After months of anticipation, and three rounds of competition, the final round of the Pride
Heavyweight Grand Prix is finally upon us, and Im here to give you all my preview.
Now, I probably shouldnt be posting the preview now. The event starts in Japan in just a couple hours, but unfortunately, due to the WWE pay-per-view, it wont air in North America until next Sunday.
So, given that, this thread will drop like a rock for the week, but Ill just bump it again once it airs in N.A. So, Im not sure what we should do concerning spoilers. Ill be avoiding results until next Sunday, but if anyone wants to discuss the results here before then anybody who doesnt want to know the results should just avoid this thread for the week.
So, uhh, without further ado, lets start with the non-tournament fights.
Murilo Bustamante (9-3-1) vs. Nakamura (3-2)
Bustamante is a veteren fighter, a former UFC champion who has fought some of the best. Hes been on a slight downward slide lately, having lost two fights in a row, but they were to top competition in a close fight with Quinton Jackson and a knockout loss to Dan Henderson. Nakamura is fairly new to MMA, having won 3 fights against average competition, and dropped two to the smaller Nogueira brother. Bustamante is too well-rounded and experienced. Bustamante by submission, round 1.
Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic (11-2-2) vs. Aleksander Emelianenko (3-0)
A year ago, Cro Cop looked to be unstoppable. He was knocking people out left and right, and it looked like he couldnt be taken down. After his shocking loss to Kevin Randleman, Cro Cops star has fallen somewhat, and he is looking to climb again. This will be the fight that could allow him to do that, since its not particularly impressive to beat the Japanese Tomato Cans that Pride has been throwing at him for the past couple months. But beating Fedors little brother will likely be no small feat. Hes also new to the game, but with his champion brother as his training partner, you know he will be prepared and well-rounded. This fight is tough for me to call. I want Cro Cop to win and get back into contendership, and I think that he will rebound strongly
here and take the fight via knockout in round 1.
Wanderlei Silva (25-3-1) vs. Yuki Kondo (42-13-5)
Silva continues his reign as Pride Middleweight champion, although this is actually a non-title fight, apparently. He is undefeated in Pride, but he faces a dangerous opponent in Yuki Kondo. Kondo is a talented striker with a solid submission game. However, one disadvantage is that he will be a fair bit smaller than Silva in this fight. Id say Kondo has a shot, but I dont think hell make it happen. Silva is a violent wrecking machine, and hell win via TKO in round 2.
Now, for the tournament matches:
Reserve Bout:
Kevin Randleman (15-8) vs. Ron Waterman (11-2-2)
Uh-oh, two wrestlers who have been known to gas early fighting each other? I smell snooze-fest. Okay, maybe not. Randleman can be explosive when he feels like it (ie. KO-ing Cro-cop). Randleman is a much better wrestler than Waterman, being a two-time NCAA champion, and has faced much higher competition than Waterman. Watermans advantage is his size, as he is four inches taller, and will be around 40 pounds heavier than Randleman for the fight. That being said, I think Randleman will take it, by decision.
Heavyweight semi-final Bout #1:
Antonio Rodrigo Minotauro Nogueira (23-2-1)vs. Sergei Kharitonov (9-0)
Nogueira, the greatest heavyweight submission fighter in the world, faces the rising, but still somewhat enigmatic Sergei Kharitonov. We know what Nogueira can do. He submits
everybody. Err, except for Fedor. And Kharitonov trains with Fedor. So, hey, maybe
Kharitonov will have what it takes too. Or not. Either way, I expect this to be a gruelling fight that leaves the victor very tired and beaten-up for the final. I personally think that Nogueira will find a way to submit Kharitonov, in round 3.
Heavyweight semi-final Bout #2:
Fedor Emelianenko (17-1) vs. Naoya Ogawa (7-0)
Fedor, the best fighter in the world, is facing Ogawa, an Olympic silver-medallist in Judo.
Despite his undefeated record, Ogawa has faced medicore to downright questionable
competition. Look, I dont like to speculate that fights are worked, but Ogawa makes me
incredibly suspicious, based on his interviews and his fights in the tournament. At worst, hes a coward who has worked his two fights so far in the tournament. At best, hes a coward who has hand-picked his opponents so as to ensure his place in the final round. Whether or not it is just his pro-wrestler persona, I find Ogawa to be an arrogant prick who doesnt deserve to be in the tournament, let alone the finals, and I cant wait for Fedor to rearrange his face. Ogawa does have real skills, thats for sure, but he will NOT be able to survive, let alone win, against the secret Russian military cyborg that is Fedor.
Which, if Im right in my picks, will lead us to the Heavyweight Final Bout of:
Fedor Emelianenko vs. Antonio Rodrigo Minotauro Nogueira
Weve seen this one already folks. And I think its going to go the same way as before. Thats not to say that I think Nogueira has no chance, or that it is impossible to submit Fedor. When youre as good as Nogueira, youve always got a shot at catching someone in a submission. But Fedor was amazing in their first fight at escaping submission attempts, and provided that doesnt make him overconfident, I believe he will win again, especially considering that Nogueira may have taken much more damage in his semi-final bout than Fedor. My personal opinion is that these two fighters are much more closely matched than most think, and that if they fought a hundred times, Fedor would win about 70, and Nogueira 30, but well probably know much better just how they truly stack up after this event.
So thats it. Should be awesome.
Heavyweight Grand Prix is finally upon us, and Im here to give you all my preview.
Now, I probably shouldnt be posting the preview now. The event starts in Japan in just a couple hours, but unfortunately, due to the WWE pay-per-view, it wont air in North America until next Sunday.
So, given that, this thread will drop like a rock for the week, but Ill just bump it again once it airs in N.A. So, Im not sure what we should do concerning spoilers. Ill be avoiding results until next Sunday, but if anyone wants to discuss the results here before then anybody who doesnt want to know the results should just avoid this thread for the week.
So, uhh, without further ado, lets start with the non-tournament fights.
Murilo Bustamante (9-3-1) vs. Nakamura (3-2)
Bustamante is a veteren fighter, a former UFC champion who has fought some of the best. Hes been on a slight downward slide lately, having lost two fights in a row, but they were to top competition in a close fight with Quinton Jackson and a knockout loss to Dan Henderson. Nakamura is fairly new to MMA, having won 3 fights against average competition, and dropped two to the smaller Nogueira brother. Bustamante is too well-rounded and experienced. Bustamante by submission, round 1.
Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic (11-2-2) vs. Aleksander Emelianenko (3-0)
A year ago, Cro Cop looked to be unstoppable. He was knocking people out left and right, and it looked like he couldnt be taken down. After his shocking loss to Kevin Randleman, Cro Cops star has fallen somewhat, and he is looking to climb again. This will be the fight that could allow him to do that, since its not particularly impressive to beat the Japanese Tomato Cans that Pride has been throwing at him for the past couple months. But beating Fedors little brother will likely be no small feat. Hes also new to the game, but with his champion brother as his training partner, you know he will be prepared and well-rounded. This fight is tough for me to call. I want Cro Cop to win and get back into contendership, and I think that he will rebound strongly
here and take the fight via knockout in round 1.
Wanderlei Silva (25-3-1) vs. Yuki Kondo (42-13-5)
Silva continues his reign as Pride Middleweight champion, although this is actually a non-title fight, apparently. He is undefeated in Pride, but he faces a dangerous opponent in Yuki Kondo. Kondo is a talented striker with a solid submission game. However, one disadvantage is that he will be a fair bit smaller than Silva in this fight. Id say Kondo has a shot, but I dont think hell make it happen. Silva is a violent wrecking machine, and hell win via TKO in round 2.
Now, for the tournament matches:
Reserve Bout:
Kevin Randleman (15-8) vs. Ron Waterman (11-2-2)
Uh-oh, two wrestlers who have been known to gas early fighting each other? I smell snooze-fest. Okay, maybe not. Randleman can be explosive when he feels like it (ie. KO-ing Cro-cop). Randleman is a much better wrestler than Waterman, being a two-time NCAA champion, and has faced much higher competition than Waterman. Watermans advantage is his size, as he is four inches taller, and will be around 40 pounds heavier than Randleman for the fight. That being said, I think Randleman will take it, by decision.
Heavyweight semi-final Bout #1:
Antonio Rodrigo Minotauro Nogueira (23-2-1)vs. Sergei Kharitonov (9-0)
Nogueira, the greatest heavyweight submission fighter in the world, faces the rising, but still somewhat enigmatic Sergei Kharitonov. We know what Nogueira can do. He submits
everybody. Err, except for Fedor. And Kharitonov trains with Fedor. So, hey, maybe
Kharitonov will have what it takes too. Or not. Either way, I expect this to be a gruelling fight that leaves the victor very tired and beaten-up for the final. I personally think that Nogueira will find a way to submit Kharitonov, in round 3.
Heavyweight semi-final Bout #2:
Fedor Emelianenko (17-1) vs. Naoya Ogawa (7-0)
Fedor, the best fighter in the world, is facing Ogawa, an Olympic silver-medallist in Judo.
Despite his undefeated record, Ogawa has faced medicore to downright questionable
competition. Look, I dont like to speculate that fights are worked, but Ogawa makes me
incredibly suspicious, based on his interviews and his fights in the tournament. At worst, hes a coward who has worked his two fights so far in the tournament. At best, hes a coward who has hand-picked his opponents so as to ensure his place in the final round. Whether or not it is just his pro-wrestler persona, I find Ogawa to be an arrogant prick who doesnt deserve to be in the tournament, let alone the finals, and I cant wait for Fedor to rearrange his face. Ogawa does have real skills, thats for sure, but he will NOT be able to survive, let alone win, against the secret Russian military cyborg that is Fedor.
Which, if Im right in my picks, will lead us to the Heavyweight Final Bout of:
Fedor Emelianenko vs. Antonio Rodrigo Minotauro Nogueira
Weve seen this one already folks. And I think its going to go the same way as before. Thats not to say that I think Nogueira has no chance, or that it is impossible to submit Fedor. When youre as good as Nogueira, youve always got a shot at catching someone in a submission. But Fedor was amazing in their first fight at escaping submission attempts, and provided that doesnt make him overconfident, I believe he will win again, especially considering that Nogueira may have taken much more damage in his semi-final bout than Fedor. My personal opinion is that these two fighters are much more closely matched than most think, and that if they fought a hundred times, Fedor would win about 70, and Nogueira 30, but well probably know much better just how they truly stack up after this event.
So thats it. Should be awesome.