Fifty-Nine Seconds.

That's all Egan Inoue, the 42 year old, legendary MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) fighter needed to silence the critics while his fans cheered on. His opponent, Hans Marrero, 23, was hoping for a big win. In less than a minute, Egan walked away with TKO victory. Is he ready to come back full time? Only time will tell. Until then, Kane Magazine sits down with Egan while he shares with us his achievements as well as his battles in and out of the ring.

How did you start in the Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) Industry?

By pure accident. It was 1997, and my brother Enson and I were in Japan. He was scheduled to fight an Australian fighter but was diagnosed with a staph infection. He was given medication, but there was no way he was going to be well in three days. The organizers of the event wouldn't let him out of his contract. It was at this point in my life that my MMA Fighting career propelled forward. I stepped in for him and fought his fight. I knew I didn't really like it (fighting), but there was “something” about it that I liked. I didn't know much about the sport at that time, but I knew jiu jitsu… and that's what got me through the fight.

Who was your Mentor?

It was a bunch of different guys. I learned boxing at Kalakaua Gym with Rob Frazier. I then traveled to Thailand to learn Muay Thai. For Brazilian jiu jitsu - I trained with Machado to Gracie, and Randy Couture taught me wrestling.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of being well known or famous?

There are both. People treat you nicer than they should. An advantage would be, for example, when I started surfing, I discovered that there are unspoken “rights” to the water. You would think that the ocean is open to everyone, but it's not. Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful to Brian Kealana and the guys of Makaha, Wolfpack guys in North Shore, and the surfers at Ala Moana for watching my back, but a person shouldn't have to be famous to be treated nicely. Everyone deserves to be treated with respect no matter who you are.

 

The biggest disadvantage for me was having my ugly divorce publicized on the media. It escalated because I was a fighter. People assumed I was guilty of spousal abuse because of my association to Mixed Martial Arts. I fought hard to clear my name and took this divorce battle to a jury trial. The greatest moment was when the jury found me not guilty of spousal abuse, and I won custody of my three daughters.

Who was your toughest or most challenging opponent?

You would think my losses would be my toughest, but they were not really. With Masunori Suda, I didn't really fight. There's 1 in a 1,000,000 chance that your eardrum can pop when someone claps in your ear, and I was that “1”. Because of this, it ruptured my eardrum, and I lost my equilibrium. At that point, he jumped on me and must have hit me twenty times until the referee stopped it. With Jason Miller, I basically dominated him throughout the fight, and then I tore my cartilage in my rib. Due to this, I couldn't continue to the third round. But, if I had to pick one, I guess it would be one of my first fights here in Hawaii against Marcelo Tiger. I hit that guy with every single thing I had, but he just wouldn't go down. I related it to “like going to Vegas and playing the slot machine.” Just one more coin and you're going to hit the jackpot. So, I would punch him one more time, again, and again, and still he wouldn't go down. Before I knew it, I ran out of gas in that fight. I was tired and had nothing left. All I could think about was how this guy was still coming at me. How it ended - he did four illegal things, and I ended up winning because of that!

What is the most memorable venue?

I fought all over the world, but fighting in Hawaii was the best. Even when I was playing racquetball, I earned a million United Airline miles just flying back and forth between each tournament. I am one of those guys that needed to come back home to Hawaii. It made me feel grounded and rooted.

PRE-FIGHT X1 Legends thoughts:

“I am more excited than I have ever been to fight. First of all, it's not in my nature to fight. I never got involved in street fighting. I was class president. Both of my parents were educators. My mother retired as a principal, so based on my upbringing… I never really fought. My brother, on the other hand, was a little different. (chuckles) It wasn't my nature to fight, so it's weird that I'm excited to fight. I'm glad I'm excited because I've stumbled on some different training techniques over the years. From 4-6 hours a day, I only train 1 hour a day, and I feel stronger. My boxing coach stated to me - I trained you for 10 years, you retire for a few years, and you come back, and you're hitting harder than you ever did.

What do you credit that too?

I am not sure really, but I have to credit surfing for one. It has loosened up my shoulders. I am always sprinting and paddling as fast as I can just to catch the wave. Then I get pounded by a wave. I'm already out of breath, and the wave keeps you down. Then I come up, and then the wave puts you down again. To me, this simulates fighting due to the cardio. My upper body was my weakness in fighting. I remember when I was boxing I would get to the point when I couldn't keep my hands up because my shoulders were dead. Now I can keep my hands up all the time.

 

Brian Kealana and I would play around with the rocks out in Makaha. I would be out there every Sunday rock running. We would dive down for the rock, hold the rock, and run back and forth. This is to expand our lungs. This exercise teaches our body how to work with as little oxygen. It works your legs and your lungs. Plus, it's way more fun.

 

Also, I've been doing this Russian style of training where it takes your muscles to its extreme point. From there you strengthen and stretch. Some NFL football players like Colt's Dwight Freeney and Rams' Adam Archulet are implementing this type of workout to prevent injuries such as muscle tearing. It's short, but painful.

In 5 years, where do you see the sport of MMA?

If it continues to go the way it is now, committees will be governing the sport to make it more mainstream. No one will be able to host an event on their own anymore. For the up and coming fighters, it might be harder to get into the sport. Eventually, it's going to be regulated.

The Studio.

My wife and I created this gym for regular people. Through the use of a punching bag, the members learn how to kickbox and box. Most of the members are 50% women. We started off women's only sessions, but since then both men and women come to the classes. Everyone is focused on the workout rather than socializing. People don't come here and hang out for 2 hours. We actually work out here. In 45 minutes, we do cardio, strengthening, cool down, and warm ups. When the members feel like the session is a century long, this means the work out is working.

 

Many people come out to see what we're all about. We give the first class for free. After the women hit the bag, the women walk out of here happy. I didn't want to do a Tae Bo thing where women think they know how to fight now. In my class I want the women to know not just how to fight but also understand how big of an impact they can make through this type of training. It's through the interaction of a punching bag weighing over 220 lbs that give these women the confidence and skills. They learn how to hit properly and how to use their entire body. They learn to use their legs for a base and strengthen their core.

 

I feel good that these women can defend themselves. Then we slowly get them to a point where they learn jiu jitsu. “Good Morning America” rated jiu jitsu the #1 defense for women, especially if they are on the ground. If the women are standing, the women should run.

Future for Egan Inoue.

You know that I have all these titles as a world champion in racquetball, my belts as a fighter, and all my other trophies… what good are they? What good or purpose do they serve anybody, unless I use them to help people. Especially going through my divorce, the custody battle for my kids, and accusation for physical abuse, I had to fight hard to prove that I wasn't what all that was being said about me. Unfortunately, for the women who are battered by their husbands or boyfriends, it's a terrible truth that they have to live daily. I want to offer women the knowledge and skill to defend themselves if they are in that situation. These women would survive if they learned jiu jitsu.

My weakness.

I'm more of a visionary. I'm so thankful for my wife keeps me in line. When I handled things, I would double book appointments, etc. Although I would never forget my workout sessions or my times to go surfing, I'm kinda OCD ish on that part of my life, but for everything else, my wife helps me to take care of things.

 

It's quite evident that Egan Inouye is more than a man of strength. He has proven to many that with commitment, personal drive, and the passion to succeed, anyone can achieve and live success. With support from his friends and family, Egan Inouye continues to move forward with stride. His last comment to Kane Magazine: “Never be at a point in your life that you would regret anything.” And so he said. And so he's done.