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
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