So what more can I say about this show? It will be a huge night of fighting and if you have been saving your pennies for the perfect PPV to order, this is it. We don’t have the rumored Mark Hunt (Pictures)-Sergei Kharatonov or Vitor Belfort (Pictures)-Yuki Kondo (Pictures) fights but those bouts would’ve only made this card better.
To recap, my picks are:
Under Card
Werdum def. Zentsov submission R1
Yoshida def. Abbott submission R1
Nakamura def. Vovchanchyn decision 3R
Middleweight Tournament
Rua def. Overeem TKO R1
Silva def. Arona decision 3R
Silva def. Rua TKO R3
Heavyweight Title Bout
Emelianenko def. Filipovic TKO R1
PFC DOWN THE ROAD:
Frank Trigg (Pictures) vs. Hayato Sakurai (Pictures): If Trigg is gone from the UFC, where do you think he’s going to go? If a loss to a stud like St. Pierre is grounds for dismissal, PRIDE will welcome him. Sakurai has come back strong over the last few years, going 6-3 since his ’02. The first meeting between these two was electric. A rematch will not disappoint.
Matt Lindland (Pictures) vs. Kazushi Sakuraba (Pictures): Lindland cannot win over the UFC brass and the fans with his style. Maybe a dose of Japan will set things right. Matt isn’t known for abusing his opponents so it could be a relatively safe fight for Saku to take when he recovers from the Arona beating.
Alistair Overeem (Pictures) vs. Renato Sobral (Pictures): “Babalu” has never fought in PRIDE and is on the UFC’s MVP list, but chances are he could easily be swayed to Japan. Overeem is the biggest long shot to win this Grand Prix. If he somehow wins the title, and Sobral continues to win, this bout could even hold more significance.
Josh Barnett (Pictures) vs. Fabricio Werdum (Pictures): Who wouldn’t like to see “The Baby-Faced Assassin” take out Mirko’s jiu-jitsu teacher and then challenge “Cro Cop” to a rematch?
Kazuhiro Nakamura (Pictures) vs. Ryan Gracie: These two have a history. Ryan has been quite since Shockwave ’04. Chances are Nakamura won’t get into this middleweight tournament via the reserve bout so it could happen soon.
Kevin Randleman (Pictures) vs. Vitor Belfort (Pictures): Both guys need a big win. It’s too bad we couldn’t have seen this bout as a last-minute add-on to the Final Conflict card.
Hirotaka Yokoi (Pictures) vs. Josh Barnett (Pictures): This could be a thrilling submission battle. If Barnett takes another break from wrestling and signs with Pride, Yokoi is a respectable warm-up bout to a rematch with Filipovic or possibly Emelianenko.
Andrei Arlovski (Pictures) vs. Mirko Filipovic (Pictures): If he beats Paul Buentello (Pictures) at UFC 55, Arlovski may need to see challenges (and bigger pay days) outside the U.S. If Mirko beats Fedor, the talk about this one will heat up.
Evangelista Santos (Pictures) vs. Amar Suloev (Pictures): Suloev is fighting less frequently but he is 1-1 in the PFC. “Cyborg” had a three-fight slide but is riding high on back-to-back knockouts. With two big strikers like this, you throw the records out and let them fly.
Wanderlei Silva (Pictures) vs. Randy Couture (Pictures): If Randy had continued to hold the UFC light heavyweight belt and if Silva wins the Middleweight GP and has the middleweight championship, it would be a logical move to unify the titles. At this point it looks unlikely.