Fedor vs. Fujita at Pride 26

[Jason]

Maybe they should make this a handicapped match and let Fujita pick a partner. This one's gonna be over quick.

[Luds]

Not that it mathers, but I har it's non title as well...

[Muiyan]

Holy smokes. I mean, HOLY SMOKES!!!!!!

[Dr Feelgood]

Don't know whether it'll be over quick, Fujita's chin might make it long and painful for him

[Technosphile]

You're all pretty quick to count Fujita out. Filipovic beat the tar out of him for three rounds at Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2002 and he didn't quit. I'll bet a dollar that Mirko's strikes hurt worse than Fedor's.

Fedor will win, but I doubt Fujita will tap or get KO'd.

-Technosphile

[edgehead1984]

I agree with you Techosphile, Fedor will win, but by decision.

[Jason]

No doubt that Mirko's kicks hurt A LOT but Fedor's punching power on the mat is going to be too much for Fujita to handle. Fedor's just too strong.

[Dr Feelgood]

I agree with Jason.
Fyodor probably lays even more of a hurting than Cro Cop's kicks.
Plus he will be fighting a different fight than Mirko did against Fujita: he won't nearly need to fear the takedown and Fujita lay and pray as much, seeing how Fyodor has the weight advantage, and Mirko didn't. Much less need to be defensive.

Fyodor can take Fujita standing, he can GnP him to oblivion or he can sub him (sambo master vs pro wrestler ).
Much as I'd love to see Fujita get clocked for the 10 count, I see a TKO/ref stoppage victory for the champ.

[Technosphile]

Have either of you even seen the Filipovic/Fujita fight from December?

Quote from Jason:
"No doubt that Mirko's kicks hurt A LOT but Fedor's punching power on the mat is going to be too much for Fujita to handle"

The kicks were not the issue in the 12/02 fight. Mirko's gorgeous sprawl allowed him to hold Fujita down and knee him in the head about thirty times. You can put a lot more power behind and do more damage with a knee from this position than you can from punches generally anywhere on the ground. Fujita's fighting spirit and rock-solid dome are what kept him alive in this fight, and the same thing will happen against Fedor. Fedor will probably win because he's on fire right now and Fujita is slowing down, but I get so tired of people writing Kazuyuki Fujita off. This guy has proven time and time again how tough he is and what he's capable of. If he pulls off the miracle of miracles and wins this I wouldn't be shocked, they used to say that Mark Kerr and Gilbert Yvel were unbeatable, too.

Quote from Dr. Feelgood:
"Fedor can...sub him (sambo master vs. pro wrestler )"

*Ahem*...Dan Severn vs. Oleg Taktarov...

Fujita is a very talented wrestler. He passes the guard easily, he's wide and hard to control, and he fights with his heart every time he steps into the ring. Fedor is a strong striker with nice submission skills, and he also gives 110% when he goes out there. I forsee a great fight out of both of these men. I just don't believe a win will come easily for Fedor.

-Technosphile

[Jason]

Time will tell.

Admittedly, I haven't seen the Mirko vs. Fujita match. I did, however, see the Fedor vs. Nogueira match and after seeing that I'm convinced that Fedor is too strong and the only person that's going to beat him is a great striker.

[Dr Feelgood]

Only read reviews of the match, one Inoki Bom Ba Ye was enough for me

Extrapolating from previous matches is only of limited interest, and you certainly can't deduce from the Cro Cop match that Fyodor can't clock Fujita. Fyodor's GnP isn't only powerful, it's also very precise: he got deadly shots into the active guards of Minotauro and Heath Herring (where the likes of Sapp and Kerr got smothered). Fujita might find it harder avoiding these shots than guarding against knees.
If you want to extrapolate in the other direction, take Shamrock vs Fujita, add power to the punchs and draw your own conclusions, not that that proves anything either.

I admire Fujita's fighting spirit and heart, but besides that...
He has pretty good takedown, but most often doesn't seem to know what to do from there. Good at passing the guard? I've hardly seen anyone do less with position than Fujita against Kerr (he held Kerr's back for minutes and barely landed a few shots), though admittedly that was a VERY bizarre match, for whatever reasons.

*Ahem*...Dan Severn vs. Oleg Taktarov...

Fujita doesn't exactly have Severn's freestyle wrestling abilities, and Severn doesn't have Fujita's pro-wrestling credentials.
Anyway, Fujita will not only have to contend with Fyodor's fists but also beware of submissions, that's all I meant and I can't see where the problem lies with that statement.

Not so sure whether a great striker would be the answer to the russian. Not as long as Fyodor could take him down IMO.
Maybe a big wrestler like Coleman would pose him difficulties...