PrideFC: Total Elimination 2003

[Guest RavishingRickRudo]

When Arona is confirmed out and Busta in, everything will be updated, dontchu worry.

 

The celebration of Sak beating Silva would cause Saitama's foundation to crack and the roof would implode killing everyone.

 

Not a happier death there could be.

[Guest bps "The Truth" 21]

I know I'd be jumping up and down like a thre year old who gets a pony.

 

In fact...

 

It's time...

 

It's time...

 

It's time to bring back the Sakuraba avatar!!!!!

[Guest RavishingRickRudo]

[DEAN]YEEEEAHHH DADDY![/DEAN]

[Guest the pinjockey]

Now in this building to they run the full stage setup like I saw in clips and the PS2 game or do they just have the little stools that they ran last time? Not that it makes a huge difference but I would like to see the spectacle.

[Guest RavishingRickRudo]

Saitama allows for some pretty cool sets. So we'll probably see an elevator.

[Guest Army Eye]

Can you imagine what would happen if Sak won, though?  That would be INSANE.

Indeed, all the more reason to have it the last match. It would be bedlam.

[Guest RavishingRickRudo]

Plus Sak vs. Silva is like Rock vs. Austin, draws like a motherfucker.

[Guest the pinjockey]

Sherdog is reporting that Arona is officially out now. And the possible replacements are Bustamante, a gracie representative, or a local japanese fighter. With Bustamante being their preference.

[Guest RavishingRickRudo]

Ooooh,

 

The Plot Thickens.

[Guest Angle-plex]

Hopefully we don't get a throw-away japanese fighter for Rampage.

[Guest RavishingRickRudo]

*crosses fingers*

 

Please be Daijiro Matsui!

 

Re-match of the fuckin century.

 

[Guest the pinjockey]

How hard is it going to be for Jackson to adapt? First it's Arona, then Bustamante, now it is a few different options. Is it going to hurt him that much or would he be training the same for pretty much any opponent at this point.

[Guest bps "The Truth" 21]

Ok...

 

What time is it on, and how much is it?

[Guest benoitrulz4life]

It's on 8:30 p.m. eastern time this Friday. Yes, order it now. This is the most anticipated fight card in history, except for "maybe" the Grand Prix Finals.

 

As for Jackson's possible replacement(s), Bustamante is a phenomenal fighter, but the downside for him is he is a true middleweight, while Jackson is a light-heavyweight/bordering on heavyweight. I don't see him having trouble putting Busta away like Erikson did, because Jackson is more aggressive and a better pound for pound fighter (IMO). As for a Gracie or a Japanese fighter, Jackson would overpower them on his way to a victory, unless someone pulls a (submission) on him out of nowhere.

 

Even though I think Arona is boring, I still feel sorry for him because that's two Prides in a row where he's been hurt. I really thought he had a chance of taking it too. Oh well, the upside to this is the card is now more exciting by default.

[Guest Brush with Greatness]

I thought it was Sunday, not Friday

[Guest the pinjockey]

It is 8:30 this Sunday, August 10th and I think it is $30.

[Guest RavishingRickRudo]

 

PRIDE: What’s your prediction for Kazushi Sakuraba versus Wanderlei Silva? Who’s going to win and how?

 

Bas Rutten: Silva is going to win it again. He has the strikes and take down defense to win this match. Unfortunately, Sakuraba has lost a few times in a row and that’s not good for the ego. If his career can make a comeback, then that would be something really big. One important thing is that you just can’t write out Sakuraba in this fight though. He can still sneak in a submission. The longer the fight, the better the chance for Sakuraba to win. People are also worried about Wanderlei’s knees, but he is 100% now and he would not be fighting if he wasn’t at full strength. He’s a born fighter, he lives and breathes fighting and he is ready for this tournament. My other prediction is if there is a KO it will only be in the first round.

 

Don Frye: I think Silva is going to win it. He’s healthier and has the mental advantage of having already won twice. Sak is tough, you definitely can’t count him out, and with Wanderlei’s knee surgery, that could be a possible advantage for Sakuraba. But I just think Silva will be too much and so I pick him to win a decision.

 

Dan Henderson: Wanderlei is taking this one by TKO in Round 1. With Wanderlei I think the question you have to ask is which Wanderlei is going to show up? Sometimes he is so aggressive and other times he just isn’t. When he fought Sakuraba the first time he was incredibly aggressive. In the second match with Sakuraba he wasn’t and it was a close fight until Sak got injured. I think we are going to see an aggressive Wanderlei for this match.

 

Dana White: My heart is with Sakuraba, but my head says Wanderlei. Sakuraba just doesn’t have the striking ability in my opinion. I’m a big Sakuraba fan and during the first Pride event I ever attended, he was fighting Silva (the first time), which I thought was going to be a tough match up for him. I was thinking, why couldn’t they put him up against a jiu jitsu guy instead? I wanted to see him win! I’m really torn on this match though. I want to see Sakuraba get the win, but at the same time I need Silva to win. I want Sakakibara to take the bet---Liddell versus Silva. I say Chuck knocks him out viciously. Sakakibara still hasn’t accepted or turned down my bet. I’m still waiting. Will he deny it or accept it? $250,000 American money. I want Sakakibara’s money.

 

PRIDE: What’s your prediction for Hidehiko Yoshida versus Kiyoshi Tamura? Who’s going to win and how?

 

Bas Rutten: I am taking Yoshida by submission. They’ll start in the clinch, then Yoshida will get the Judo hip throw and it will go to the ground. Tamura is good, but with the gi, Yoshida can get in an arm bar and some good kimuras on the ground. In this fight, I think that the Olympic gold medallist is going to be better and win.

 

Don Frye: I’d like to see Tamura win (laughing)! But I am going to have to go with Yoshida with a submission in the 2nd round. This is going to be a great fight. In fact, I wish I was going to be there. I hope PRIDE invites me!

 

Dan Henderson: Tough call. Yoshida is very good. I’ve only seen him 2 or 3 times, but of what I have seen he’s very good. However, Tamura is tough and hard to submit. This is what I think---Tamura can win, but the expectation is for Yoshida to win. I also don’t see a submission happening. I think it’s going to be a very close decision and if it goes to decision, Yoshida will win it.

 

Dana White: This is a tough one, but I’m going with Yoshida with a submission in the second round. Yoshida is too strong

 

PRIDE: What’s your prediction for Quinton Jackson versus Ricardo Arona? Who’s going to win and how?

 

Bas Rutten: Quinton Jackson is going to win this fight. Arona won’t be able to take him down and on their feet, Arona will lose. If it does go to the ground, Arona is fantastic there, but Quinton has fought some really great ground fighters and I think he’s ready.

 

Don Frye: Quinton Jackson—KO 2nd round. Arona keeps his chin up when he throws his big punches. Quinton doesn’t keep his chin up and I think during one of the big slugging exchanges, Quinton will catch him. Also, if Randleman couldn’t take Quinton down, I don’t think Arona will be able to. Quinton can definitely take Arona down and that will give Arona a chance to work his guard, but Rampage will land a lot of blows from that position. I’d like to see these two on their feet though, it would be a great cat fight.

 

Dan Henderson: Quinton should beat him, though Arona is pretty tough. For Arona to win, he has to get Quinton to the ground, which won’t be easy. If Arona does get him to the ground, I think it’s going to be a boring fight. Arona won’t be able to get a KO or submission, so I think he will hold Quinton and just try and control him. When I fought Arona, that’s how he beat me---he took me down and just held me. I’m taking Quinton Jackson by decision.

 

Dana White: Arona has a lot of experience, but Quinton has the strength, doggedness, and desire to win. Rampage is going to win this one by ground and pound stoppage.

 

PRIDE: What’s your prediction for Alistair Overeem versus Chuck Liddell? Who’s going to win and how?

 

Bas Rutten: Liddell will win. He’s going to take this fight to the ground. In Holland we have great strikers and since Overeem has such a reach advantage, I don’t think Chuck will want to fight standing. I see Chuck taking him down, using some of his wrestling and grounding and pounding to the win. It’s difficult to be certain in this prediction though, Alistair is getting better and better at learning how to escape submissions.

 

Don Frye: Chuck is a tough guy and he’s going to win this one. He’s coming off a loss and he has a lot to prove, so he’ll be training extra hard. You can’t count Overeem out, he’s gifted, but Liddell can counter everything he has and also fight on the ground. Overeeem needs more ground work … that seems to be the Achilles heel of the guys from Holland.

 

Dan Henderson: Liddell by KO or TKO. Chuck will stand up with him, Overeem will try and land some knees and maybe even go for a takedown and at some point Chuck is just going to catch him. Chuck’s a patient fighter, so he’ll wait until he gets the perfect opening. I think he’ll get the KO or TKO in the 2nd round.

 

Dana White: Liddell—TKO! Overeem is tough, we’re not overlooking him. Overeem is underrated and has been given little chance to win this tournament, but he’s not to be overlooked. I knew Pride was going to do this to me. I knew they were going to set us up in a lose-lose situation. Overeem has little name value and if Chuck loses, it’s worse for us. I knew they would do this. It’s not the same as going against one of the bigger names like Rampage or Silva. But, we know we gotta stop Overeem and we will. There will be no decision.

 

PRIDE: Which fight is the fight you are looking forward to the most?

 

Bas Rutten: All of them. I keep thinking I want to see Jackson/Arona, no I want to see Silva/Sakuraba. I want to see them all. This is a dream tournament.

 

Don Frye: Sakuraba versus Silva. I’m expecting a great fight and I’m a huge fan of Sakuraba. I really want to see how he does the third time

 

Dan Henderson: I’m really looking forward to Rampage and Arona. Arona is strong and good at controlling people and I want to see how Quinton handles that. Quinton is so hard to take down and when you do take him down, he gets back up so quick!

 

Dana White: Overeem versus Liddell. This fight will have my stomach doing cartwheels!

 

PRIDE: Who is your pick to win the tournament?

 

Bas Rutten: Quinton’s going to win it all. He’s had a long road and he’s been so tough. He came in with his first match against Sakuraba, he had all of the legal problems getting to Japan, he had to lose twenty pounds for that fight quickly, and still came in and had a great fight. And that was his last loss. He’s beaten some serious guys including Igor Vovchanchyn and Kevin Randleman. Quinton’s on a roll and keeps getting better and better. If he keeps it up, he will win it all. This is his big chance. I’d also love to see Quinton Jackson against Wanderlei Silva in the finals.

 

Don Frye: Quinton Jackson. I think he’s the best middleweight in the world right now and he matches up well with anyone in the tournament. He’s got strength, speed, and won’t get caught in submissions. He’s an incredible athlete.

 

Dan Henderson: Tough to say! I’ve actually been thinking about this before you asked me! It’s tough to call without the traditional brackets set up, so we don’t know potential matchups for the next rounds, but I’d say, either way, Quinton Jackson has the best chance. If Quinton fights Wanderlei, I think Quinton wins that one. But I don’t know about Quinton against Liddell! I think Liddell would win that fight and I think Liddell would also beat Wanderlei. This is too tough to answer! I’m going to go with Chuck or Quinton to win it all, but it shouldn’t surprise anyone if Wanderlei wins.

 

Dana White: This tournament is already won. When Chuck wins this tournament, the Pride Grand Prix belt is going to go on my desk. I’m taking a digital picture of the belt on my desk and putting the picture on the internet so Sakakibara can wake up every morning and see where his belt is. It will be right next to the stack of his $250,000!

[Guest RavishingRickRudo]

Yeah, the pre-game is 8:30, the actual show starts at 9:00pm est. $29.99

[Guest the pinjockey]

The pregame starts at 8:30? I thought last time it was 8 pre 8:30 show, or is it different at different events?

[Guest Angle-plex]

"MMAWeekly's John Hartnett reports from Florida tonight that Murilo Bustamante has indeed signed to fight Quinton Jackson in the Pride Grand Prix. One magazine writer told Hartnett "Murilo has indeed signed, I can confirm it". More on the story tomorrow at MMAWeekly.com from Hartnett."

[Guest RavishingRickRudo]

Last time, here, it was 9:00 as well. I looked at the directTV schedule as well and it said 8:30 pre, 9:00 show.

[Guest the pinjockey]

Actually I do remember it being later, because it was different than what I am used to. Just so used to the wrestling PPVs being at 8.

[Guest benoitrulz4life]

Whoops, my bad. I meant Sunday, sorry dudes.

[Guest RavishingRickRudo]

You better be sorry. In some cultures, mistaking Sunday for Friday could get you killed.

[AboveAverage484 0]

Okay, remember the totally biased top ten I did not to long ago? Well, I decided to take rankings from four websites and combine them all into an cumulative ratings.

 

So in celebration of the PRIDE GP this Sunday, here are the top 18 fighters in Pride, according to sherdog.com, mmaweekly.com, mmanews.com, and stephenquadros.com:

 

18. Kiyoshi Tamura

 

17. Semmy Schilt

 

16. Carlos Newton

 

15. Mark Coleman

 

14. Mario Sperry

 

13. Murillo Ninja

 

12. Kazushi Sakuraba

 

11. Igor Vovchanchyn

 

10. Anderson Silva

 

9. Heath Herring

 

8. Kevin Randleman

 

7. Dan Henderson

 

6. Ricardo Arona

 

5. Mirko Filipovic

 

4. Quinton Jackson

 

3. Vanderlei Silva

 

2. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

 

1. Fedor Emelianenko

 

Remember, if a fighter is not listed it means that the above websites didn't have him ranked, as this is purely based on their rankings and none of my opinion is involved.

 

And before you ask, Quadros had Tamura at no. 9 on his LHW rankings (!?)

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

From Da Meltz:

 

"--Pride officially announced today that they have come to terms with Murilo Bustamante, so it will be Bustamante vs. Quinton Jackson on Sunday in Saitama for what is the strongest Pride show on paper in history. By the way, the show will be airing on PPV in the U.S. on all systems at 6 p.m., which is about an 18-hour tape delay . In the past, it was just available on satellite but all cable systems are carrying this one. The last one was also carried by inDemand, but there was so little pub, that nobody knew it."

 

WHOOOO HOOOO!

 

(Just confirming what has been said a dozen times here )

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

YOUR ~NEW~ Tournament Fight and ~NEW~ Tournament Fighter (s) of the Day ARE:

 

Quinton Jackson vs. ~Murilo Bustamante~

 

Name: Quinton Jackson

Nickname: Rampage

Record: 17 - 3 - 0

Height/Weight: 6’1 / 205 lbs

Birth Date: 6/20/1978

From: USA

Style: Wrestling

Association: Team Oyama

• Last Fight: vs. Mikhail Illoukhine (Win *Submission/Strikes* - Pride 26: Bad to the Bone)

Key Win: vs. Kevin Randleman (Win *TKO/Punches* - Pride 25: Body Blow)

~VS~

 

Name: Murilo Bustamante

Nickname: -

Record: 9 - 1 - 1

Height/Weight: 6’1 / 185 lbs

Birth Date: -

From: Brazil

Style: Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Association: Brazilian Top Team

• Last Fight: vs. Matt Linland (Win *Submission/Guillotine Choke* - UFC 37: High Impact)

Key Fight: vs. Chuck Liddell (Loss *Decision* - UFC 33: Victory in Vegas)

Ah. That’s better

 

When Ricardo Arona was announced as a participant for the Pride Middleweight Grand Prix a large group of people were wishing for someone else, someone more exciting, someone like... Murilo Bustamante. Arona was a top middleweight fighter and deserved a slot in the tournament, but compared to fighters like Sakuraba and Jackson, he’s well... Boring. So in a nice twist of fate (or an ankle) Arona is out and his Brazilian Top Team-mate Bustamante is in.

 

But who is Murilo Bustamante? Some call him the best pound-for-pound fighter in MMA. He’s the guy who “out-wrestled the wrestler” and “out-striked the striker” (referring to his matches against 2000 Olympic Silver Medallist Matt Linland, and top-notch kickboxer Chuck Liddell), he’s the UFC Middleweight champion (or at least, was), he’s the guy who drew against Tom Erikson (a man who had 70 lbs on him). He’s a guy who can wrestle, strike, and submit. Funny, so can Quinton “Rampage” Jackson.

 

Here we have two of the top fighters in their divisions and two of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the world. Unfortunately for Bustamante, his division is a weight below Jackson’s and he gives up about 20 pounds to a guy who has a ton of momentum on his side. This will be a factor in this match because Jackson is STRONG and knows how to throw his weight around. The best thing for Busta to do is to take it to the 3rd round and test Jackson’s endurance then go for a submission. Easier said than done because as I mentioned in the Arona/Jackson preview, Rampage is a FINISHER. Jackson won’t want this to go for 3 rounds, he won’t want to wait around until his opponent makes a move. But I bet he still trained to go the whole way with Arona and that will help him against Bustamante. The biggest factor in this match is time. And I don’t mean 20 minutes. I mean a week. Quinton trained for Ricardo, not Murilo. Murilo hasn’t been fighting in a year. There are tactical and training issues here for both men. They are going in nearly blind to each other (though Murilo has probably helped train Ricardo for this fight) and that will play a role in each mans strategy. But that won’t effect the entertainment value of this fight for we the fans. Oh no. These two men are great fighters and great fighters rise to the occasion. Much like the Arona fight, I really don’t know who will win this and I don’t want to bet against Bustamante. But as I said before, Jackson has too much momentum on his side for me to doubt him or his abilities. I’m picking Jackson.

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

Did he say 6 pm?

 

My cable thing still lists it at 9 pm

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

I think he means Pacific time, which is 3 hours behind Eastern.

[The Ghost of bps21 0]

It's time for MY predicitions.

 

I carry a predicting record in MMA of 1-0...and I one time said offhand that Tito Ortiz would destroy Ken Shamrock.

 

1. Fedor Emelianenko vs. Gary Goodridge

 

Fedor in round number uno.

 

2. Chuck Liddell vs. Alistair Overeem

 

Liddel early in round 2.

 

3. Murilo Bustamante vs. Quinton Jackson

 

Bustamante...I don't know when...but every is picking Jackson to win this whole thing so I call the (not really) upset right off the bat.

 

4. Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira vs. Ricco Rodriguez

 

Nogueira. Fight would have been so huge if they were both still champs.

 

5. Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic vs. Igor Vovchanchyn

 

Sigh...Vovchancyn is my second favorite fighter. But Mirko DESTROY!!!

 

6. Hidehiko Yoshida vs. Kiyoshi Tamura

 

They want Yoshida to win...so I take Tamura and have never seen either.

 

7.Wanderlei Silva vs. Kazushi Sakuraba

 

Sigh...Sakuraba is my favorite fighter. I take Silva....NO! Sakuraba is LEGEND!!! Aww...screw it I take Sakuraba and eat my loss on this pick.