HOLY CRAP! if this is true then we might be back to the glory days of the ultra talent stacked PRIDE tournaments. HOORAY! (I have been flat out at work lately so sorry if this has been commented on before).
This is the alleged card for the first event. I have also heard rumors that k1/dream are trying to sign Gomi.
"Lightweight Grand Prix (16-man tournament):
-Shinya Aoki (#3 Lightweight in the World)* vs. Gesias “JZ” Calvancante (#4 Lightweight in the World)*
Other Participants in Lightweight Grand Prix:
-Tatsuya Kawajiri (#2 Lightweight in the World)*
-Mitsuhiro Ishida (#5 Lightweight in the World)*
-Gilbert Melendez (#6 Lightweight in the World)*
-Joachim Hansen (#10 Lightweight in the World)*
-Andre “Dida” Amade
-Koutetsu Boku
-Artur Oumakhanov
-Caol Uno
-Luiz “Buscape” Firmino
-Jung Bu-Kyung
-Kazuyuki Miyata"
Also, given the announcement that DREAM will have a full complement of weight classes, do you guys think we will see the PRIDE guys currently fighting in the UFC head back to Japan?
[quote]gotaknife wrote:
Also, given the announcement that DREAM will have a full complement of weight classes, do you guys think we will see the PRIDE guys currently fighting in the UFC head back to Japan?[/quote]
I really doubt that the big names will go back. This is definitely good news, but as you’ve seen with most PRIDE-acquired fighters in the US (as opposed to fighters that joined before the collapse, such as Silva and Rampage), they have something to prove now I think.
[quote]Steel Nation wrote:
Maybe DREAM can put together the Couture/Fedor dream fight that everyone’s been fantasizing about. I know that would make Randy a very happy man.[/quote]
Meh.
I’d rather see Randy man up and fight Big Nog instead of sitting on his butt waiting for a Fedor fight that might not ever happen.
It’s not like Randy has any right to claim he it too good to face Nog. Beating up on Timmah & Gonzaga after getting KTFO twice by Chuck does not shoot him past Nog in the HW rankings IMO. As far as I am concerned, Randy ranks fourth behind Fedor, Nog, & Barnett.
In a perfect world, Randy would swallow his pride and take the fight versus Big Nog while Fedor fights Barnett in M-1/Dreams. I’d like to see that MUCH more than the Randy-Fedor matchup.
How come some people are calling Randy a pussy for “avoiding” Nogueira, when he resigned from the UFC well before Nogueira became champ (and when Nogueira had only so far had one lackluster showing against Herring in the UFC)?
MUCH more importantly, how can anyone call him a pussy for PROACTIVELY CHASING A FIGHT WITH THE HANDS-DOWN BADDEST MOTHERFUCKER ON THE FREAKIN’ PLANET??!!
Yeah, I really wish Randy had some friggin’ cajones. Sheesh.
[quote]Steve4192 wrote:
Steel Nation wrote:
Maybe DREAM can put together the Couture/Fedor dream fight that everyone’s been fantasizing about. I know that would make Randy a very happy man.
Meh.
I’d rather see Randy man up and fight Big Nog instead of sitting on his butt waiting for a Fedor fight that might not ever happen.
It’s not like Randy has any right to claim he it too good to face Nog. Beating up on Timmah & Gonzaga after getting KTFO twice by Chuck does not shoot him past Nog in the HW rankings IMO. As far as I am concerned, Randy ranks fourth behind Fedor, Nog, & Barnett.
In a perfect world, Randy would swallow his pride and take the fight versus Big Nog while Fedor fights Barnett in M-1/Dreams. I’d like to see that MUCH more than the Randy-Fedor matchup.[/quote]
[quote]Damici wrote:
How come some people are calling Randy a pussy for “avoiding” Nogueira, when he resigned from the UFC well before Nogueira became champ (and when Nogueira had only so far had one lackluster showing against Herring in the UFC)?
MUCH more importantly, how can anyone call him a pussy for PROACTIVELY CHASING A FIGHT WITH THE HANDS-DOWN BADDEST MOTHERFUCKER ON THE FREAKIN’ PLANET??!!
Yeah, I really wish Randy had some friggin’ cajones. Sheesh.
[/quote]
Don’t get me wrong.
I don’t think he is ducking Nog, nor do I think that he lacks cajones. However, his tunnel vision on Fedor has denied the fans what would be a great matchup between two all time greats.
I just don’t get the Fedor or bust attitude. There are a ton of great fights left for him that don’t involve Fedor. He’s never faced Nog, Arlovski, or Werdum. Hell, I wouldn’t mind seeing him tool Kongo’s one-dimensional ass just for kicks.
Anything is better than him stubbornly sitting at home dreaming about a fight that might never happen.
He’s 44 years old. Do you have any idea what it takes to physically PREPARE yourself for a championship fight? Let alone actually go fight on of the best heavyweights in the world?
It’s not like he CAN keep doing this very much longer even if he wants to. He wants one more fight and it’s with the man who’s considered the best in the world.
I think DesertEaglle hit the nail on the head. If he were 28, or 34, I might agree with you, and truthfully he would probably then want to take on all of those interesting guys.
But Randy is 44, and will probably be 45 by the time he fights Fedor. I think he realistically realizes that this is it, so he might as well chase the one crown jewel of a fight rather than risking injury, fatigue, wear and tear, etc. in the meantime, which could set him back a year or two, which might just put him out of the game completely considering how old he’ll be then.
[quote]Steve4192 wrote:
Damici wrote:
How come some people are calling Randy a pussy for “avoiding” Nogueira, when he resigned from the UFC well before Nogueira became champ (and when Nogueira had only so far had one lackluster showing against Herring in the UFC)?
MUCH more importantly, how can anyone call him a pussy for PROACTIVELY CHASING A FIGHT WITH THE HANDS-DOWN BADDEST MOTHERFUCKER ON THE FREAKIN’ PLANET??!!
Yeah, I really wish Randy had some friggin’ cajones. Sheesh.
Don’t get me wrong.
I don’t think he is ducking Nog, nor do I think that he lacks cajones. However, his tunnel vision on Fedor has denied the fans what would be a great matchup between two all time greats.
I just don’t get the Fedor or bust attitude. There are a ton of great fights left for him that don’t involve Fedor. He’s never faced Nog, Arlovski, or Werdum. Hell, I wouldn’t mind seeing him tool Kongo’s one-dimensional ass just for kicks.
Anything is better than him stubbornly sitting at home dreaming about a fight that might never happen.[/quote]
[quote]Deserteaglle wrote:
“tunnel vision on Fedor”
He’s 44 years old. Do you have any idea what it takes to physically PREPARE yourself for a championship fight? Let alone actually go fight on of the best heavyweights in the world?
It’s not like he CAN keep doing this very much longer even if he wants to. He wants one more fight and it’s with the man who’s considered the best in the world.
Not a damn thing wrong with that.[/quote]
Exactly. He wants to retire, but he doesn’t want to do it knowing that he never faced the best fighter in the world, which clearly isn’t Nogueira.
He’s also not saying that he’s the best or second best in the world, he just wants a shot at the king. At 44 he doesn’t have time to climb his way up there either.