Sherdog Preview: PRIDE Open-Weight Grand Prix
Kazuyuki Fujita vs. James Thompson
May 5, 2006
FUJITA: Japanese pro-wrestler and former IWGP Heavyweight
Champion Kazuyuki Fujita
(Pictures) is a former member of
Antonio Inoki’s Inoki Office. Inoki is famous for fighting in one
of the first true mixed-style bouts in the 1970’s with boxing great
Muhammad Ali. Granted it was a 12-round snore fest and a
forgettable fight but it has its place in history.
Fujita has also trained with Pancrase fighter Kengo Watanabe (Pictures) at the PANCRASEism gym. Watanabe is part of the same PANCRASEism gym that houses PFC fighters Yuki Kondo (Pictures), Ikuhisa Minowa (Pictures), Yoshiki Takahashi (Pictures), and Pancrase veterans Kei Yamamiya, Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki among others.
At 6-foot and 230 pounds, he is very strong and has a huge head
(seriously, like NFL helmet-sized huge). He carries a record of
12-4 in MMA.
Kazuyuki’s MMA career began in PRIDE at the PRIDE Grand Prix and tapped out RINGS Holland fighter Hans Nyman by choke early in the opening round. Then he competed in a local Texas show called Xtreme Shoot: The Underground promoted by Shannon Ritch (Pictures).
Fujita would’ve advanced to face Mark Coleman (Pictures) in the next round but his corner opted to throw in the towel, collect a check, and lose by forfeit rather than face “The Hammer.” A bout with Ken Shamrock (Pictures) at PRIDE 10 was next. Ken too, had an incident in the ring forcing a verbal submission and giving the win to Fujita.
At PRIDE 12 Kazuyuki went the distance with Dutch striker Gilbert Yvel (Pictures) and won a decision. Fujita went toe-to-toe with Japanese wrestler Yoshishiro Takayama and choked him out late in the second round at PRIDE 14. Fujita’s lightning fast bout with Mirko Filipovic (Pictures) followed where “Cro Cop” caught him with a knee shortly after the opening bell.
At the UFO Legend show Fujita easily submitted PRIDE veteran Tadao Yasuda via armbar and then it was another crack at “Cro Cop” at the Inoki Bom-Be-Ye 2002 New Year’s Eve Show. This time the bout went distance. Fujita battered Japanese wrestler Manabu Nakanishi at the New Japan Pro Wrestling show in the final of the event’s five “shoot style” (meaning real) fights. He fought Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures) in a bout at PRIDE 26 and visibly wobbled the Russian with strikes early. But like a champion, Fedor roared back with strikes of his own and eventually choked him out midway through the first round.
Fujita disposed of boxer Imamu Mayfield on New Year’s Eve of ’03 with a triangle choke in the second round and then faced “The Beast” Bob Sapp (Pictures) at the K-1 ROMANEX show. This one was all Fujita as he stomped and pounded out a win in just over two minutes. He been away from the ring for some time now and his last MMA fight was a win over wrestler Karim Ibrahim K-1 Dynamite ’04 show where he scored a KO in just over a minute.
THOMPSON: James Thompson (Pictures) is 6-5 and 265 pound. “The Colossus” is 12-2 in MMA and fights as a member of Team Trojan. He gained serious attention when he faced CWFC heavyweight champion and former Greco Roman wrestling champion Tengiz Tedoradze (Pictures) at Ultimate Combat 10.
Tedoradze is a Yorkshire, England transplant originally from the Soviet state of Georgia and was voted the top heavyweight fighter in the UK leading up to their fight. The Russian wrestler dominated “The Colossus” with ground-and-pound tactics and handed Thompson his first loss.
Showing his true heart and determination, Thompson battled UFC triple-crown champion (eight-man tournament winner, super-fight winner, Ultimate Ultimate tournament of champions winner) Dan Severn (Pictures) on the Ultimate Combat 11 show three months later.
James controlled the action standing and on the mat and exuded the confidence of a champion in the ring. Severn found himself on his back and taking heavy strikes.
“The Beast” fought back and tagged “The Colossus” but the outcome was never in doubt. As the bout went on, Thompson’s dominance increased and though the savvy veteran showed his meddle prolonging the match, the youthful Brit would not be denied his victory. James took a unanimous decision win, claimed the Ultimate Combat World heavyweight championship and was courted by the PRIDE top brass to boot.
Thompson’s PFC debut was next and at PRIDE 28, he met Aleksander Emelianenko (Pictures). Though he vibrated with rage during the announcements and charged out of the corner like a freight train, the exchange lasted a mere 12 seconds and the bout was called (prematurely in my opinion). Emelianenko dropped the Brit but an impression was left on the Japanese crowd.
“The Colossus” picked up a win at the Urban Destruction show and then reappeared at PRIDE Bushido 8. Henry Miller (Pictures) was a game opponent and the two combatants delivered an exciting ninety seconds but “Sentoryu” was vanquished with strikes early in the first round.
Then in September, Thompson scored a quick stoppage at Cage Rage 13, dropping Andy Costello (Pictures) with strikes. At his return to PRIDE in October, “The Colossus” battered Alexandru Lungu (Pictures), a behemoth from Romania with judo skills. It was a two-minute exchange and Thompson improved his PFC record to 2-1. Last New Year’s Eve he pounded Paulo Cesar Silva (Pictures) at the Shockwave show and knocked him out in the first round.
MY PICK: Fujita. I’d be surprised if this lasts very long. Fujita already had a preview of this bout; remember Bob Sapp (Pictures)? He had little trouble with that big man and though Thompson has an intimidating “vibrating stare,” I think Fujita will overcome his “fear” and slam him to the mat once the bell rings. With Fujita’s wrestling background and rock solid head, this is a very winnable fight. The biggest stumbling block will be his inactivity. Kazuyuki hasn’t fought MMA since New Year’s Eve of ’04 and that was a one-minute bout. Ring rust could be an issue but Fujita should have something to prove. He went toe-to-toe with Fedor a few years ago so he has the potential to do some damage here and shake up the brackets for the major players. No disrespect but I think the rest of the field would rather see Thompson go to the next round than ol’ iron head. Fujita by TKO in the first round.
Fujita has also trained with Pancrase fighter Kengo Watanabe (Pictures) at the PANCRASEism gym. Watanabe is part of the same PANCRASEism gym that houses PFC fighters Yuki Kondo (Pictures), Ikuhisa Minowa (Pictures), Yoshiki Takahashi (Pictures), and Pancrase veterans Kei Yamamiya, Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki among others.
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Kazuyuki’s MMA career began in PRIDE at the PRIDE Grand Prix and tapped out RINGS Holland fighter Hans Nyman by choke early in the opening round. Then he competed in a local Texas show called Xtreme Shoot: The Underground promoted by Shannon Ritch (Pictures).
He returned to the PRIDE GP Final to face Mark Kerr (Pictures) in what looked like an easy win
for the American wrestler. Kerr went into what was reported as “a
form of sugar shock” where his body shut down and he could hardly
move to defend himself. After the first 15-minute round, the judges
had seen enough and awarded the win to Fujita. Kerr, a favorite to
win at the time, was out of the tournament.
Fujita would’ve advanced to face Mark Coleman (Pictures) in the next round but his corner opted to throw in the towel, collect a check, and lose by forfeit rather than face “The Hammer.” A bout with Ken Shamrock (Pictures) at PRIDE 10 was next. Ken too, had an incident in the ring forcing a verbal submission and giving the win to Fujita.
At PRIDE 12 Kazuyuki went the distance with Dutch striker Gilbert Yvel (Pictures) and won a decision. Fujita went toe-to-toe with Japanese wrestler Yoshishiro Takayama and choked him out late in the second round at PRIDE 14. Fujita’s lightning fast bout with Mirko Filipovic (Pictures) followed where “Cro Cop” caught him with a knee shortly after the opening bell.
At the UFO Legend show Fujita easily submitted PRIDE veteran Tadao Yasuda via armbar and then it was another crack at “Cro Cop” at the Inoki Bom-Be-Ye 2002 New Year’s Eve Show. This time the bout went distance. Fujita battered Japanese wrestler Manabu Nakanishi at the New Japan Pro Wrestling show in the final of the event’s five “shoot style” (meaning real) fights. He fought Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures) in a bout at PRIDE 26 and visibly wobbled the Russian with strikes early. But like a champion, Fedor roared back with strikes of his own and eventually choked him out midway through the first round.
Fujita disposed of boxer Imamu Mayfield on New Year’s Eve of ’03 with a triangle choke in the second round and then faced “The Beast” Bob Sapp (Pictures) at the K-1 ROMANEX show. This one was all Fujita as he stomped and pounded out a win in just over two minutes. He been away from the ring for some time now and his last MMA fight was a win over wrestler Karim Ibrahim K-1 Dynamite ’04 show where he scored a KO in just over a minute.
THOMPSON: James Thompson (Pictures) is 6-5 and 265 pound. “The Colossus” is 12-2 in MMA and fights as a member of Team Trojan. He gained serious attention when he faced CWFC heavyweight champion and former Greco Roman wrestling champion Tengiz Tedoradze (Pictures) at Ultimate Combat 10.
Tedoradze is a Yorkshire, England transplant originally from the Soviet state of Georgia and was voted the top heavyweight fighter in the UK leading up to their fight. The Russian wrestler dominated “The Colossus” with ground-and-pound tactics and handed Thompson his first loss.
Showing his true heart and determination, Thompson battled UFC triple-crown champion (eight-man tournament winner, super-fight winner, Ultimate Ultimate tournament of champions winner) Dan Severn (Pictures) on the Ultimate Combat 11 show three months later.
James controlled the action standing and on the mat and exuded the confidence of a champion in the ring. Severn found himself on his back and taking heavy strikes.
“The Beast” fought back and tagged “The Colossus” but the outcome was never in doubt. As the bout went on, Thompson’s dominance increased and though the savvy veteran showed his meddle prolonging the match, the youthful Brit would not be denied his victory. James took a unanimous decision win, claimed the Ultimate Combat World heavyweight championship and was courted by the PRIDE top brass to boot.
Thompson’s PFC debut was next and at PRIDE 28, he met Aleksander Emelianenko (Pictures). Though he vibrated with rage during the announcements and charged out of the corner like a freight train, the exchange lasted a mere 12 seconds and the bout was called (prematurely in my opinion). Emelianenko dropped the Brit but an impression was left on the Japanese crowd.
“The Colossus” picked up a win at the Urban Destruction show and then reappeared at PRIDE Bushido 8. Henry Miller (Pictures) was a game opponent and the two combatants delivered an exciting ninety seconds but “Sentoryu” was vanquished with strikes early in the first round.
Then in September, Thompson scored a quick stoppage at Cage Rage 13, dropping Andy Costello (Pictures) with strikes. At his return to PRIDE in October, “The Colossus” battered Alexandru Lungu (Pictures), a behemoth from Romania with judo skills. It was a two-minute exchange and Thompson improved his PFC record to 2-1. Last New Year’s Eve he pounded Paulo Cesar Silva (Pictures) at the Shockwave show and knocked him out in the first round.
MY PICK: Fujita. I’d be surprised if this lasts very long. Fujita already had a preview of this bout; remember Bob Sapp (Pictures)? He had little trouble with that big man and though Thompson has an intimidating “vibrating stare,” I think Fujita will overcome his “fear” and slam him to the mat once the bell rings. With Fujita’s wrestling background and rock solid head, this is a very winnable fight. The biggest stumbling block will be his inactivity. Kazuyuki hasn’t fought MMA since New Year’s Eve of ’04 and that was a one-minute bout. Ring rust could be an issue but Fujita should have something to prove. He went toe-to-toe with Fedor a few years ago so he has the potential to do some damage here and shake up the brackets for the major players. No disrespect but I think the rest of the field would rather see Thompson go to the next round than ol’ iron head. Fujita by TKO in the first round.
