Pride Middleweight GP 2005 Bout: Wanderlei Silva vs. Hidehiko Yoshida

Pride Middleweight Champion & Pride Middleweight GP 2003 Champion Wanderlei Silva takes on 1992 Olympic Judo Gold Medalist Hidehiko Yoshida. This will be the second meeting between the fighters as they fought before in the semi-finals of the Pride Middleweight GP 2003 at Pride Final Conflict. Yoshida surprised many people by taking Wanderlei Silva to a decision. Yoshida took control early by securing a takedown and working from the top, while Silva worked for a submission on the bottom. Silva was able to reverse positions midway through the first round and unleash some strikes from the top. Towards the end of the round Yoshida executed a nice throw and worked for a gi choke until the end of the round. The second round was all Silva, as he stepped up the pace of the fight and was able to out strike a tired Yoshida en route to a decision victory. Both fighters should be able to deliver the goods and this should be as entertaining as their first encounter.

Wanderlei Silva has an 18-1-1 record in Pride and an overall MMA record of 27-4-1. In his most recent fight at Pride Shockwave 2004, he took on K-1 World GP 2001 Champion Mark Hunt on only three days notice after his original opponent, Kazushi Sakuraba, had to pull out due to injury. Silva was outweighed by at least 50lbs and held his own during much of the fight, he was able to take Hunt down at will and work for submissions while on top. He stood toe to toe with Hunt though, and was dropped several times but showed tremendous heart by surviving Hunt’s onslaught of strikes. In the final round, Silva was able to secure a takedown and work some ground and pound for much of the round. Silva lost a split decision to Hunt in a fight that many believe he won, handing Silva his only loss in a Pride ring. Prior to this, Silva defended his Pride Middleweight Championship at Pride 28 against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Jackson was able to take Silva down midway through the first round but Silva defended well and tried several submissions from the bottom. In the second round, Silva was able to take Jackson down and strike from the top, while Jackson waited for an opportunity to be stood up. They eventually made their way back to their feet and it was all Silva from there, He unleashed an onslaught of punches and knees that dazed Jackson and finally finished it with one vicious knee that knocked Jackson out for good. In a battle of champions at Pride Final Conflict 2004, Silva took on King Of Pancrase Light Heavyweight Champion Yuki Kondo. Kondo went blow for blow with Silva for much of the fight until Silva landed a flurry that sent Kondo backpedaling and that eventually dropped him. Silva finished the fight with several devastating foot stomps that knocked Kondo out cold. Silva is an excellent striker, who utilizes his hands, knees, and feet to punish his opponents until they can take no more.

Hidehiko Yoshida has a 3-2-1 record in Pride and an overall MMA record of 4-2-1. In his most recent fight at Pride Shockwave 2004, Yoshida took on 2000 Olympic Wrestling Gold Medalist Rulon Gardner in a battle of Olympic gold winners. The size difference was obvious from the start of the fight as Gardner dwarfed Yoshida and used his size to his advantage. Gardner dropped Yoshida with a stiff jab as her tried to finish the fight; Yoshida at one point attempted an armbar that eventually failed. The rest of the fight was fought standing with Gardner able to control the pace and out strike Yoshida to earn a decision victory. Yoshida’s last win came at Pride Critical Countdown 2004, when he took on K-1 World GP 2001 Champion Mark Hunt, who was making his Pride debut. Yoshida shot in for a takedown early with Hunt showing great takedown defense and stopping it. Once on the ground, Yoshida attempted an armbar that he almost had sunk in but Hunt defended by dropping knees on to Yoshida’s head. They returned to standing and Hunt landed a good looking knee that Yoshida took well. It hit the ground for one last time and Yoshida was able to secure the armbar this time for the victory. Yoshida fought to a draw with Royce Gracie at Pride Shockwave 2003, in a rematch of their controversial grappling match the year before. Yoshida was able to fight well for much of the first round but eventually began to tire. Gracie dominated the second round by controlling Yoshida on the ground but Yoshida showed tremendous heart by surviving. It was later reveled that Yoshida didn’t train for the fight as he was still recovering from injuries sustained in his match with Wanderlei Silva. Yoshida has excellent submissions and good takedowns with an improving striking game.

This fight should be exciting and different from their first fight for several reasons. In their first fight, both fighters were conservative with their attack because the winner of the fight would move on to fight in the final. Silva looked like he was holding back and seemed to be picking his shots, not taking to many risks but doing just enough to win the fight. Yoshida had a good game plan in the first round of their fight by taking Silva down and controlling him on the ground but he abandoned his plan in the second round, when he decided to trade strikes with Silva. Coming into this fight, two factors are going to swing the advantage into Silva’s corner. Yoshida has some injuries and has only recently begun training for this fight after taking some time off to heal up, and Silva is coming off his first loss in Pride, in a fight he believes he won, so we can expect he is going to be looking to make a serious statement in this fight. Silva is going to push the pace, and Yoshida should be able to stay competitive for the first round but will not be able to keep up with the frantic pace going into the later rounds. Look for Silva to overwhelm a tired Yoshida with strikes, sometime in the second round.

Prediction: Wanderlei Silva by TKO in the second round

Pride Middleweight GP 2005 Bout: Quinton “Rampage” Jackson vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua

Former number one contender for the Pride Middleweight Championship, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson faces his third consecutive Chute Boxe fighter in Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. Both fighters are coming off wins at Pride 29 with both fighters giving two entirely different performances. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson trains out of Team Oyama with his trainer Colin Oyama, UFC veteran Dave Roberts and UFC prospect Jason “Mayhem” Miller. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua trains out of the Chute Boxe Academy with Pride Middleweight Champion Wanderlei Silva, his older brother Murilo “Ninja” Rua, Pride veteran Nino “Elvis” Schembri and trainer Rudimar Fedrigo. Shogun challenged Jackson at Pride 29 after Jackson’s victory over Shogun’s older brother Murilo “Ninja” Rua. Shogun is taking a huge step up in competition in Pride after being brought up slowly by Pride. Jackson will be looking to prove all of his naysayers wrong, and that his last performance was just a fluke occurrence and not something to expect on a regular basis. If this fight can live up to its hype, expect it to be a candidate for fight of the year on card that is full of potential candidates.

Quinton “Rampage” Jackson has a 10-4 record in Pride and an overall MMA record of 22-5 and in his most recent fight at Pride 29, hen won a controversial split decision over Murilo “Ninja” Rua. Much of the fight was fought in the clinch with Ninja using knees and Jackson using it to get his takedowns. While on the ground, neither fighter was able to keep the other on the bottom as both were able to escape fairly easily, and in the final round, both fighters were extremely tired resulting in a sloppy performance, Jackson narrowly won the round by scoring with some knees to Ninja’s head and body while on the ground. Throughout the entire fight, Ninja was the more aggressive fighter and landed cleaner shots in the stand up but Jackson had more takedowns and was able to score some good ground and pound. At Pride 28, Jackson failed in his attempt to become the Pride Middleweight Champion by falling to Wanderlei Silva for a second time. Jackson held his own much of the first round, he even dropped Silva with a right hand and was almost able to finish Silva with some ground and pound but time ran out. In the second round, Jackson began to tire and was caught with a flurry of punches and knees with Silva landing one vicious knee that ended Jackson’s quest for the championship. Jackson became the number one contender at Pride Critical Countdown 2004 after slamming Ricardo Arona into la-la land in a fight in which Arona dominated much of the time; while standing he landed some painful sounding low kicks and on the ground he attempted several submissions. Jackson was stunned by Arona, when Arona landed several up kicks, but he recovered well. The end came when Arona sunk in a tight triangle choke on Jackson but forgot to grab Jackson’s leg in order to prevent being slammed and Jackson took full advantage of the mistake by spiking Arona on his head with a brutal slam, and following up with several punches to finish the job. Jackson has great takedowns and brutal ground and pound but is also an excellent striker having competed in K-1.

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua has a 4-0 record in Pride and an overall MMA record of 8-1. In his last fight, Shogun defeated RINGS veteran Hiromitsu Kanehara by TKO in what looked more like a public beating then a competitive fight. Shogun began the fight by landing a painful low kick that left a disgusting mark on Kanehara’s leg. They went to the ground with Shogun getting Kanehara’s back, not much happened and both fighters found their way back to their feet. From there it was all downhill for Kanehara, Shogun landed a clubbing right hand that dropped Kanehara and he then began his relentless assault. He landed jumping stomps, punches and soccer kicks with the last soccer kick forcing the referee to halt the beating a little too late. At Pride Bushido 5, he handed Yasuhito Amerada a brutal beating that lasted longer then it should of. From the beginning, it was evident that Namekawa was outclassed and would be in for a rough night. Shogun was able to beat on him for six minutes with punches, kicks and foot stomps. Shogun attempted several submissions but Namekawa defended them well. The end came when Shogun landed a huge punch while Namekawa was on his back. Namekawa turned away after the punch to avoid further punishment and the referee had seen enough and stopped the fight. Before that fight Shogun defeated Pancarse fighter Akihiro Gono at Pride Bushido 2, the entire fight was Shogun coming forward to attack while Gono looked to counter all of Shogun’s offense. The end came when Shogun dropped Gono with a punch and then landed two soccer kicks. Shogun is an great striker and has a good ground game having been training with BJJ black belt Nino “Elvis” Schembri for the last year.

This is one of the most anticipated fights on the entire card, which is chock full of impressive fights. Shogun has tons of momentum and confidence going into this fight because he has yet to be defeated in Pride, while Jackson is coming off a poor performance in his fight with Ninja and his knockout loss to Silva, in what hasn’t been a good six months for him. Shogun is a cardio machine and never stops coming forward, and he is overall a better fighter then his older brother Ninja, because he has a better ground game and is far more aggressiv. Jackson looked really bad in his fight with Ninja, he gassed out early in the fight and wasn’t as aggressive like he usually is. Jackson blamed his lack of cardio on having to fight on short notice but I’m not buying into that because Rampage has fought on shorter notice and has looked excellent. An example would be Pride Shockwave 2003, he fought Ikuhisa Minowa on about two weeks notice and looked great in winning after just coming off his first loss to Silva, where he absorbed huge amounts of punishment. His recent lifestyle change seems to have affected the way he fights and the way he trains for a fight. I am going to go with the upset here. Shogun just has all the momentum going into this fight and he should be able to push the pace of it and finish a tired Jackson late in the fight.

Prediction: Mauricio “Shogun” Rua by TKO in the third round.

Pride Middleweight GP 2005 Bout: Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Dan Henderson

Brazilian Top Team’s Antonio Rogerio Nogueira does battle with RINGS King Of Kings 1999 Champion Dan Henderson. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira trains with Mario Sperry, Murilo Bustamante, Ricardo Arona and twin brother Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Dan Henderson trains out of Team Quest with former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Randy Couture, Matt Lindland, Heath Sims and Nathan Quarry. Nogueira is coming off an impressive performance at Pride 29 against fellow tournament participant Alistair Overeem, while Henderson is coming off a somewhat lackluster performance at Pride Shockwave 2004 against another tournament participant Yuki Kondo. Both of these fighters are at the top of Pride’s Middleweight division so it’s a shame that one of these fighters will be eliminated so soon, left unable to compete in the later rounds of the Grand Prix. This should be an exciting fight with both fighters being so equally matched up, in another match that could become the fight of the night.

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira has a 6-0 record in Pride and an overall MMA record of 10-1. In his most recent fight at Pride 29, Nogueira gave an impressive and somewhat dominating performance against Alistair Overeem. The first round was even with Overeem landing a couple of good shots, most notably a clubbing right hand. Nogueira attempted several submissions that Overeem defended well, but Nogueira finished the round stronger by landing some good ground and pound while in Overeem’s guard. In the second round, it started to become evident that Nogueira was the better fighter as he wore Overeem down and nearly finished him at the end of it. Nogueira mounted Overeem and began to rain down some wicked strikes that had Overeem in trouble but Overeem was saved by the bell. The third round was all Nogueira, he outstruck a badly gassed Overeem almost knocking him out and attempted several submissions that had Overeem in trouble. In the end, Nogueira won a unanimous decision. He also defeated Kazuhiro Nakamura for a second time at Pride Bushido 4 in a close fight. Much of the first round was fought on the feet with Nogueira landing some good knees to Nakamura’s body. In the second round, Nakamura was able to take Nogueira down and control him for much of the round, when they returned to their feet Nogueira took full advantage by landing some good shots that bloodied Nakamura, and then landed some more knees to the body. In the end, the judges felt that Nogueira had done more damage and awarded him the split decision victory. Nogueira also recently defeated Pride veteran Alex Stiebling at Gladiator FC 2 with a unanimous decision. Nogueira has a great ground game and has some solid boxing skills that are improving with every fight.

Dan Henderson has a 7-3 record in Pride and an overall MMA record of 16-3. In his most recent fight at Pride Shockwave 2004, Henderson had an uncharacteristic performance against Yuki Kondo, winning a questionable decision victory. Henderson began the fight by taking Kondo down and catching him in a guillotine choke but Kondo was able to escape. Kondo reversed positions and worked some good ground and pound until they wet back to their feet, where they both landed some good shots. Henderson attempted a takedown but Kondo ended up on top and was able to control Henderson for the rest of the round. The second round was almost the same as the first; Henderson getting a takedown and Kondo reversing positions on the ground. Kondo attempted a side choke but Henderson defended well and escaped any real danger, The third round was Henderson’s best round of the fight, and he got a takedown and controlled Kondo with some good ground and pound for much of the round. Henderson finished the stronger of the two fighters and it swayed the judges just enough to give him the split decision victory. It was later revealed that Henderson had been suffering from a high fever and was dehydrated before the fight began, which seems to have caused his poor performance. He defeated Kazuhiro Nakamura by TKO at Pride 28, in what was a rather disappointing fight. The fight began with both fighters clinching and looking for a takedown; Henderson was able to toss Nakamura onto the ground. Nakamura landed awkwardly on his shoulder and Henderson began to rain down knees to Nakamura’s head, the referee saw Nakamura was in obvious pain and he stepped in to stop the fight. Nakamura had suffered a separated shoulder, in what was a sad ending to what could have been a great fight. Henderson defeated Murilo Bustamante prior to these fights in less then a minute with strikes at Pride Final Conflict 2003. Henderson landed a good knee that stunned Bustamante and he went in for the kill, Henderson didn’t land too many shots but Bustamnte offered no defense and the referee jumped in to stop the fight. Henderson is an excellent wrestler with great striking ability especially his right hand.

My preference would have been to see these two fighters matched up in the later rounds of the tournament instead of the firsｔ. The knock on both Nogueira and Henderson is that they can’t often finish their opponents and most of their fights end up going to a decision. In Henderson’s case that hasn’t been the truth lately; in his last five fights only one has gone the distance. Nogueira on the other hand hasn’t finished a fight in the last two years, out of his last five fights only one hasn’t gone the distance. In Nogueira’s last fight, he had two clear opportunities to finish the fight and was unable to do so. I doubt that either fighter will be able to finish the other but Henderson should be able to outwork Nogueira to win a decision. In Nogueira’s only loss, a wrestler (Vladimir Matyushenko) controlled him and Nogueira had trouble dealing with those wrestling skills. Henderson is a better wrestler then Vladimir and will do much of the same to Nogueira but Nogueira should put up a hell of a fight in the process.

Prediction: Dan Henderson by decision.

Pride Middleweight GP 2005 Bout: Yuki Kondo vs. Igor Vovchanchyn

King Of Pancrase Light Heavyweight Champion Yuki Kondo takes on long time Pride veteran Igor Vovchanchyn. Yuki Kondo trains out of PancraseISM with Takafumi Ito, Koji Oishi, Minoru Suzuki and Masakatsu Funaki. Igor Vovchanchyn trains out of Team Vovchanchyn and is a long time veteran of Mixed Martial Arts and has been fighting in Pride since the KRS days. Yuki Kondo is coming off a disappointing loss to Dan Henderson at Pride Shockwave 2004. Igor Vovchanchyn is coming off a impressive win over former King Of Pancrase Heavyweight Champion Yoshiki Takahashi at Pride 29. Both fighters love to slug it out while on their feet, so look for some exciting exchanges in what will be an exciting fight. Look for this fight to surprise many people who believe that Kondo is going to be a walkover for Vovchanchyn.

Yuki Kondo has a 1-2 record in Pride and an overall MMA record of 43-15-5. In his most recent fight at Pride Shockwave 2004, Kondo lost a controversial split decision to Dan Henderson. Kondo was caught in a guillotine choke early but escaped and reversed positions on Henderson, getting on top. Kondo began to unload with strikes that were landing but weren’t really hurting Henderson that much. Both fighters returned to their feet and began to exchange strikes with one another and both fighters were able to land some clean shots. Henderson attempted a throw but Kondo reversed him and ended up on top again, controlling Henderson for the rest of the round. In the second round, Henderson again attempted a takedown and Kondo again ended up on top, this time attempting a side choke that Henderson managed to escape from. In the final round, both fighters began to exchange on their feet, both landing some good shots but Henderson got a takedown and controlled Kondo on the ground for most of the rest of round. Henderson finished stronger but many felt that Kondo had done enough to win the fight. Kondo defeated Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos by a unanimous decision before his fight against Henderson, at Pancrase Brave 10. Kondo was cautious for most of the fight, avoiding all of Cyborg’s big strikes and taking him down to the ground. From there, Kondo was able to ground and pound Cyborg from the top and attempt several submissions en route to a decision victory. At Pride Final Conflict 2004, he faced Wanderlei Silva in a battle of champions. Kondo held his own with the Brazilian, trading strikes with success and keeping the pressure on Silva. Eventually though, Kondo was caught with a flurry that sent him back pedaling and that dropped him with Silva tap dancing on his face to end the fight in a brutal fashion. Kondo has a great ground game and underrated striking ability that may surprise many.

Igor Vovchanchyn has an 18-6 record in Pride and an overall MMA record of 44-7-1. In his most recent fight at Pride 29, he had an impressive showing against the former King Of Pancrase Heavyweight Champion Yoshiki Takahashi. The fight started out with both fighters exchanging in an unusual feeling out process that had them waving their hands out in front of each other. Vovchanchyn then threw a high kick that Takahashi blocked and he decided to wave Vovchanchyn in. Big mistake, seconds later Vovchanchyn threw a flurry that missed but set up a nice right hook that caught Takahashi right on the button and knocked him out cold with Vovchanchyn landing two more shots for good measure. Vovchanchyn made his return to Pride after an eight-month layoff to recover from injuries at Pride Bushido 5, against Japanese fighter Shamoji Fujii. Vovchanchyn began the fight tentatively and was picking his shots but midway through the round it started to become clear that Fujii was totally outclassed. Vovchanchyn started some wicked strikes on Fujii, dropping him with punches and finishing him off with a couple of soccer kicks. At Pride 27, he took on former King Of The Cage Super Heavyweight Champion Dan Bobish. Bobish was significantly bigger then Vovchanchyn, out weighing him by more then a 100lbs. Bobish was able to take Vovchanchyn down and control him on the ground though most of the round was Bobish laying on top of Vovchanchyn and not really damaging him with his weak ground and pound. In the second round, Vovchanchyn took over and began to unload on a very tired Bobish, eventually able to mount, and stop him with strikes. Vovchanchyn is an excellent striker with a decent ground game.

Many people believe that Kondo has a very small chance of beating Vovchanchyn because this is a “new Igor”. I think Vovchanchyn as a middleweight is probably one of the most over hyped fighters in recent memory though. Don’t get me wrong, Vovchanchyn is a great fighter but just because he moves down to the middleweight division doesn’t mean that he is unstoppable. Besides Takahashi, Vovchanchyn has faced two other middleweights in Pride; Mario Sperry at Pride 17 and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at Pride 22. In both instances he was defeated in convincing fashion within the first round of both fights. Vovchanchyn hasn’t been a top fighter for sometime now and Kondo is going to be giving him a hell of a fight. Both fighters will want to start out the fight with a bang, so look for them to throw some heavy leather early on. Kondo will eventually take it to the ground and work for a submission, which I think he will get.

Prediction: Yuki Kondo by submission in the first round.

Pride Middleweight GP 2005 Bout: Kazuhiro Nakamura vs. Kevin Randleman

Rising Japanese star Kazuhiro Nakamura does battle with the former UFC Heavyweight Champion Kevin Randleman. Kazuhiro Nakamura trains out of Yoshida Dojo with Hidehiko Yoshida, Hirotaka Yokoi, Tsuyoshi Kohsaka and Ryo Chonan. Kevin Randleman trains out of the Hammer House with Mark Coleman, Wes Simms and Brandon Lee Hinkle. Nakamura is coming off an impressive, yet somewhat expected win over former K-1 standout Stefan “Blitz” Leko at Pride 29. Randleman is coming off a disappointing loss to Mirko Cro Cop at Pride Shockwave 2004. I expect this fight to hit the ground very quickly because both fighters will want it there, Nakamura being the submission fighter and Randleman being the wrestler. Nakamura is on the rise and along with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, is one of Pride’s future middleweight stars. Randleman is at a crossroads in his career, another loss could possibly mean that he won’t be invited back to compete in a Pride ring.

Kazuhiro Nakamura has a 5-3 record in Pride and a matching overall MMA record. Nakamura recently dominated former K-1 standout Stefan “Blitz” Leko at Pride 29. Nakamura opened the fight by landing a jab and then rushing Leko into the corner followed by forcing a clinch. While in the corner, Nakamura used a trip takedown to get Leko onto the ground and from there he took over. He began to rain down strikes onto Leko’s head and the only defense that Leko offered was covering up, so after the referee had seen enough, he stepped in to stop the fight. Nakamura had a disappointing loss at Pride 28 against fellow tournament member, Dan Henderson. Nakamura was tossed early in the fight by Henderson and landed very awkwardly on his shoulder. Henderson got into north-south position and began to rain in knees onto Nakamura’s head, Nakamura had suffered a separated shoulder and was in obvious pain, so the referee jumped in and stopped the fight. Nakamura’s biggest career win came at Pride Final Conflict 2004, when he defeated former UFC Middleweight Champion Murilo Bustamante. Nakamura was able to outwork Bustamante for the entire fight. In the first round, he was able to get the fight on the ground and control Bustamante from the top. Towards the end of the round, he attempted a flying punch that landed while Bustamante was on his back. The second round was the same as the first with Nakamura being able to control Bustamante on the ground. In the final round, they both began to exchange strikes on the feet with both landing some clean shots. At the end of the fight, Nakamura was declared the winner by unanimous decision. Nakamura has great submission skills and good takedowns with an improving stand up game.

Kevin Randleman has a 4-5 record in Pride and an overall MMA record of 15-10. Randleman is on a three fight losing streak and has gone 1-4 in his last five fights with all of his losses coming by the way of submission. In his last fight at Pride Shockwave 2004, he was submitted by submission novice Mirko Cro Cop. Randleman shot in for a takedown, and got his head caught in between Cro Cop’s arm. Randleman struggled for a bit while Cro Cop tried to pull guard in order to apply more pressure to the choke. They were stuck in the corner and Cro Cop didn’t have the guillotine choke that tight but it didn’t matter because Randleman had tapped out. He was defeated by Ron Waterman at Pride Final Conflict 2004 where they meet in the reserve match of the Pride Heavyweight GP. Randleman got the early advantage by putting Waterman on his back and controlling him from the top. Not much was happening between the fighters, Randleman was picking his shots and Waterman was defending them but wasn’t attempting to reverse positions. Waterman finally tried to escape and Randleman attempted to get Waterman’s back. Waterman defended and put Randleman on his back, from there H2O started to work for a key lock. He eventually got it and started to crank it hard leaving Kevin no choice but to tap. At Pride Critical Countdown 2004, Randleman was submitted by Pride Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko. The fight started out with Randleman taking Fedor down but was unable to keep him there for long. What happened next was truly amazing. Randleman had Fedor’s back and then picked him up and suplexed Fedor right on his head. Randleman landed on top and began kneeing Fedor’s head but Fedor was able to reverse and got a kimura on Randleman, causing him to tap out. Randleman is an excellent wrestler and is incredibly strong for a middleweight.

This is going to be a quick fight; I don’t really see Randleman wanting to keep it standing. Randleman’s instant instinct will be to take Nakamura straight to the ground and try to ground and pound him, this is where he’ll run into trouble. Randleman is a gifted athlete and a good fighter but various factors have held him back from being a great fighter. He makes too many mental mistakes in the ring or he comes into the fight too anxious and abandons his game plan from the beginning. The last factor that is holding him back from being a great fighter is his training partners. Hammer House is a good team but he can only learn so much with them; he needs to branch out to another team where he can learn submissions and some better stand up, then he will meet his full potential as a fighter. Back to the fight, once it hit’s the ground Nakamura should be able to take over and lock on a submission for the victory.

Prediction: Kazuhiro Nakamura by submission in the first round.

Pride Middleweight GP 2005 Bout: Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Yoon Don Sik

Pride legend Kazushi Sakuraba takes on highly touted Korean judoka Yoon Don Sik. Kazushi Sakuraba trains out of Takada Dojo with Nobuhiko Takada, Daijiro Matsui and 1996 Olympic Judo Gold Medallist Pawel Nastula. Yoon Don Sik is a highly touted Korean judoka who is known in Korea as “a king without a crown” due to the fact that he never was given the opportunity to compete in the Olympics. Sakuraba makes his return to the ring after injuries have prevented him from competing in a Pride ring. Yoon Don Sik will be making his Pride debut in the biggest tournament in MMA history. Sakuraba is Pride’s biggest star and this could be the last Grand Prix he competes in because injuries and age are starting to catch up to him. Ｔhis fight should be a great exhibition of grappling with it ending most likely in a submission.

Kazushi Sakuraba has a 15-7-1 record in Pride and an overall MMA record of 16-7-1. In his most recent fight at Pride Critical Countdown 2004, he avenged his loss to Nino “Elvis” Schembri with a decision victory. The entire fight was the same story throughout the three rounds in which it was played out. While standing, Sakuraba was more aggressive and landed the better shots of the two fighters. In several instances, it seemed that Sakuraba was holding back because he was playing it safe after what happened in their first fight. On the ground it was all Sakuraba, Schembri was unable to mount any kind of offense from his guard. Some of the fight degraded to Schembri in the butt scoot position and Sakuraba landing some painful leg kicks to his legs. In the end, Sakuraba had outworked Schembri and damaged him much more then Schembri was able to damage Sakuraba. At Pride Shockwave 2003, he proved that he still belonged with the best middleweights in the world by going the distance with Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. Sakuraba held his own during the entire fight; he stood and traded with Nogueira throughout the entire fight. He was dropped with a punch by Nogueira but showed a good state of mind and went for a takedown. In the second round, Nogueira found success working from his guard and almost had Sakuraba in a triangle choke but Sakuraba escaped and attempted an armbar of his own that was defended well by Nogueira. In the final round, Nogueira was able to out strike Sakuraba for much of the round and was given the decision victory. Before that fight, he arm barred fellow tournament participant Kevin Randleman at Pride Final Conflict 2003. Much of the fight was fought on the ground with Randleman working the ground and pound and Sakuraba attempting submissions from the bottom. It was turning out to be a dull fight but in the third round, Sakuraba was able to catch Randleman’s arm and secure an armbar for the win. Sakuraba has an excellent ground game and good striking ability which makes him a great fighter.

Yoon Don Sik will be making both his Pride, and MMA debut. Yoon is a highly touted Korean judoka who has been interested in fighting in MMA for quite some time now. In Korea, he is known as “a king without a crown” because politics in the Korean judo community have prevented him from competing in the Olympics. Yoon has won forty seven straight international judo matches and during this impressive streak not a single point has been scored on him. Most in the judo community believe if Yoon had competed in the Olympics during his prime, he would have easily won the gold medal in his weight division. Yoon is known as a finisher in the judo community because most of his matches end in a submission or in a throw due to fact that Yoon hates leaving his fate in the judges’ hands. Yoon has an excellent ground game but his stand up is a big question mark.

I think this is going to be a grappling fan’s dream because of the caliber of grappling that both these fighters have. Sakuraba has a huge advantage over Yoon because he is much more experienced and is obviously a better striker. The question is, what kind of fight will Sakuraba want to fight? Is he going to try to keep it on its feet and try for the knockout, or is he going to take it to the ground and grapple with Yoon. Sakuraba should be able to dictate the pace of the fight and should be able to control Yoon as much as he pleases. There are just too many question marks with Yoon, what kind of stand up does he have and who has he been training with? I think Sakuraba should be able to capitalize on Yoon’s inexperience and catch Yoon with a submission.

Prediction: Kazushi Sakuraba by submission in the first round.

Pride Middleweight GP 2005 Bout: Alistair Overeem vs. Vitor Belfort

Team Golden Glory fighter Alistair Overeem does battle with former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Vitor Belfort. Alistair Overeem trains out of Team Golden Glory with Bas Boon, Martin De Jong, Semmy Schilt and Stefan Leko. Vitor Belfort is a freelance fighter and has various different training partners, which includes BJJ Champion Leo Viera. Both fighters are coming off recent losses, Overeem at Pride 29 and Belfort at UFC 51. Overeem has the potential to be a great fighter but when he faces a tough opponent, he just can’t rise to the occasion. Belfort’s mental shortcomings have been well documented over the last several years and every time the pressure is on his shoulders, he seems to buckle under it. The winner of the fight will get a much-needed boost of confidence going into the second round of the tournament.

Alistair Overeem has a 4-2 record in Pride and an overall MMA record of 19-5. In his most recent fight at Pride 29, he lost a decision to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. Overeem started out the fight well, using his long reach to give Nogueira problems while they were on their feet. Overeem’s best strike of the fight came when he landed a clubbing right hand that didn’t land fully on the iron chinned Nogueira. While on the ground, Overeem was able to defend all of Nogueira’s submission attempts, but in the second round he began to tire and Nogueira took over from there. Nogueira almost finished Overeem towards the end of the round with some good ground and pound but the time ran out. In the final round, Overeem was all out of gas and Nogueira completely dominated it, but Overeem showed tremendous heart by surviving all of Nogueira’s onslaught. His last win came at Pride 28, where he completely dominated RINGS veteran Hiromitsu Kanehara. Throughout the entire bout, Overeem was able to out strike Kanehara and control the pace of the fight, though he seemed a tad sluggish through most of the fight. The end came when the doctor stopped the fight in the second round due to some bad cuts on Kanehara’s face that were caused by all the punishment he took from Overeem. Earlier in the month, Overeem submitted Pride veteran Rodney Faverus with a guillotine choke at a 2Hot2Handle show. He is an accomplished striker and has a good ground game, having qualified for ADCC.

Vitor Belfort has a 4-1 record in Pride and an overall MMA record of 12-5. In his last fight, he lost a close split decision to Tito Ortiz at UFC 51. In the first round, Belfort dropped Ortiz with a punch but Ortiz recovered well and was able to clinch. Belfort unleashed a flurry on Ortiz while Ortiz was one the fence but Ortiz was able to block most of the shots with his arms. Towards the end of the round, Ortiz managed to get a takedown and land some good ground and pound. The second round was Belfort’s best round of the fight; Ortiz shot in for a takedown and Belfort caught him in a guillotine choke that had Ortiz in trouble but he was able to escape with Belfort on top. Belfort began to land some big shots that had Ortiz stunned and dazed but somehow he survived the round. In the last round, Belfort was totally gassed out and was dominated by Ortiz. Tito was able to take Vitor down, and ground and pound him for much of the round. Earlier, Belfort lost his UFC Light Heavyweight Championship to Randy Couture in the fighters rubber match at UFC 49. The fight was total domination by Couture for all the three rounds that the fight lasted. He was able to take Belfort down and basically ground and pound for the entire fight. Vitor’s only offense of the fight were several armbar attempts that were unsuccessful. Randy opened a hug cut on Belfort that poured blood all over the place, forcing the doctor to stop it in between rounds. Belfort won the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship at UFC 46, when he defeated Couture due to a cut on Couture’s eyelid. Vitor is a great striker and should have a great ground game being a BJJ black belt.

This is going to be an interesting fight just because of the short comings that both fighters have had in the past. Both fighters are going to be under tremendous pressure to get the win. Overeem has one last shot to prove that he is the real deal and he can overcome all the pressure that is being put on his young shoulders. Belfort probably has the most pressure on his shoulders because he has lost two straight fights and is also the UFC representative in the tournament. Belfort recently left Brazilian Top Team, so how well has he trained for this fight, or even if he had the right training partners to help him prepare is unknown. In their last fights, they both badly gassed out in the last round, so the fighter that is better conditioned could very well win the fight. Overeem should be able to use his reach to out strike Belfort, and on the ground its pretty even because both fighters are decent grapplers. I feel that Overeem will use his reach to knockout Belfort.

Prediction: Alistair Overeem by KO in the first round.

Pride Middleweight GP 2005 Bout: Ricardo Arona vs. Dean Lister

ADCC Super Fight Champion Ricardo Arona does battle with ADCC Absolute Champion Dean Lister. These fighters will not only meet in this fight but will also be meeting the ADCC Super Fight, which is scheduled to take place only a month later. Ricardo Arona trains out of Brazilian Top Team with Mario Sperry, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Murilo Bustamante and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Dean Lister trains out of City Boxing Gym and works on his striking with Muay Thai fighter Melchor Menor. Both fighters are world-class grapplers, so expect this to be a grappling war but the fighter with the better stand up may end up the winner of this fight. Since the fighters will meet only a month later in ADCC, it will be interesting to see how technical the fighters will be with their grappling.

Ricardo Arona has a 4-1 record in Pride and an overall MMA record of 9-2. In his last fight at Pride 28, he submitted Russian Top Team fighter Sergei Ignatev with a rear naked choke. Arona was in excellent shape for this fight and looked very focused. He was the more aggressive fighter to start the fight as he landed some painful low kicks to Ignatev’s leg that left some nasty welts. Arona took Ignatev down to the ground and began to look for a better position, trying several submissions from the guard of which an armbar was most notable. The end came when Arona was able to get Ignatev’s back and secure a rear naked choke that he just muscled on. At Pride Critical Countdown 2004, Arona took on Quinton “Rampage” Jackson with the number one contender ship for the Pride Middleweight Championship on the line. Arona started out with some aggressive low kicks that bothered Jackson. It went to the ground and Arona was able to neutralize all of Jackson’s offense. From the guard, he was able to attempt several submissions that had Jackson working out of them. His best offense came when he landed a hard up kick that stunned Jackson but Arona was unable to follow up. He managed to sink in a triangle choke but made the mistake of not grabbing Jackson’s leg in order to prevent being slammed. Naturally, Jackson picked him up, slamming him on his head and knocking him out cold. Before that, Arona defeated Murilo “Ninja” Rua at Pride 23 by decision where he was able to outwork Ninja and control him for the entire figh. Arona is a great ground fighter with excellent striking ability.

Dean Lister has a 1-1 record in Pride and an overall MMA record of 7-3. He recently won the four man tournament at Pride Bushido 6 in order to qualify for the Pride Middleweight GP 2005. In his last fight, he submitted ‘Mr. Pride’ Akira Shoji with a triangle choke. While on their feet, Lister showed significant improvement by landing some good low kicks to set up a good takedown. Lister shot in for a takedown but Shoji defended it well. Lister ended up on his back and suddenly Shoji just jumped into his guard with a punch. Lister sunk in a triangle choke and Shoji struggled to escape, even trying a slam, but he ended up tapping out. He qualified for the Pride Middleweight GP 2005, when Paulo Filho was unable to continue due to injury and Lister won the final match by forfeit. At Pride Bushido 4, Lister made his Pride debut against Amar Suloev. They were both very tentative in the fight, which made it a very boring stalemate. Lister was unable to get a takedown for much of the fight and wasn’t landing anything while they were on their feet. When it finally hit the ground, Lister was unable to keep Suloev there for long. Suloev landed a couple of clean blows while they were standing and it probably swayed the judges in his favor as he won the split decision. Jeremey Horn defeated Lister at a KOTC show by a decision in late 2003. Lister does have an excellent ground game and his stand up is improving slowly with each fight.

This is going to be an excellent display of ground fighting at its best. Arona is the much stronger fighter of the two, and is going to use it to his advantage. Lister still hasn’t faced the quality of opponents that Arona has and Arona is more experience in high-pressure fight situations. Both fighters might come out cautious to avoid injury, as both will be competing in ADCC only a month later. Arona is the more technical fighter of the two and also has the better stand up, which he should use to either knockout Lister or try to set up a takedown. Once it hits the ground, I expect Arona to out muscle Lister and control him with submission attempts or with some good ground and pound en route to a decision victory.

Prediction: Ricardo Arona by decision.

Webpages of note:

www.pridefc.com

http://anweb.skyperfectv.co.jp/pride/

http://sportsnavi.yahoo.co.jp/fight/pride/live/200504/23/index.html