TOKYO, Sept. 21 — Dream Stage Entertainment officially announced to the Japanese media on Wednesday two matches for its upcoming PRIDE 30 event. Labeled "Starting Over” this next PRIDE includes fighters returning from negatives performances, along with matches that could determinate the new No. 1-contender to Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures)’s heavyweight belt.
In a battle of Judokas, Korean Dong Sik returns to PRIDE following a lackluster performance in the opening round of the 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix when he lost to Kazushi Sakuraba (Pictures) due to strikes. In the same picture is his Japanese counterpart, Makoto Takimoto (Pictures), who last fought to a decision loss at hands of Kiyoshi Tamura (Pictures) back in PRIDE’s June 26 show.
There has been much talk about the future of Quinton Jackson (Pictures) after his brutal knockout loss to Mauricio Rua (Pictures) back in the middleweight tournament opening round. With UFC a possible option and only one more fight left on his DSE contract, “Rampage” comes back to Japan to face Japanese pro-wrestler and Judoka specialist Hirotaka Yokoi (Pictures).
Also DSE officially announced the inclusion of Kazushi Sakuraba (Pictures), Mirko Filipovic (Pictures), Josh Barnett (Pictures), Mark Hunt (Pictures), and Sergei Kharitonov (Pictures) to participate in the upcoming show.
It will be intriguing to see the return of Sakuraba after a brutal beating by Ricardo Arona (Pictures) in PRIDE “Critical Countdown.” After spending some time training in Brazil’s Chute Boxe academy with Wanderlei Silva (Pictures), “Shogun,” Murilo Rua (Pictures) and the rest of Rudimar Fedrigo’s army, the Japanese legend makes his return in October looking to stay true to the PRIDE 30 theme by starting over.
Looking to find the next No. 1 contender to face current PRIDE heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures), DSE has assembled a very interesting group of heavyweight fighters from around the world with the likes of “Cro Cop,” Barnett, Hunt and Kharitonov.
Though nothing is set in stone, the possible matches surfing in the Japanese media are rematches between Filipovic and Barnett while Russian powerhouse Kharitonov should be scheduled to face the always-entertaining Hunt.
PRIDE 30 is scheduled to hit Japan on October 23.
Quinton Jackson (Pictures) vs. Hirotaka Yokoi (Pictures)
Makoto Takimoto (Pictures) vs. Yoon Dong Sik (Pictures)
Sergei Kharitonov (Pictures) vs TBA
Mark Hunt (Pictures) vs TBA
Kazushi Sakuraba (Pictures) vs TBA
Mirko Filipovic (Pictures) vs TBA
Josh Barnett (Pictures) vs TBA