Rogerio vs. Nakamura: This is hard to call, being Nakamura's first fight (ever?). Training with Hidehiko Yoshida isn't exactly a solid credential, so based simply on who he is fighting and what his background is I'll say Nakamura is screwed. WINNER: Noguiera by SUB
Stiebling vs. Shoji: I regret to say I have not seen Steibling fight and know nothing about him other than his record. However, I HAVE seen Shoji fight recently and his best days are way behind him. WINNER: Steibling by ???
Yamamoto vs. Otsuka: My prediction here is that this fight will be cut from the U.S. broadcast. I guess I'll give it to Yamamoto because Alex is just terrible. WINNER: Yamamoto by ???
Newton vs. Silva: I have not seen Anderson Silva fight yet but I've heard many good things. I really can't make an educated call on this fight, but Carlos is a force to be reckoned with and hopefully this fight will contribute many highlights. WINNER: Newton by DEC
Henderson vs. Oyama: Hoo-boy, can you imagine what Shungo's face will look like when this ones over? Henderson is truly a great fighter and a match like this is just intensified training for him. WINNER: Henderson by TKO
Schembri vs. Sakuraba: PaCrappa and I reviewed the Schembri/Oliveira fight and agreed that this guy, while showing promise, is nowhere near Sakuraba's level. More than anything, I'm happy that PRIDE put Sak up against another grappler instead of some murderous striker like Silva or Filipovic. No more of those, please. WINNER: Sakuraba by SUB
Jackson vs. Randleman: The winner of this match gets Vanderlei Silva next, so this is a fight of colossal importance. Jackson is tough and I expect a great fight out of him, but Randleman is on a tear and will not be denied. I hope he wins just so someone can rearrange Vanderlei's ugly face. WINNER: Randleman by TKO
Rodrigo vs. Fedor: I really haven't seen anything out of Fedor that indicates he is anything more than a minimal threat to Minotauro's reign. WINNER: Noguiera by SUB
I know little to nothing about most of the fighters in the first three fights so we'll move right along to things that I like to think I have a clue about.
Carlos Newton vs. Anderson Silva
I'm a fan of Newton so I hope he'll win. I haven't seen Anderson fight so I'll just say I expect this to be a tough match for both and I anxiously await the action.
Dan Henderson vs. Shungo Oyama
Again, I'm a Henderson fan and I know nothing of Oyama. I think this'll be all Henderson though. Knockout? Submission? Who knows, probably not decision I'd imagine.
Nino "Elvis" Schembri vs. Kazushi Sakuraba
I've only seen one of Elvis's fights and he'd certainly never have been threat to Sakuraba when he was at his peak. I think this will be a great fight though because Schembri is young and has lots of energy and will force Sakuraba to at least work for it. I do believe it'll be Kazushi Sakuraba by submission.
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs. Kevin Randleman
I haven't seen Rampage fight much but I have a feeling that Randleman is going to be rampaging on the Rampage. Randleman is just going wild and I get the feeling he wants it more. Randleman by knockout. He's just so mean and nasty....
Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Noguiera vs. Emelianko Fedor
Noguiera's fought tougher opponents than Fedor. I can't take away from Fedor one little bit in saying that, but Noguiera arm barred Sapp for crimini's sake I fully expect Noguiera by submission. He's the champ!
Pa
"I was the leader amongst the nuts... I was head cashew...." ~Randy Savage
1.)Lil' Nog vs. Nakamura
I predict a Lil' Nog win. Nakamura may have Yoshida behind him, but Lil' Nog has BIG Nog behind him, and he's the champ!
2.)Steibling vs. Shoji
Never seen either of them fight, so... Steibling! Just cuz he's the "Brazilian Killer" (he must've done SOMETHING to earn that name) and Shoji was very disappointing in his last PRIDE appearance.
3.)Kenichi Yamamoto vs. Otsuka
Hey, as long as it's KENICHI and not the other out-of-shape Norihisa, then this Yamamoto is a winner! Afterall, Kenichi held his own quite impressively against Randleman last time. Otsuka is exciting, but in that "we know he'll lose anyway, but he keeps fighting" sorta way.
4.)Carlos Newton vs. Anderson Silva
Anderson wins. Hey, Newton is cool and all, but Anderson is THAT MUCH MORE. I can't believe you guys ain't seen him. He's in 2 of the last several PRIDEs.
5.)Henderson vs. Oyama
Oyama is a joke. Plus he's cocky as hell. Plus he's facing HENDERSON here. HENDERSON the great escape magician who held his own against the big champ. Go away, Oyama.
6.)Schembri vs. Sakuraba
Saku all the way. Why? Because i've never seen Schembri fight before. So he's good on the ground, that'll be very interesting. However, Saku is like the most well-rounded guy ever or something. He'll just take him standing up.
7.)Rampage vs. Randleman
I predict Rampage, because he broke Igor's ribs. Randleman is swell too, but i always find him kinda boring. Oh, did i mention the BIG CHAIN that Rampage wears? That's the sign of a winner, i tell ya.
8.)Big Nog vs. Fedor
FEDOR WINS!!! Why? Cuz you need to look at Heath Herring's face, that's why! Big Nog beats Sapp, that's impressive. He beat a monster with the power of a military tank and NO ground skills. Take Fedor, the power of a jackhammer and great round skills. Fedor is actually a bigger threat than Sapp.
Steibling vs. Shoji (poor Shoji...he is def. washed up now) Steibling by Decision
Yamamoto vs. Otsuka Otsuka...jus because I likem. heh.
Newton vs. Silva Newton by Decision (Personally I really like Newton's ability, but I think his DBZ stuff needs to stop...really sad.)
Henderson vs. Oyama Henderson by KO (This is gonna be a sad match-up...ha Henderson will knock Oyama out his jock- strap.)
Schembri vs. Sakuraba Sakuraba by sub (I agree with technosphile, thank *** they didn't put him up against another murderous striker...its not cool at all...he can finally show everyone why he is one of the best grapplers to date.)
Jackson vs. Randleman Randleman by TKO (This will be a good fight as Randleman shows why he deserves to be the next to fight Silva. However, Silva is going rip his heart out at their next match...he is the KILLA!
Here's my 2 euro-cents worth... Antonio Rogerio "Minotoro" Nogueira vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura
Will Minotoro sub him, beat him standing up or beat him standing and then sub him? I favour the latter. Nogueira by sub
Alex Steibling vs. Akira Shoji
The little guy will hold on... just. And that's enough to entertain the crowd. Steibling by decision
Kenichi Yamamoto vs. Alexander Otsuka
Go Alek Otsuka by decision
Carlos Newton vs. Anderson Silva
A great matchup and a tough one to call. The Chute Boxe guys are always more dangerous when they are on a mission to avenge one of their own. Anderson Silva by ref stoppage in the late 2nd or 3rd round
Dan Henderson vs. Shungo Oyama
Easiest call of the night. Hendo by TKO
Nino "Elvis" Schembri vs. Kazushi Sakuraba
I won't go as far as saying Nino by sub but... Sakuraba by decision
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs. Kevin Randleman
Another real tough one. Normally, I'd say Randleman by TKO or decision, but there are a lot of imponderables here. Will Randleman be able to cut weight and still deal with the power of Rampage? Will he be able to last the distance?
I still see Randleman but I wouldn't be surprised to see Rampage take it late by TKO. Randleman by decision
Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Noguiera vs. Fyodor Emelianko
I tend to think Fyodor will give the Minotauro his biggest test to date (for me, Fyodor is one of a number of well rounded top heavyweights who would take Sapp out). Still not the slightest trace of a sign of a chink in Nog's armour, though. He'll control the fight. Nogueira by decision
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Pride 25, 3/16/03...pick 'em!!!
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I fully expect Noguiera by submission. He's the champ!
but...
