Sherdog.com Preview: PRIDE Open-Weight Grand Prix

With so much going in the UFC these past few weeks and the Pay-Per-View card on the 8th, it could be easy for PRIDE’s Open-Weight Grand Prix second round get lost over the holiday weekend.

But that would be a terrible shame. Given the strength of just the tournament itself, this is a show to see.

We’ll see BJJ master against BJJ master as two Brazilians are pitted against each other. Werdum, the new addition to the PFC heavyweight division, looks to unseat the former champion “Minotauro” Nogueira.

“The Axe Murderer” Silva faces another giant opponent in the form of “Iron Head” Fujita. Some may remember Silva had a hard time with his last 250-pound opponent, Mark Hunt (Pictures). But if you recall, Silva agreed to fight Hunt on short notice after Kazushi Sakuraba (Pictures) pulled out due to injury. He’s had plenty of time to get ready for Fujita.

In the heaviest pairing of the night, “The Baby-Faced Assassin” will take on New Zealand’s Hunt in a big test for both. And rounding out the tournament quarterfinals is “Cro Cop” against judo Olympian Yoshida. It’s the old school “striker versus grappler” scenario with new school, cross-trained fighters.

With the talent-laden five-bout under card and a star-studded tournament quarterfinal, this evening of action should not disappoint.