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PRIDE Grand Prix 2003 Predictions
Copyright 2003 DSE/Pride
This Sunday is the big night (August 10, 2003). The Pride Grand Prix Total Elimination Tournament IS ON! Finally, a MMA tournament where the quality of the competitors is as close to or equal as they can be. To put it simply, these are the Best of the Best in their weight division. Here are Steve’s and my predictions for the tournament and the heavyweight bouts
First
off, the big guys: Micro “Cro Crop” Filipovic vs. Igor Vochanchyn. Filipovic will bang with anyone and this time its Vovchanchyn. I know that Vovchanchyn is a great puncher but I think that “Cro Crop” has a little bit better stand-up skill and will be able to put the combos together to beat Vovchanchyn by strikes. Steve thinks that “Cro Crop” is in for a big surprise. The Russian pit bull (Steve’s nickname for Vovchanchyn) is out to prove he belongs in Pride. If they start to go toe to toe, look for Vovchanchyn to take it to the ground. Steve thinks Vovchanchyn will be able to either submit “Cro Crop” with a leg or ankle or get a TKO from strikes on the ground.
Heavyweight Bout Fedor Emelianenko vs. “Big Daddy” Gary Goodridge. Emelianenko is a smart fighter and is probably not going to want to trade blows with “Big Daddy.” Emelianenko will more than likely take “Big Daddy” down and then strike from there to soften him up to apply a submission. Both of us will go out on a limb, kind of - Emelianenko by submission (not by ref stoppage or KO).
Heavyweight Bout Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Ricco Rodriguez. Can Rodriguez pull of an upset like he did when he fought Randy Couture? Rodriguez is one of those fighter who doesn’t get the respect that he deserves but I do believe that he is a little outclassed in this match. But even so, he is still a very dangerous fighter and if Nogueria doesn’t watch himself, he will get caught with punches from the mount. And then again, lightning might strike and Rodriguez might win by submission. Nogueira will have to survive Rodriguez's onslaught throughout the first round and then apply a submission. Shouldn’t be a problem for Nogueira as that’s what he did with the mammoth Bob Sapp. Both of us think Nogueria by Submission.
And now, the tournament: First, rumors (which have been confirmed through other sources but as of yet, not by Pride) have it that Ricardo Arona is out due to a foot injury and his replacement will be Murilo Bustamante.
Middleweight Bout Quenton Jackson vs. Murilo Bustamante. Perhaps it can be said the Bustamante is a more well rounded fighter than Arona but it doesn’t matter to Quenton Jackson. He is ready for anyone. I met up with him last Saturday at the Tito Ortiz 2nd Invitational Tournament and he looked lean and mean ready for the world. He is the Pride # 1 middleweight contender. Jackson will not want to go to the ground and I have a feeling that since Kevin Randleman couldn’t take him down, neither will Bustamante. And Bustamante has some skills on top, so we could see a slugfest in the opening round. If Bustamante can get in close to Jackson, look for Jackson to try to use his patented SLAM to drive the point home that he is the man to beat. Jackson probably knows enough to get back to his feet if he is taken down but the one thing he has the Bustamante has to look out for is POWER. If Bustamante can’t take him to the ground, look for a TKO. So I guess you figured out that my choice is Quenton Jackson by ref stoppage from blows. Steve believes the Jackson will win but that Bustamante will tie him up on the ground. He predicts Jackson by unanimous decision.
Middleweight Bout Chuck Liddell vs. Alistair Overeem. Liddell would probably be the favorite in a UFC middleweight tournament but here, he will have to show what he is made of since he is entering this tournament coming off a loss in his last fight to Randy Couture at the UFC. He has some impressive wins over some top talent but in his last fight, he looked very beatable. Alistair Overeem is a strong stand-up fighter and has submissions. Liddell will not want to fight standing-up with the kick-boxing Alistair. So this fight will go to the ground. I think Liddell has enough to pull out a win. Steve thinks Alistair will pull off the upset with a TKO from strikes.
Middleweight Bout We both don’t know much about Kiyoshi Tamura or Hidehiko Yoshida. From what we know, Tamura has some decision wins over well-known fighters such as Renzo Gracie, Jeremy Horn, and Pat Miletich. He has also lost to the likes of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Vanderlai Silva, and Bob Sapp by submission or knock-out. Yoshida has a submission victory over Don Frye - not an easy thing to do. This fight will go to the ground. Tamura will try to defend all the submissions that Yoshida will attempt but one of those will sink in and it will be TAP TIME for Tamura. Both agree, Yoshida by submission.
Middleweight Bout Vanderlei Silva vs. Kazushi Sakuraba. What can I say, Silva will be there to destroy and dominate anyone they put in front of him. And for the third time, Sakuraba is going to try to keep up with the speed and punching power of the Pride middleweight champion. I don’t think he is going to be able to keep up with Vanderlei, so once again, Vanderlei will win by Ref stoppage due to punches. Steve, on the other hand, disagrees. He makes the argument that Sakuraba shouldn’t have fought Silva the first time. It is well known that Sakuraba was very ill and should have been in the hospital instead of the ring. But his heart would not allow himself to let down his fans. We both agree that fight shouldn’t have taken place. In the second fight, Sakuraba injured his collarbone and could not continue. Steve suggests a healthy Sakuraba with the experience from the past two fights equals a different fighter. Saku will definitely not try to slug it out with Silva but rather work to get him on the ground. Steve believes Silva does have chink in his armor and Saku will find it on the ground. Watch for Saku to work the mid-body. Steve picks Sakuraba by decision.
That's our take, Al
(8/7/03) |
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