HISTORY: Yoshida is a judo legend in Japan. He is a life-long athlete and highly decorated so training hard is nothing new to him but until the match at the Pride Shockwave show was on the table, Yoshida had only been training in judo. He had seen tapes of real MMA fighting, including the Gracie family. He is an Olympic Judo Gold Medallist and World Games Gold Medallist. He's fought over 1,000 judo matches and trains with UFC veteran Tsuyoshi Kohsaka and PFC veteran Shungo Oyama as well as K-1 fighter and trainer Chris Johnson. Yoshida made his MMA debut against Don Frye in Pride 23 and won via armbar. He next fought on the Inoki Bom-Be-Ye New Year's Eve show and beat K-1 fighter Masaaki Satake in just 50 seconds. Yoshida beat Kiyoshi Tamura at the Pride Total Elimination 2003 show. Hidehiko's only loss was to Wanderlei Silva in the next round of the Total Elimination 2003 tournament. In his most recent bout, Yoshida faced Royce Gracie a second time but this time it was under full MMA rules and though most felt Royce dominated, it was ruled a draw.
Yoshida/Royce Gracie: These two have fought twice. The first bout, the one that started all the controversy, took place at the first Pride Shockwave show. It looked like Yoshida had choked Royce out on the mat. A review of the tape showed it was not the case and it was simply poor judgment on the referee's part. Although it was not under full MMA rules, Hidehiko put in a solid performance and gave Gracie all he could handle until the stoppage. In the rematch, although ruled a draw, a Gi-less Royce dominated the judo champion and truly won the fight.
Yoshida/Don Frye: Yoshida gets the takedown and works a wrap around over/under choke but it fails. Frye stood up and Yoshida got his back, trying to choke him with legs wrapped around shoulders. Don gets Hidehiko on the mat and begins punching his body. Frye stands high in guard and punches slow, Yoshida rolls to armbar, Frye doesn't really react and never taps but the referee has seen enough.
Yoshida/Masake Satake: Not a whole lot to show here either. Yoshida got a neck lock immediately and held it until the referee broke the hold, ending the match.
Yoshida/Kiyoshi Tamura: Although there was speculation this would be a work, it looked fairly legit.I think. Tamura opens with three left leg kicks and lands a solid left to the head that drops Yoshida to the mat. Yoshida immediately goes to guard but Tamura stands up and jumps back in again. Tamura just misses a knee to the head and Yoshida looks a bit upset. Kiyoshi continues to land left roundhouse kicks to Yoshida's leg and they exchange punches in the center with Tamura getting the advantage. Tamura looks incensed, standing with his hands down daring Yoshida to hit him. Yoshida eventually gets a sweep but Tamura lands on Hidehiko's back. They stand and Yoshida gets a headlock but Tamura escapes. Yoshida tries to push the action swinging wildly and ties Tamura up in the corner. Hidehiko is able to sweep Kiyoshi to the mat and land in half mount. In a strange finish, Tamura is not able to break a sleeve choke and taps out.
Yoshida/Wanderlei Silva: Yoshida impressed everyone, including opponent Wanderlei Silva, with his skill and heart. He scored a takedown early and forced Silva to fight from his back. Wanderlei showed depth to his game by securing a triangle choke and forcing Yoshida to work out of it. Silva was more aggressive in the second round and though Yoshida hung tough and took everything the Brazilian had to offer, there was no question who won the fight. Silva took the unanimous decision to advance to the title round.
STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES: Obviously as a judo practitioner, his grappling is going to be quite good. He likes to wear his Gi in the ring but, and I mean no disrespect to his previous opponents, he hasn't really been challenged by a complete fighter under full PFC rules. Gracie requested special rules, Satake is hardly a "complete fighter" and as for Frye, well, let's just avoid that one shall we? We saw a little of his striking ability against Tamura and he is training with Shungo Oyama who is a solid striker.
HOW HE CAN BEAT HUNT: On the mat. Hunt must take it to the ring floor and keep it there. There is no point in standing with a K-1 fighter if you don't have to. Yoshida should be able to drop Hunt rather quickly and sink in a choke before Mark can remember he was supposed to sprawl.
MARK HUNT: New Zealand native kickboxer; K-1 Oceania Grand Prix 2000 Champion, K-1 World Grand Prix 2001 Champion; W.K.B.F. Australian Champion; making his MMA debut; making his first appearance (0-0) in the ring of the PFC.
HISTORY: New Zealand native and W.K.B.F. Australian Champion's Mark Hunt began his K-1 career just two years ago winning the K-1 Oceania Grand Prix 2000 and a bout at the K-1 Revenge Oceania. He lost a decision to veteran Jerome Le Banner at the '00 Grand Prix in Nagoya and then retuned to take another eight-man tournament victory. This time it was the K-1 Oceania 2001 Annihilis. Recently, life had d its share of ups and downs for Hunt. He had two major decision losses, to Ernesto Hoost and Ray Sefo, but then he came back strong to win the K-1 World Grand Prix 2001by beating Jerome Le Banner (with a right hook KO), Stefan Leko (unanimous decision) and Francisco Filho (unanimous decision). This year he's already lost to Mirco Filipovic and Jerome Le Banner and this will be his first taste of MMA. So needless to say, a win here over a name fighter like Frye could get him back on track to salvaging the remainder of 2002.
STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES: As a kickboxer, Hunt will rely on his striking to carry him through this bout. He has more than a dozen KO to his credit so he will come out to take his opponent's head off. His weakness, given his prowess, is an easy one to determine; the ground. I'd be surprised if he has six solid months of ground fighting training. He cannot afford to spend any significant time on the mat.
HOW HE CAN BEAT YOSHIDA: Standing up. If Hunt can avoid going to the mat and unload some serious strikes in the first two minutes, he may have a successful PFC debut.
MY PICK: Yoshida. Whatever Hunt has been doing, it certainly hasn't prepared him to face an Olympic Judo Gold Medallist who has gone the distance with Wanderlei Silva. This one may go quicker than the Satake fight. I feel it will be Yoshida by submission (likely a Gi choke) early in the 1st Rd.