one night at UFC 10, losing the war to Mark "The Hammer" Coleman in the tournament finals in one of the UFC's best matches. This was Frye's only blemish on his record. To redeem himself, Frye came back one month later and won the Ultimate Ultimate '96. After that, Don Frye disappeared from the radar screen, resurfacing in the lucrative Japanese Pro Wrestling circuit with the New Japan Pro Wrestling organization. But it looks like the Predator has gotten the itch to return to the ring. Pride, hoping to capitalize on Frye's popularity as a Japanese Pro Wrestler has just signed Frye to a match with "The Hurricane" Gilbert Yvel. It has been a while since I last talked to Don, so I wanted to get his thoughts about his return. A lot has happened to Don recently and on top of everything, I want to congratulate Don and his wife on the birth of their second daughter a couple of weeks ago.

FCF: It's been a long time. I hear that the Japanese Pro Wrestling circuit has been good to you?
Don Frye: They have given me a good push over here. New Japan Pro Wrestling has been real good to me and faithful. Things are going real well. I am real happy with this arrangement. I have no complaints, but there is just something missing.

FCF: So you have been satisfied with Pro-Wrestling up until now when you got an itch to get back into fighting?
DF: Right. Well, what happened was that about 4 or 5 months ago they sent Kenzuke Sasaki over to my house to train for the summer. I got in good shape training Kenzuke, and my contract ran out and under that series of circumstances, I decided to try fighting again.

FCF: Every so often, you have been a frequent face in the corner of many fighters. Have you helped trained everyone of them or were you just helping out friends by cornering them?
DF: Just friends, we help each other and this is what this is all about.

FCF: Do you train anyone on a regular basis?
DF: No, they are just a group of workout partners. I don't train anybody because I don't have the patience or communications skills [laughs] to train anybody. My guys are pretty much just a bunch of good guys and good workout partners. Rainy Martinez is a real good instructor. He has a lot of patience and Steven Owens is a fantastic coach.

FCF: Last time we talked, I don't know if it was an itch or just the fact that Ken Shamrock was getting back into fighting that warranted your first interests in returning.
DF: Yeah and that didn't happen so…I was really disappointed.

FCF: Are there any details that you can share of why you think that the "powers that be" did not let you fight him back then?
DF: I was still under contract under New Japan and they were not going to release me to fight.

FCF: Didn't you say last time that we talked that New Japan was going to allow a special exception just to fight Shamrock?
DF: Yeah, but the fight kept on being delayed and drug on a bit too long, so when my contract ran out and got renewed, the opportunity to fight ran out too, until now.

FCF: Now getting to the task at hand, rumors started that you were going to make your return to NHB. There was a few people rumored to be your first fight back. First Brad Kohler was mentioned, then Rico Rodriguez, and now, I believe you have inked a deal with Gilbert Yvel. Were the other fighters considered or was that just the rumor mill making its rounds?
DF: I had never heard about the other two. I think that whoever brought those two names up were serving their own purposes to get their name out there. Pride never came up with those names and I don't think Pride ever considered that low a level of competition for me. That's why I am fighting Gilbert Yvel.

FCF: How did that match come about? Did Pride bring his name up or did you say that you wanted to fight him?
DF: They gave me Gilbert. I wanted to fight someone a little easier than Gilbert for my first fight back because Gilbert is one of the top 10 in the world, but I guess that is just the way the ball bounces and the dice were rolled.

FCF: Are you 100% ready for this fight against Yvel?
DF: Yeah, I believe so. Psychologically, I'm there, physically, I'm there. I just got to keep from getting kicked or kneed in the head. [laughs]

FCF: With all this time off, I believe that last time you fought was in '96…
DF: Actually in '97 I had a match in Amarillo, Texas. I can remember the details right now, either the blows to my head are taking their toll or I am showing my age here. [both laugh]

FCF: With that much time off, can we expect anything new from the Predator?
DF: Hopefully I will fight more intelligently this time. I used to enjoy those epic battles. Hopefully now I will get it over quickly, for my sake. Age is creeping in on me.

FCF: You always seemed to be a well-rounded fighter and in my opinion, you did not seem to be a risk taker, but just used that game to pressure and take apart your opponents. Is there anything different about your style now as compared to the last time we saw you fight?
DF: My hands are a lot better now. They are probably the best that they've ever been. The only question is to see how my reactions are now, [laughs] and see if I can avoid getting hit, unlike the old days. I am a lot better than I was back then.

FCF: The level of the sport has gotten a lot better too. Do you think that you stayed above that gap?
DF: Yeah, I believe that I was above the gap when I first started and I am above the gap now. I have improved in every aspect. When I first got into it, I believe that I was at the elementary level and now I believe that I am at the college level.

FCF: Any strategy that you would like to leak out as far as how you are planning on handling Yvel?
DF: Right now? [laughs] No. Well, my strategy is to avoid kicked and kneed and to defeat my opponent.

FCF: Is this a one fight deal or do you have a multiple fight contract signed?
DF: I signed a 3-fight deal with Pride.

FCF: Mark Coleman is at the top of the Pride ranks right now. Is he the reason you are making your comeback with the hopes of revenging the only man to beat you?
DF: Yeah, Coleman is the reason that I returned to the fight game. It's been four and a half years or five years and it [that fight] never really settled right with me.

FCF: After winning the Ultimate Ultimate '96, you kind of disappeared. Why wasn't there a rematch?
DF: A rematch never came up because after winning the Ultimate Ultimate, I was supposed to fight [Dan] Severn for his title, but I broke my hand in the Ultimate Ultimate which prevented that match. And then Coleman defeated Severn in that event. After that New Japan Pro Wrestling offered me a heck of a deal.

FCF: Has Pride mentioned any names for you to fight after this fight with Yvel?
DF: No…well, they have, but I am not allowed to divulge that information. [laughs]

FCF: I ask because it seems like Pride regularly puts together their card right before the event. It seems they give fighters very little time to prepare for their opponent, or at least they tend to release their final card very close to the event.
DF: Right. They definitely have the tendency to wait to the last minute, but they pull it off. That's kind of amazing. That tells you about the level of competition. People have to stay in shape all year around and train all year around, and be ready to take a fight within 2-3 weeks notice, without any excuses.

FCF: Arguably the best heavyweights in the world are in Pride. Are you looking to fight Mark Coleman right after this fight or would you like him as the last fight on your contract?
DF: Probably at the end because he was the main reason that I am getting back into it and the main reason why I would not want to fight him in the second fight is that I would not have those emotions or hunger for that third fight if I fought Coleman next. That would be detrimental for me.

FCF: Are there any specific fighters in Pride that you have your sights set on? Would you prefer to fight a certain fighter after Yvel and before Coleman?
DF: No, it doesn't matter. I just want to fight Coleman and be number one in the world. My main goal is to fight Coleman and I have to get past Yvel first. You never look past your next opponent and right now Yvel is the roadblock.

FCF: You mentioned age before and the fact that Father Time is knocking on your door. How long can we expect the Predator back in the NHB ring?
DF: That is a good question. It just depends on what kind of injuries that I get in these upcoming fights. It also depends on how Pride and I get along. If they treat me like a professional and in like return, I act like a professional, we can look toward more fights. New Japan treats me extremely well and it is almost foolish for me to venture out.

FCF: Are you going to be wrestling in between these fights?
DF: That's what we look toward doing. That is a possibility. Pride and I agreed that I was allowed to do Pro Wrestling during the terms of my contract. That was real nice of them to do. So I hope to still be able to wrestle for New Japan.

FCF: It seems that Pride tries to introduce more Pro Wrestlers into their events and it seems like it helps their attendance because of Pro Wrestling's popularity in Japan?
DF: Right. Everybody knows that the new fans and the old fans of the mixed martial arts follow Pride. In Japan, they follow Pro Wrestling and if you are a Pro Wrestler, MMA fans know who you are and vice versa.

FCF: I am not too familiar with Japanese Pro Wrestling, but American Pro Wrestlers travel a lot and do a ton of shows. How is it in Japan?
DF: It is kind of the same. I will come over here [Japan] anywhere from 3 days to 3 weeks. Sometimes in 21 days, we can work 17 days and sometimes we only work 10 days. When you work, you work hard.

FCF: Do they have shows every day of the week or do you go to promotional "meet the fans" deals?
DF: No, they run shows every day. It is feast or famine. You could get on the bus for 4 hours and then go right to the show and then hop on the bus and drive another 4 hours to the next town.

FCF: Is New Japan Pro Wrestling like American Wrestling or is it similar to MMA?
DF: It is more like MMA. That is the way that things are going. Over in Japan, they don't appreciate the Hollywood or circus style. They really appreciate the shoot style, that's why Pride is such a large organization.

FCF: Anything else you would like to add?
DF: I just hope to return to my former level of competition. I don't want to disappoint the fans. I have a bunch of people on the Internet that said that I never fought anybody and that I am not that tough and only had one tough fight, against Coleman and I lost that. Well, they can kiss my ass because I am going to come back and be on top of the world again.

FCF: I look forward to seeing you back and it was good to talk to you again.
DF: Thanks partner.