TAKIMOTO: Makoto Takimoto won the gold medal in the 81-kilogram division in judo at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia. Considered a dark horse for the medal due to his poor performance in the Asian Judo Championships earlier that year, Takimoto pulled off upset wins over Alvaro Paseyro of Uruguay by yusei-gachi (decision), Gaston Garcia of Argentina by ippon (full point) and Ruslan Seilkhanov of Kazakstan by ippon (full point).

The medal round was a repeat of the 1995 Asian Judo Championships final as Cho In-chul of South Korea fell to Takimoto via yusei-gachi (decision). Though given a 30-percent chance of winning the medal by judo pundits, the four-time Kodokan Cup winner was highly aggressive and took the win over the heavily favored Cho.

Other than his judo prowess, Takimoto appears to have no other recognized martial arts combat experience leading up to his appearance in the New Year’s Eve show. And recruiting Takimoto to take part the PFC NYE event is fellow gold medallist and 2000 Olympic Games participant Hidehiko Yoshida. Yoshida has emerged as a huge mover and shaker in Japan, using his position to bring Takimoto on board despite the objections of “the powers that be” in judo politics. It is safe to assume that Makoto will be molded for MMA by Hidehiko and the rest of Yoshida Dojo.

MILLER: Henry Miller is a retired American professional sumo wrestler rumored street fighter who trains with Daijiro Matsui, Kazushi Sakuraba and Nobuhiko Takada at Takada Dojo. He has a sumo record of 351-253 and 1-1 in MMA.

Miller played football as a boy and in high school but blew out his knee in his senior year. Henry felt his dream of playing in the NFL was over but some felt that given time, he could’ve fully recovered. Miller also wrestled in high school and with Henry being half Japanese, his grandfather suggested he try sumo. He suffered some serious injuries in the early stages of training but continued to train and excelled in the sport. “Sentoryu” made his sumo debut in Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament in 1988. He did not make it to the high ranks of the sport and the makuuchi division until the end of his professional career. A formal ceremony was held and fellow former sumo wrestler-turned-MMA-fighter Akebono was in attendance.

Miller debuted in MMA against Paulo Cesar Silva at Pride Elimination 2004. He had superior balance, as you might expect from a sumo wrestler, but his ground game appeared non-existent and he was submitted by the “Giant” Silva via Kimura armlock in the first round. Miller returned to face Mal Foki at Pride Bushido 5 and knocked out one of the “Twin Tigers” in just 21 seconds. Henry hasn’t needed to show much stamina or ground game as both fights were relatively short. That leaves some serious questions unanswered.

MY PICK: Miller. Takimoto is a judo champion but this is not as limited as judo. Miller has likely digested most of the initial butterflies to fighting MMA and he’ll be able to work his game with better striking and grappling than the last time he was in the ring. This is Takada Dojo vs. Yoshida Dojo. If “Sentoryu” can rush the grappler, corner him and keep him standing, Takimoto will be dropped like Foki was in October. Miller by TKO in the first round.