2006 Welterweight Grand Prix Tournament

June 4th, Pride's Bushido series will hold its 2006 Welterweight tournament. Current Welterweight champion Dan "Hollywood" Henderson will be given a bye into the 2nd round.

Makoto Takimoto (2-2) vs Gegard Mousasi (12-1-1)
WINNER-Mousasi Gegard has won his last 7 fights, and has decent submissions. His bread and butter will be the KO. Makoto is an average fighter, who has had every fight go the distance. So, he can't finish anyone but no one has finished him either.

Joey Villasenor (21-3) vs Ryo "Piranha" Chonan (11-6)
WINNER-Villasenor I've been waiting for Joey to hit the big time for a while now. The guys won his last 15, yes I said 15, fights. Most have come at Rumble On The Rock which has decent competition. Pride is another level. He will use his skills which are equal in subs and KO's. Ryo Chonan is a great fighter with wins over Anderson Silva, Carlos Newton, and Mach Sakurai. Recently, he was KO'd by the red hot Phil Baroni and KO'd by eventual champ Dan Henderson. He has recently been susceptible to the KO but is a dangerous fighter. This will be a great fight and I'm picking Joey to bring the whole package to the big stage and win big.

Akihiro Gono (24-11-7) vs Hector Lombard (5-0)
WINNER-Gono The vet should be able to put away the new undefeated fighter. Gono is always tough and last loss was to current champ, Henderson. Hector is an unknown judo stylist who has fought in much smaller shows than Gono. Don't let the records fool you here, Gono should get the victory relatively easily.

Jason Black (19-1-1) vs Eoh Won Jin (1-1-1) *[Non-Tournament Bout]
WINNER-Black Attack Ummm, who made this match? Jason is a Miletich fighter who has absolutely been dominant until his last match where he lost to Shonie Carter via injury. The guy is basically unbeaten and is a submission machine. Eoh Won is, well, he's in a world of shit. Black wins by demolition!

Marcus "Maximus" Aurelio (14-2) vs Mitshuhiro Ishida (11-2-1) *[Lightweight Bout]
WINNER- ??Toss Up?? Maximus is now the "Gomi Killer," after his upset win via submission over legend Takanori Gomi. This American Top Team submission fighter is on a roll though this will be another big step forward in competition. Ishida is a Shooto fighter who dominated that promotion. Ishida is also a submission fighter so we know this will be a technical fight on the ground. Either man could win this fight, so betters stay away.

Tatsuya Kawajiri (16-3-2) vs Charles "Krazy Horse" Bennett (14-12-2) *[Lightweight Bout]
WINNER-Kawajiri They keep bringing Krazy Horse back because he is such a freak show. To be fair, he is an exciting fighter who always does something unpredictable. Kawajiri's only recent loss was to Gomi, and other than that the guys is a bad ass striker. This will be a stand up war where Bennett is tough and always ready to throw leather. Kawajiri is just much smarter and more talented. Still, should be an exciting bout.

Hayato "Mach" Sakurai (27-7-2) vs Olaf Alfonso (5-4) *[Lightweight Bout]
WINNER-Mach Sakurai is a big fan favorite in Japan. Olaf is a hard hitting fighter who like Krazy Horse, isn't necessarily that good, but he comes to fight and always puts on an exciting show. Olaf has a punchers chance, but little else against one of the best lightweights in the world. Mach wins.

Paulo Filho (11-0) vs Dong Sik Yoon (0-3)
WINNER-Paulo Filho is Brazilian Top Team's new monster coming off a big upset win over rival Ninja Rua (which MMA Mafia predicted I might add) and has beaten other big names like Minowa, Sakurai, and Yuki Kondo. Paulo is one of the favorites to win this tournament. Yoon is going to lose. There, quick answer and you can focus on one of the competitive bouts.

Murilo Bustamante (12-5-1) vs Amar Suloev (20-5)
WINNER-Bustamante This will be a close fight. Murilo made it to the finals of last years tourney before losing to Dan Henderson. Murilo is also a former UFC champion and is a well rounded fighter. Suloev is a Red Devil member who is also very well rounded, but has shown problems when he steps to the elite fighters (Liddell, Baroni, Filho). I give Murilo the slight edge from his higher level of past fights recent success. This should be a good close fight and either man could win.

Denis Kang (21-7-1) vs Murilo "Ninja" Rua (11-6-1)
WINNER-Kang I'm picking the upset here people. Ninja has shown kinks in the armor recently (losing to Kharitonov, Rampage, Arona, Filho) but this Chute Boxe member is always dangerous. Kang has won 16 in a row (not counting the draw), and I have anointed him the "next big thing" in this division. This American Top Team fighter is young, experienced, and deadly with submissions. I believe he will have the power, speed, and hunger over Rua which will lead to a big win. This kid could go far in the tournament and possibly win it all!

Phil Baroni (9-6) vs Kazouo Mizaki (15-6-2)
WINNER-Baroni Phil has been red hot since coming to Pride. Baroni always has stamina issues but his hands are KO crazy. Mizaki is coming off a loss to Henderson (who isn't these days) and has been a sketchy submission fighter. Baroni must, and probably will, keep this fight on the feet and get the KO victory.

Should be another exciting Bushido PPV with good non-tournament bouts, plus debuts from Jason Black, Joey Villasenor, and Olaf in Pride. Not sure that anyone can beat Dan Henderson at this point, but my other favorites are Denis Kang and Paulo Filho. -MMA Mafia

Matt Hughes Defeats Royce Gracie At UFC 60

Well, many of us older fans were hoping for the best when Royce stepped back in the octagon after a 11 year absence. The results, were not good.

MATT HUGHES came out victorious as most predicted, but all were amazed at just how easily he did it. The fighters exchanged kicks early on and peppered out jabs with little affect to either fighter. As they clinched against the cage, it was Matt who took down Royce Gracie immediately getting side control. From there Matt quickly secured a brutal kimura that looked as if at any moment would break the Gracie's arm. Royce held on and showed no pain during the brutal hold. Then Matt passed Royce's guard and established a rear mount. As Royce lay face down on the canvas, Matt began to reign down very hard blows as the round was drawing to a close. John McCarthy saw Royce unable to defend himself properly and stepped in to end the contest.

Aftermath-What was shocking about the fight was not the outcome, but how easily Matt Hughes absolutely dominated Royce Gracie on the ground. After the fight, both fighters shook hands and Matt was very respectful in his interviews. Royce spoke saying he had a couple more fights left in him and that he would be back. Only time will tell.

DEAN LISTER easily beat highly touted Italian fighter Alessio Sakara, pulling guard and submitting the larger fighter with a triangle choke. Dean said after the fight, he would return to his weight class of 185lbs.

DIEGO SANCHEZ won his bout against John Alessio by decision. Diego was thwarted on every single takedown attempt in the first round as John landed the jab. In the second, Diego continued to fail at the takedown and John opened a large cut over Diego's right eye. Blood continued down "Nightmare's" face as he finally got John down though he quickly got back up. Diego then climbed on the back of Alessio and could not secure a choke. At odd thing happened next where Diego stayed on John's back, while he was standing, as John defended the choke attempts. For the final 15 seconds of the fight Diego began punching from John's back though they seemed to have little affect. Diego got the judges decision, though I'm not sure how, with one judge scoring all 3 rounds for Diego. The Staples Center shouted a chorus of boo's down as they showed their displeasure at judges odd decision.

BRANDON VERA scored a very impressive victory over Brazilian Ausserio Silva with the guillotine choke. The fight started slow and came to a halt when Silva was accidentally poked in the eye. Upon restarting, Ausserio was visibly angry and charged in. The quick Vera, wrapped a guillotine around Silva's neck as Ausserio slammed him to the ground. Brandon held on and the submission was tight forcing the tapout.

MIKE SWICK lives up to the nickname "Quick" by once again winning a fight in the 1st round. This time Swick used a nice kick to Joe Riggs head and when staggered, Mike secured the "Swickotine" for another solid win.

JEREMY HORN defeated Chael Sonnen for the 3rd time by armbar of the 2nd round.

SPENCER FISHER and Matt Wiman had the fight of the night! The virtually unknown Wiman seemed to be dominating the fight with his quick standup and even quicker ground game. Spencer continued to fight on and scored a elbow which cut Matt as the opening round came to a close. As they parted for their corners, Spencer bumped Matt and the two began trash talking. The talking continued before the beginning of round 2 with each fighter calling for the other to step forward and fight. Both men came out throwing leather but it was Spencer who landed a hard right hand hurting Matt. Wiman pointed up as if to say he wasn't hurt (though clearly he was) and Fisher took the opportunity to land a devastating flying knee that ended the fight.

GABRIEL GONZAGA beat up Fabiano Scherner in the first round of their contest and Fabiano claimed between rounds he was having double vision. Fabiano decided to continue until Gonzaga immediately landed some heavy punches dropping Scherner and forcing the ref to call an end to the fight.

MELVIN GUILLARD KO'd Rick Davis with a beautiful punch that had Rick out before he hit the canvas.

Well, UFC 60 had a lot of quick fights that were pretty lopsided with the exception of the Sanchez/Alessio fight. Brandon Vera continues to impress and has to be in the top 5 heavyweights now in the UFC. Ausserio Silva may be looking for another job with Fabiano Scherner who has not looked decent in a fight yet. The lightweights were exciting and Fisher could be facing Melvin soon to tighten up the lightweight rankings. Matt Wiman should get another shot in the UFC after delivering an exciting bout though he lost. Jeremy Horn and Chael Sonnen are good fighters that nobody seems to want to watch. Joe Riggs needs to rethink things, pick a weight class, and apply himself. Swick and Dean Lister are now in the 185 hunt, while Diego didn't prove anything in his controversial victory over John Alessio who must be brought back for more fights. Maybe these two should just rematch. I am still not sold on Sakara who seems to be going the wrong way in the light heavyweight division.

Finally, Matt Hughes continued to solidify his career with a big name win but must now focus on the uber-talented George St. Pierre for his next title defense. Royce Gracie is already a legend who needs to prove nothing. He may come back to fight, and he may not. Either way, the man started it all and I'll continue to watch him as long as he wants to fight.-MMA Mafia

UFC 60 Matt Hughes vs Royce Gracie

Matt Hughes (40-4) vs Royce Gracie (13-1-2)
If you don't know these two names, you are not a MMA fan and should read another blog.

This is the fight everyone has been waiting for. Matt has long been dominant only losing back in January of 2004 against BJ Penn. Keep in mind though, Matt has not fought in over 6 months! Why has the UFC kept one of their most amazing fighters on the shelf for so long?
Royce last fought on New Year's Eve against Hideo Tokoro, an average lighter fighter, and did not look good in the fight. The rules stated that if the match went the distance, the fight would be declared a draw. That possibly, is all that saved Royce from another loss on his record. Royce has averaged 1 fight per year recently, and is now 40 years old.

However, everyone should not forget, that Matt's last loss came at the hands of a ju jitsu expert, BJ Penn, and Royce Gracie is the godfather of ju jitsu. Neither fighter has very good striking with the hands, but Matt gets the edge. Matt will have the power on his side which could help with slamming Royce, or positioning him for the G & P. No one has ever submitted or KO'd Royce Gracie!!!

WINNER-Matt Hughes My heart and mouth will be cheering for the original MMA bad ass, Royce Gracie, but I think Matt's youth and overall expertise of the sport leads him to victory probably by TKO (doctor stoppage). Many experts have this as a "pick em" fight, but oddsmakers have Matt a pretty heavy favorite.

Diego "Nightmare" Sanchez (16-0) vs John "The Natural" Alessio (22-8)
Famous Diego is returning to action after a flu scare caused him to drop 10lbs. during his illness, and endure a short hospital stay. Diego has assured all he is fully recovered and healthy. Alessio is a very good and experienced fighter who is good with submissions and has good hands. The problem for John has been, stepping up, in talent to the upper class. He suffered losses to Jonathan Goulet, Pat Miletich, Joe Doerkson, and Jason Black. All are good fighters, but they all are very aggressive, fast, and never stop coming at you. This also describes his opponent Diego Sanchez.

WINNER-Diego Sanchez Do not overlook Alessio who has a good chance to win this fight. He has fought at a much higher level than Sanchez, and this will be a big test for Diego. In the end, Diego's G & P, and uber-aggressive attack will overwhelm for the win.

Brandon "The Truth" Vera (5-0) vs Ausserio Silva (30-3)
Brandon has been labeled the "next big thing" ever since he began MMA. The guy has insane talent and ego, and the sky's the limit. Still, before the world over reacts, keep in mind he has only 5 pro fights. Also, Ausserio Silva is a great fighter. Silva has never been KO'd and only submitted once. He will have the size and power advantage, not to mention his good submissions. Vera is a great kickboxer, and KO's about everyone.

WINNER-Ausserio Silva This is a very close fight, though most people have Vera as the favorite. I believe Silva can take Vera to the ground where he is best, and Vera has yet to fight. Silva proved against Tim Sylvia he has a great chin, and with his size he should control the pace and win. Silva is the former #1 contender in the UFC, and has much more experience which puts him over the top in my 1st upset pick!

Mike "Quick" Swick (10-1) vs Joe "Diesel" Riggs (26-8-1)
Here we go with the most exciting fight of the night. Mike always lives up to his nickname with amazing speed and surprising power. Joe "The Incredible Shrinking Man" Riggs is notorious for bouncing around in weight classes. This time he's at a good weight (185lbs.) and is good with submissions (10) and KO's (12). Mike is definitely the one stepping up here, while Joe has fought much better talent and with much more experience. Both of these guys are going to throw bombs and it could be who catches who first, gets the win.

WINNER-Joe Riggs This fight could go either way with two fast hard punching fighters throwing at break neck speed. I just think Joe has more power and if the fight did get to the ground he has the advantage. Riggs would be smart to take it to the ground but I think they'll trade punches till one man falls.

Melvin Guillard (37-6-3) vs Rick "The Flying Squirrel" Davis (3-0-1)
Why is Melvin still fighting in the UFC? The guy lost the very 1st fight on TUF2, and then got choked out by Josh Neer at Ultimate Fight Night3. The answer is, Mel is now fighting in his weight class (lightweight 155lbs.), and he is fighting against Rick "Tomato Can" Davis. Davis has only 4 pro fights, and they are against weak talent. At least Melvin has a lot of experience, speed, and KO power.

WINNER-Melvin Guillard The "Young Assassin" (terrible nickname) is so fast and athletic, I would be shocked, if he lost to this unknown new guy.

Spencer "King" Fisher (16-2) vs Matt "Handsome" Wiman (6-2)
Spencer is the Miletich's lightweight contender. If he wins this fight, rumor has it he will get in the title hunt. King has skills in all areas and is very impressive. Matt is,....who is this guy? Oh thats right, he's a replacement chosen by the Miletich camp. Geez, UFC matchups baffle me sometimes.

WINNER-Spencer Fisher

Alessio "Legionarius" Sakara (14-3) vs Dean Lister (7-4)
Sakara has fought at heavyweight quite a bit, though this fight is at 205lbs. Dean Lister normally fights at 185lbs. so he is definitely going to struggle power wise. Dean's game is on the ground with submissions so the question is whether or not he can take the larger Sakara to the mat. Dean cannot finish fights if he doesn't get the submission and I see this fight going to the judges cards.

WINNER-Alessio Sakara The size plays a big part in this match, and Sak wins what could be a technical fight unless he can KO Lister.

Gabriel "Napao" Gonzaga (5-1) vs Fabiano "Pegaleve" Scherner (5-2)
Neither of these heavyweights have been impressive yet, and one of these guys will probably not return to the UFC. They have to make a statement, as well as win. Both are submission fighters and are pretty much the same size.

WINNER-Gabriel Gonzaga

Jeremy "100+Fights" Horn (86-14-6) vs Chael Sonnen (14-7-1)
Chael was a replacement for Evan Tanner, and has already lost to Jeremy not once, but twice. Chael is Team Quest trained but Jeremy Horn is Jeremy Horn, and this is the last fight on his UFC contract.

WINNER-Jeremy Horn Horn will want to leave a lasting impression here and may focus on training after this fight. He'll never retire, but he could be much less active after this.

Wanderlei Silva In Pride's Open Weight Grand Prix

Fedor Emelienenko has been forced to withdraw from the upcoming second round for the Open Weight Grand Prix. Doctors are not going to remove the steel rods from his hand until June at the earliest. This will not give him enough time to prepare for the tournament in July.

Pride found a suitable replacement naming the "Axe Murderer" Wanderlei Silva to take his spot. Wanderlei has been rumored to be close to signing with the K-1 promotion, so this has come as a surprise to the MMA community. This is official so Silva will join perhaps the greatest tournament lineup ever with Antonio Nogueira, Josh Barnett, Fabricio Werdum, Mirko Cro Cop, Kazuyuki Fujita, Mark Hunt, and Hidehiko Yoshida.

Soon Pride will announce the fight card and we'll see who fights whom.

Alistair Overeem vs Vitor Belfort

Alistair Overeem will now replace injured fighter Kevin Randleman against Vitor Belfort at the next Strikeforce event June 9th.

On April 23rd of 2005, the two faced off in Pride FC where Overeem got the win over Belfort by guillotine choke.

The "Phenom" Belfort, is coming off his 1st professional boxing match where he got a KO win in the first round. Overeem is coming off a disappointing loss to Fabricio Werdum in Pride's Open Weight Grand Prix. Vitor will be looking for revenge while Alistair will be looking for another big name win to get back into the heavyweight title picture.

The event will also feature Daniel Puder of WWE's Tough Enough reality show in a bout as well as San Shou expert and legend, Chung Le in his 2nd MMA rules fight. A new fight recently added will feature Duane "Bang" Ludwig against Tyson Griffin. Rumored fights include Clayton Guida vs TBA, Josh Thompson vs TBA, and Bobby Southworth (from UFC's TUF Season 1) vs James "Sandman" Irvin.

The Return Of The WFA?

MMA Mafia has heard the rumors of the return of the WFA for six months now, and it seems as though the rumors are slowly turning into facts.

The World Fighting Alliance or WFA, last held a MMA show in November of 2002. They put on several good shows with such stars as Rich Franklin, Marvin Eastman, Frank Trigg, Ronald Jhun and many more. Now some 4 years later, WFA is back with a show in June or July featuring a main even between Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Matt "The Law" Lindland. As exciting as that would be, they are also trying to lure none other than "El Guapo" Bas Rutten out of retirement to face legendary MMA fighter Kimo Leopoldo! Bas has not fought since UFC 20 in 1999 when he won the UFC Heavyweight Championship. Kimo last fought in 2005 when he lost by submission to Ikuhisa Minowa in Japan. Both men are legendary in all fighting circles and this would be a huge draw for the California based promotion.

Also reportedly signed to the WFA are Ivan Salaverry and the always controversial and exciting Jason "Mayhem" Miller.

Stay here to find out more as it develops on the return of the WFA, another great MMA promotion in the U.S.A.

MMA on King of Queens

Check out the newest episode of the hit CBS comedy, "The King Of Queens," to see popular MMA fighters Frank Trigg and Dan Henderson. Comedian and star Kevin James, has been a longtime fan of MMA and specifically the UFC appearing at almost all of their events. Now he is bringing two great fighters onto his show this Monday, May 15th. Check your local listings for times.

Oscar De La Hoya defeats Ricardo Mayorga

Ricardo Mayorga tried everything to intimidate Oscar De La Hoya for their fight, including slapping Oscar in the head when he wasn't looking, and staying in the locker room the night of the fight, and refusing to come out until he was given $8 million dollars by Don King. None of these tactics seemed to affect the "Golden Boy" who entered the ring in perhaps the best shape of his life. Oscar then proceeded to knock down Mayorga in the first round and twice more before the fight was over. Finally, in the 6th round, Mayorga went down and the referee called an end to the punishment. The fight was never close with the much fast De La Hoya landing brutal body shots and super fast combinations. Congratulations to Oscar on his emphatic win.

Rumors now have Oscar possibly facing Floyd Mayweather Jr. around the month of September.

Wanderlei Silva Signs With K 1

Rumors and speculation surround free agent and Pride Middleweight Champion Wanderlei Silva. It has been reported that Silva has signed a huge deal with K 1 worth twice the amount that Pride FC was offering him. Wanderlei has been with Pride since the year 2000, and has been one of, if not, the top draw for the company his entire career. This would allow fellow Chute Boxe members to fight for his title since the rule is teammates cannot fight each other. Shogun and Ninja Ruas could both compete for this title. This also means that if K 1 and UFC have a talent swapping deal (as reported before), that Silva could face fighters such as Chuck Liddell, Tito Ortiz, Ken Shamrock, Andrei Arlovski, and all the other top UFC competitors!

MMA News On Trigg, Gurgel, UFC, K-1, & Randleman

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  In exciting though as of yet unofficial news, K-1 and the UFC have reportedly agreed to a deal where both organizations would trade talent back and forth for future fights! This opens a huge realm of possibilities with a much larger amount of fighters and viewers. Recently Jerome LeBanner (K-1) had challenged Tim Sylvia (UFC) to a fight. It was never thought that the fight could happen until now. We could also see other K-1 fighters such as Genki Sudo, Bob Sapp, Kid Yamamoto, Carter Williams, Dewy Cooper and many more. Stay here as more develops on the biggest MMA story of the year!!
• Frank Trigg has announced he has retired after his most recent loss at the Rumble On The Rock tournament. "Twinkle Toes" was always an exciting and outspoken fighter who brought a lot of entertainment to his fights. Frank will continue on as color commentator for Pride FC.
• Jorge Gurgel, know for his stint on the Ultimate Fighter 2, has officially signed with the UFC. Gurgel, best friend and trainer of UFC champ Rich Franklin, will make his debut at Ultimate Fight Night 5 against Mark Hominick.
• Kevin "The Monster" Randleman is reportedly out of his fight with Vitor Belfort at Strikeforce. This is a huge loss to the promotion and no replacement has been announced as of yet. Randleman is reported to have a shoulder infection that is keeping him from competing.

Pride Open Weight Grand Prix Results

Pride delivered another great PPV with none of the fights going to the judges score cards. Here are the results:

Antonio Nogueira only needed 2:17 to defeat near 400lb. Zulu. They came out, Nog shot, took him down and quickly gained full mount. From there he reined down blows until Zulu gave his arm and Nog secured the kimura for the easy win.

Mirko Cro Cop also had a quick night dispatching Minowa easily in round 1. Believe it or not, Minowa has been asking Pride management for this fight for years now. Minowa finally got his wish and came out with a flashy cartwheel kick that did little damage. From there, Cro Cop landed heavy blows and the fight went to the canvas with Cro Cop on top. There he pounded down heavy blows and the ref had to step in to stop the fight. Minowa was out cold, and when he finally got to his feet he staggered into the ropes. Cro Cop advances.

Kazuyuki Fujita returned to action against up and comer James Thompson. Thompson shocked the crowd when he didn't do his normal "gong and dash" instead implementing a slow and steady pace. James dominated with the jab and keeping Fujita at bay. Thompson defended the takedown with great sprawl and the two began to exchange good shots. Thompson was dominating the fight and looked much improved when Fujita, almost in desperation, began to throw some nice combinations that hurt Thompson. The brawl was on from there as Thompson looked out on his feet but kept coming! Finally, Fujita landed a big right hand KOing the Colossus Mega-Punk! Fujita wins a great fight and moves on.

Fabricio Werdum stopped Alistair Overeem with a kimura. Werdum showed up with a new stand up skill and battled with Overeem the favorite. Werdum though losing, stayed in the fight and got the takedown on a tiring Alistair. From there he secured the kimura and this grudge match was over.

Mark Hunt and TK got it on in a great slugfest. Mark came out swinging as he always does and TK tried and tried again for the takedowns. He could not get the big man down so he resorted to trading blows with the heavy handed K-1 veteran. Though bloody and taking huge shots, TK began to return them and even seemed to have the heavy breathing Hunt, hurt on more than one occasion. Finally, Hunt began to dominate and TK showed much heart though he was badly hurt. TK went down and Hunt paused (showing class) and the ref called an end to the fight. TK was begging to continue but he had taken too much punishment and was covered in his own blood. True to his word, Tsuyoshi Kohsaka announced his retirement after the fight. A warrior and classy fighter, "TK" will be missed.

Aleksander Emelienenko and Josh Barnett fought in one of the most highly anticipated fights of the evening. Alek came out calm and picked his shots and used his long jab. Barnett for some reason, didn't go for the takedowns as is his normal attack, and instead traded shots. Alek got the better of the exchanges and Barnett was getting badly damaged by the end of round 1. In the second round, Alek seemed to gas while Barnett, still losing the stand up war, kept coming with the punches. Finally, Josh shot and took Alek down. From there Barnett quickly secured a keylock for the submission win. Then, Josh Barnett got on the microphone and called out Alek's brother Fedor, saying "Fedor is dead, he just doesn't know it yet."

Hidehiko Yoshida fought in the main event against fellow Japanese boxer Yosuke Nishijima. Yoshida showed heart and even fought out of an early submission attempt by the Judo gold champion Yoshida, but the constant attack on the ground ended with a triangle choke for the win. Yoshida moves on.

In the alternates bout, Gilbert Yvel faced off against Red Devil member Roman Zentsov. Roman controlled the fight and KO'd Gilbert who goes to 1-6 in his pride career. Roman continues to improve from the training of Fedor, Aleksander, and the rest of the Red Devils.

Great PPV and if you didn't see it you should watch the replay. A great night of fights!

Pride FC's Open Weight Grand Prix

Finally, Pride's Open Weight Grand Prix will begin May 6th! The second half of the field has yet to be announced, but we do know who fights this weekend.

Mirko Cro Cop (17-4-2) vs Ikuhisa "Punk" Minowa (32-23-8): No one is tougher than Minowa, but the guy does have a lot of losses and is very beatable. Mirko is the 2nd most feared heavyweight in all the world. Cro Cop possesses one punch, and one kick KO power and has steadily improved his cardio and ground game (his only weaknesses).
WINNER-Cro Cop The Punk's only shot is to get Mirko to the mat and use his exceptional ground skills (20 submissions) for a tapout. Highly unlikely, considering how hard it was for Fedor of all people to do that to Cro Cop, and Minowa couldn't keep Baroni down in their first fight. Cro Cop wins by brutal smashing KO.

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (26-3-1) vs Zuluzihino (2-1): Seriously? This is a gimme for Antonio. He has already beaten Bob Sapp who is huge like Zulu and a much better fighter. Zulu has only 3 freaking fights to Rodrigo's 30 for christ's sake! Nogueira has fought many huge freaks (Schilt, Sapp, ect.) and should have little problem here.
WINNER-Antonio Nogueira Minotauro's only problem here is getting Zulu's 390lbs. to the mat and it will be all over. Nogs has one of the toughest heads in the biz so he'll take a few shots to later win by submission.

Alistair "Demolition Man" Overeem (23-6) vs Fabricio Werdum (7-1-1): Alistair recently beat Kharitonov. Werdum recently lost to Kharitonov. Overeem has been on a big roll recently. Werdum's only loss is to Kharitonov. Both guys can strike, both guys can submit. This could be our 1st competitive bout.
WINNER-Alistair Overeem The Demolition Man just has too much for Werdum. Much more experience and better power. Overeem has also recently moved up to heavyweight and looked very impressive. Werdum will have the weight advantage, and has joined Cro Cop's Squad, but I still feel Overeem wins this by decision.

Kazuyuki Fujita (12-4) vs James "Mega-Punk" Thompson (12-2): Here's an interesting fight. James is a bull rushing, fist flying, power fighter with a little submission skills as well. Fujita is more well rounded and has never been KO'd. Thompson has stepped up to this level once, and was KO'd by Aleksander Emelianenko. Fujita's only losses have come by Cro Cop, Coleman, & Fedor. Both guys are tough but both have failed when stepping up against premier talent.
WINNER-Fujita I just don't think this guy can be KO'd. I've seen him hit with everything and he just keeps coming. He is better on the ground than Thompson, and probably has better cardio as well. This is almost a pick em fight, with either man able to win. I pick Fujita because he has a better all around game, and has fought much better opponents. Plus his head is filled with bricks.

Aleksander Emelianenko (8-1) vs Josh Barnett (16-3): Another great fight! Both of these guys are strong and can throw bombs. Barnett has a muuuch better ground game and more experience. However, we haven't seen Emelianenko really tested to know if he can survive a war and compete on the ground. This match will be a WAR!
WINNER-Aleksander This is definitely a pick em fight! Both men can win this. Barnett is hungry and wants respect. Aleksander is hungry and wants respect and out of his brothers (Fedor) shadow. Lets go Red Devils! Alek pulls it out by decision. Why, because I want him too.

Hidehiko Yoshida (6-3-1) vs Yosuke Nishijima (0-1): You'd think this would be a slaughter with Japan favorite Yoshida winning easily, oh wait, you're right. Nish put up a good fight in his debut against Kerr, but Yoshida can throw (like against Silva), submit anyone (like against Royce), and survive a war (like against Silva the 2nd time).
WINNER-Yoshida Pride gave Yoshida a gift here because they love him so much. But hey, I want him to continue in the tournament as well to see how he'll do against some of these bangers. Yoshida wins by submission.

Mark Hunt (4-1) vs Tsuyoshi "TK" Kohsaka (19-10-1): TK is another Japanese favorite who has trouble getting it done against top fighters. Mark dominated K-1 and so far, has done better than expected in his transition to full contact fighting. Hunt has KO power, but TK is pretty hard to KO. TK has one shot in this, submit Hunt or get beat up in a decision loss.
WINNER-Mark Hunt Hunt has too much for the 36 year old fighter who has been in too many wars. Could be a decent fight, but one way or the other, Hunt takes this and moves on to the second round.

Well, should be a great PPV of action and some really good fights! Any and everything seems to happen in Pride, especially in these tournaments so stay tuned for results and news on the second half of the brackets.

Oscar, Matt Lindland, Brock Lesnar, & IFL News

• Oscar De La Hoya's fight with Ricardo Mayorga is this weekend! Mayorga's title is on the line and Oscar has hinted that this could be his final fight!
• Matt "the Law" Lindland won his fight against Mike Van Arsdale this past weekend at RAZE's first MMA event. Matt got the victory via a submission and is undoubtedly the #1 185/205lb. free agent today. Rumors are saying Matt has already signed with the UFC to take part in a veterans version of the Ultimate Fighter for next season. If the rumors are true, Lindland would be guaranteed a #1 shot against champ Rich Franklin when he returns to action.
• Brock Lesnar (former WWE superstar, current New Japan Heavyweight Champion, former NCAA champion) was on hand at the latest K-1 event. He surprised all when he stepped in the ring and hinted (now free of his lawsuit with the WWE) he will become a K-1 fighter! Brock Lesnar is most likely already signed, and the rumors have his first bout against none other than Bob Sapp!
• The IFL had their first MMA show this past weekend as well. The IFL announced they had over 3,000 in attendance, but the true numbers are closer to a dismal 1,000. A very bad start for the IFL, but they can bank on their future shows on Fox Sports Net to help them gain popularity. The owners were more than satisfied with their first show, and boasted they would be adding up to 12 total teams when all is said and done. Also, Mark Kerr has already been announced as one of the new coaches for one of the new teams. The IFL has a lot of lofty goals and time will tell if they can be reached.
• Jens Pulver won his bout in the IFL by KO and acknowledged he will now become a color commentator for the league.