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Mari’s Minute Pride FC “The Second Coming” Weigh-ins \ Photo Gallery
February 24, 2007 Thomas and Mack Center Las Vegas, Nevada
Are you ready for Pride 33: The Second Coming?
Las Vegas (Nevada) is and so are the fans - Hundreds turned out to show their support during PRIDE FC’s weigh-ins and press conference held at the legendary Caesar's Palace Hotel & Casino late Friday afternoon (February 23, 2007).
Fans held up signs saying “Welcome back Pride” while a few got to ask questions at the end of the press conference but most simply applauded and screamed when their favorite fighters came out. And there was no shortage of fighters as 18 fighters were introduced that will do battle on the scheduled nine bout fight card at the Thomas & Mack Center on Saturday night.
If Friday was any indication of what Saturday will bring, then it will be easy to see why Pride FC is the best Mixed Martial Arts organization in the world - bringing the best fighters from the four corners of the Earth to do battle in the squared circle.
The weigh-ins went smooth (mostly)…And it was great to see many familiar faces in attendance such as; Eric “Butterbean” Esch, Chute Boxe coach Roberto Piccinini, Murilo “Ninja” Rua, Jorge Oliveira, Ensen Inoue, Mike “Joker” Guymon, Wes Sims and Mark Coleman just to name of few. Here is how it all went down:
First to take the scales were Joachim Hansen and Jason Ireland - both came in at 161 lbs.. Ireland thanked Pride for the opportunity to fight in the organization. Hansen looked ready for tomorrow.
Then came Kazuo Misaki and Frank Trigg. Misaki weighed 181 lbs. and Trigg came in at 183 lbs.. You could feel the tension as they faced each other. For a moment there, I thought they were going to get an early start and throw down as Trigg looked like he wanted to eat him alive. It was a gripping moment as they got in each others face - They had to be held and separated - Neither one looking away - both standing their ground. Like I said, it was a tense moment and I can’t wait to see what tomorrow is going to bring for these two.
Next up was James Lee who came in at 210 1/2lbs (and also was a replacement for Kazuhiro Nakamura) - He'll be going up against Travis Wiuff who came in at 205 lbs. Lee said “I’m going to put it on the line. "
Then came Antonio Rogerio Nogueira who weighed in at 205 lbs - He'll be facing Sokoudjou who also weighed in at 205lbs - And this will be Sokoudjou's fourth professional MMA fight. We’ve seen Sokoudjou participate in a few Muay Thai events plus they announced he practiced Judo so he’ll be bringing more than just a three fight MMA background to the ring. Nogueira addressed the fans and stated “I love America because my family lives here. I am going to do my best Saturday night.”
Hayato "Mach" Samurai came in at 163 lbs and said “ I am not here to talk, I am here to fight” – While his opponent Mac Danzig weighed 160 lbs. and had some words of his own - “ I’m going to kick some ass tomorrow.”
Sergey Kharitonov then took the stand and weighed in at 242 lbs. Kharitonov, through his interpreter, indicated that tomorrow was his first fight in America and will be his best fight. Kharitonov is going against Mike Russo (who's in law enforcement) who weighed in at 255 lbs.
Then came Mauricio “Shogun” Rua weighing in at 205 lbs – Rua will battle Alistair Overeem who weighed in at 205 lbs as well. Both men looked determined - Rua addressed the fans in his native language of Portuguese and the fans got loud cheering for him. Alistair appeared ready for this fight.
Takanori Gomi weighed in at 161 lbs while his opponent Nick Diaz also came in at 161lbs. Diaz was pressing against Gomi, being aggressive, as they faced off. Gomi had to lean back to get some space.
Then came the final face off between Wanderlei Silva (205 lbs) and Dan Henderson (an even 200 lbs). Henderson came up in weight for this fight. Silva said he is going to look for the knock out and Henderson responded by saying, “He can always try. You can expect a war tomorrow night.”
As expected, all fighters met their weight requirements with flying colors and the fans enjoyed seeing their favorite fighters – plus it was nice to see fighters interacting with their fans - taking pictures and giving autographs. Good luck to all the fighters on Saturday as it will be a show you will not want to miss.
Until next time, Mari
(2/24/07) |
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