Three More GP Entrants Announced!

[Guest benoitrulz4life]

According to sherdog.com, seven of the eight entrants in the PRIDE MW GP have been announced.

 

 

(Already Announced)

Kazushi Sakuraba

Vanderlei Silva

Quinton Jackson

Hidehiko Yoshida

 

(Newly Announed)

Chuck Liddell

Ricardo Arona

Alistair Overeem

 

Yet to be announced is the eighth participant, most likely a Gracie. Signs point to Ryan, although if it was Ryan they would have announced him already. Maybe they're saving a surprise, like Royce, or maybe.... GASP! Rickson!...

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yeh... Right

[Guest The Son of Sting]

When are the brackets being made?

[Guest benoitrulz4life]

When the eighth fighter is announced, the brackets will be made. Last I heard the brackets were going to be random drawings. I'd like to see these first round fights:

 

Gracie vs. Yoshida

 

Arona vs. Overeem

 

Silva vs. Sakuraba III

 

Rampage vs. Liddell

 

Don't be surprised if Arona takes the whole thing, though. He has great strength for his weight class and knows how to control a fight, like Mark Kerr. Unfortunately, he's also like Mark Kerr, in that his fights are pretty boring. Only Kerr fight I ever liked was against Vovchanchyn at Pride 7.

[Guest Brush with Greatness]

I believe the plan is to have a Jackson-Silva semi final (assuming they both win their first rounders). This match would also be Jackson's title shot.

[Guest RavishingRickRudo]

Most people are placing Ryan Gracie in that 8th and final spot, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Royce in there for two reasons: rematch vs. Yoshida, and a rematch vs. Sakuraba - both of which would be a HUUUUGE draw in Japan (the Sak match would be a throw-back to the original 2000 GP and is generally considered the match that sent Sakuraba into "legendary" status, while the Yoshida fight had a tainted ending).

 

Liddell in the GP was expected as he is the UFC fighter with the most experience in Pride and needs something like this to get back up on his feet (it's funny, one loss and he's looked at almost like a charity case). There are lots of potential matches I'd like to see out of this: vs. Rampage (unlikely), vs. Silva (likely - Liddell stated before UFC 43 that he would like to fight Silva after his fight with Randy), vs. Overeem, vs. Sakuraba...

 

The weak links in this card are with Arona, Yoshida, and the Gracie. Which is funny, because they are not weak links at all in terms of status in the industry. I just don't find Arona particularly entertaining, the Gracies' mystique has been seriously damaged thanks to Sakuraba, and I don't like or dislike Yoshida). It's just, if it were up to me, there would be 3 other fighters in their places (Rogerio Noguiera, Henderson, Ninja - Ninja and Henderson are questionable, but I think they would make for some goooood watchin. Henderson and Nog are coming off wins at Pride 25, and though Ninja got knocked out by Randleman, he still is an explosive fighter and would be 10000000x's more entertaining than Arona.)

 

The way I see this card lining up is like this:

 

Silva vs. Liddell (70% sure)

 

Arona vs. Overeem (80% sure - since it was scheduled at the last Pride)

 

Sakuraba vs. Jackson (50% sure - rematch from their AWESOME Pride 15 match. Jackson has tripled in skill since then)

 

Yoshida vs. (Ryan or Royce) Gracie (60% sure - either a "revenge match" with Royce, setting up the potential Sakuraba rematch, or Ryan coming in for his families honour)

 

--------------

 

That would lead to:

 

Silva vs. Arona (Chute Boxe vs. Brazilian Top Team - a storied rivalry) or Silva vs. Overeem (Chute Boxe vs. Golden Glory - an awesome stand up match)

 

OR

 

Liddell vs. Arona (zzzzz) or Liddell vs. Overeem (OOOOOOH YEAH~!)

 

Sakuraba vs. Yoshida (Yoshida is quickly becomming the new Sakuraba in terms of popularity - beat Frye and "beat" Royce) or Sakuraba vs. (a) Gracie (The historical significance alone makes it worth watching)

 

OR

 

Jackson vs. Yoshida (Jackson is sort of the "Japanese Killer" so if he beats Sak and beats Yoshida he will become a God) or Jackson vs. (a) Gracie (The Dynamic of the controversial Jackson vs. the traditional Gracies -him vs. Ryan would be insane- would be hiliarious).

 

-----------

 

I think there is a strong possibility of this all leading up to Jackson vs. Silva - which would be a picture perfect way to end the GP and make it go down as one of the truly great tournaments of all time. But even if it doesn't - you still can book that match in the future.

[Guest Dangerous A]

I'm just glad that Lidell is being sent over to represent UFC. On the Observer site, they said Dana White said he declared war on Pride and is firing a shot their way with the Lidell representation. I know it's just grandstanding and posturing, but it's kind of fun in a shoot setting. I can't wait for the official brackets so I can start speculating on later round matchups.

[Guest RavishingRickRudo]

Maybe they'll pull a Smackdown and not announce the brackets at all

[Guest RavishingRickRudo]

Oh, and with Pride coming to America in '04, a UFC war would be sweeeet~! I mean, not a huge interpromotional deal, but one or two matches would get some attention.

[Guest Dangerous A]

Hell yeah it would be sweet.

 

I don't see them risking their champions in a champ vs champ deal, but if you took some mainstays and paired them up, you could have a doozy of a show.

[Guest NoCalMike]

Is this the show that is taking place on August 10th?

[Guest Lei Tong]

IIRC correctly, the final spot will still most likely be a Pancrase fighter. Yuki Kondo seems the favorite, as he's exciting, popular, and gave a beating to Pancrase LHW champion Sanae Kikuta (although he failed to do so in time to win; he got a draw).

 

How I see each person's chances:

 

Wanderlei Silva- Obviously one of the favorites, but most of the competition in this tournament is far above those he's been beating for the past 2 years (either really good MW's or mediocre-above average LHW's). However, this might be a chance to show off his versatility, as there are a few guys here against whom he'd be better off on the ground against.

WOST MATCH-UPS: Quinton Jackson, Ricardo Arona

 

Quinton Jackson- Another favorite, he's looked downright awesome lately, cutting through his competition as of late (including steps up in quality, such as Vovchanchyn & Randleman). However, his cardio might be in question here (at least two rounds will happen at one event): He's never looked good going the distance in the past (although showing alot of heart in the process). However, Training with Colin Oyama & Tito Ortiz can only serve to help him in this area:

WORST MATCH-UPS: ??? (Possibly Arona)

 

Ricardo Arona- Another favorite, IMO. He's faced tough competition before, and is used to multiple matches in one day. Also, if the times of the matches are reduced like the last Grand Prix, Laying & Praying to a decision will be even easier for him. His question marks are how his recent injury will affect him, and how he deals with...

WORST MATCH-UPS: Quinton Jackson, Hidehiko Yoshida

 

Chuck Liddell- THe UFC entrant with seemingly nothing to lose. WHile this takes much of the pressure off of him, it also reminds us that he was absolutely stomped against Couture. Hopefully, he rebounds well, and doesn't come in with the cardio & aggression problems that have plagued him in the past.

WORST MATCH-UPS: Ricardo Arona, Hideohiko Yoshida

 

Hidehiko Yoshida- Easily the biggest question mark of the tourney. His legitimacy is still up in the air, but he obviously has skills to back him up. He's also still never been hit on the face, and the drop in weight may be new to him (don't know if he did so previously). However, if he comes in prepared, his skills in close and on the ground could give anyone trouble.

WORST MATCH-UPS: Quinton Jackson, Kazushi Sakuraba

 

Kazushi Sakuraba- Oh, the mighty have fallen. With numerous losses over the past couple of years, it's hard to see Sak's chances of winning as anything but slim. Aside from Kondo (a maybe), he'll be the smallest competitor in the tournament, and how his rumoured retirement thoughts will affect him are to be seen.

WORST MATCH-UPS: Wanderlei Silva, Quinton Jackson

 

Alistair Overeem- Another question mark here. While his striking will be arguably the hardest to overcome in the GP (skills combijed with size), his ground game (esp. his defense) are still somewhat unknown.

WORST MATCH-UPS: Ricardo Arona, Quinton Jackson

 

Yuki Kondo- IMO, the least likely to win the GP. He's smaller than most of the competitors, has little to offer on the ground, and despite great striking skills, his size will hurt him when trying to KO bigger guys like Silva & Alistair.

WORST MATCH-UPS: Ricardo Arona, Alistair Overeem

 

 

If anyone has any questions regarding why I think about these matches as I do (I know some of them seem wierd), shoot.

[Your Paragon of Virtue 0]

Just to point out, Yoshida dropping weight should NOT be a factor, as the gold medallist is used to dropping about 20-25 lbs for various Judo events, and only needs to drop about 15 here.

 

I personally think Silva will take the whole thing, just because he doesn't seem like he can be beat right now. It would be cool for Liddell to win though, just to help him bounce back. That loss to Couture *was* a big deal, since it was made to be that he would've manhandled Tito, only to get beaten by a guy whom everyone thought was past his prime. A win would also give the UFC some credibility, as their fighters in general seem to be a notch below the guys in Pride.

 

Of course, just to piss you all off, I'm hoping for my main man to win this one, and teach you all about "hespect"*points to sig*

[Guest Jimmy Saint]

Alistair Overeem. I have only seen one fight from him. At one of the last prides where he looked fairly good but the eastern European he was fighting knocked him on his arse with a beutiful spin kick. Wondering if anyone here had seen more of his fights ? he is getting pimped in some MMA places as an outsider for this tournement just wondering if anyone could give some reasons why here ?

 

 

 

This tourni is shaping up real well now. Theres enough interesting match ups available that whatever happens here there is gonna be some great fights. Gonna be some serious fucking wars happening in the first round though and I can see at least one towell being thrown in the semi's.

[Guest Brush with Greatness]

Haven't the Gracies confirmed that one of them will be in the tournament?

 

So how do you figure Yuki Kondo will get in?

[Guest RavishingRickRudo]

Apparently on the Pride Japanese Site at the Pride Press Conference Renzo demanded that Gracie be involved and the new president said no.

[Guest Brush with Greatness]

--Pride wants Kiyoshi Tamura to be the final guy in the tournament on 8/10. It hasn't been announced because Tamura has not yet agreed. I think they realize from a box office standpoint, he'll be a bigger deal than anyone else. The idea of a UFC vs. Pride angle has gotten over pretty big since yesterday.

 

Credit: Wrestling Observer

[Guest Army Eye]

There SHOULD be a Gracie dammit.

 

Other than that the tourney is looking tremendous. The only possible thing that could ruin this is if Arona lays-and-prays his way to three victories.

[Guest benoitrulz4life]

Fuck Tamura. Just stick Royce in there and be done with it.