UFC fighters will have the opportunity to participate in the PRIDE FC 2007 Lightweight Grand Prix, which is set to begin on May 20, according to a recent interview with Nobuyuki Sakakibara in a Japanese magazine called Kamipro.
Here’s a snip from soon-to-be former President and CEO of Dream Stage Entertainment (DSE):
“In fact, PRIDE Light-Weight Grand Prix on May 20 will be full of top UFC fighters. It will be the best place for deciding who the best lightweight fighter in the world is. This is the first benefit that the ‘union’ brings about.”
Each grand prix comprises 16 fighters who fight in a tournament style until there is only one man left with his arm raised. The first round and quarterfinals are on one day, and then a few months later the remaining winners square off in the semifinals and final.
In 2006, Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic won the heavyweight tournament, defeating Josh Barnett via tapout because of strikes. Earlier that same night, Cro Cop beat Wanderlei Silva via knockout.
Now that PRIDE FC has changed hands, the lightweight grand prix — according to the most recent statements made from UFC President Dana White and the Fertittas — will most likely be at 155 instead of the traditional PRIDE FC 161-pound limit.
On the PRIDE FC side, top fighters such as Hayato Sakurai, Takanori Gomi, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Marcus Aurelio, Gilbert Melendez, Joachim Hansen and Nick Diaz are already being discussed as participants.
For the UFC, it’s doubtful that champion Sean Sherk would throw his hat in the ring. That’s pure speculation, however, based on his injuries and first title defense against Hermes Franca slated for July 7 at UFC 72.
However, one would presume that if this is indeed accurate, all other 155-pounders in the UFC stable are fair game, including, BJ Penn, Joe Stevenson, Melvin Guillard, Roger Huerta, Spencer Fisher, Kenny Florian, Jens Pulver, Tyson Griffin, Frank Edgar, and all the other talented fighters in the loaded division.
(Note: Penn and Pulver are scheduled to fight one another on June 23 at the TUF 5 Finale, which might exclude one or both of them.)
While it’s not quite the “SuperBowl” of MMA that we’ve been promised, integrating UFC fighters into the 2007 PRIDE FC Lightweight Grand Prix would be an awesome idea.
And, a clear sign that even better things are to come.
34 Comments »
Sounds great! Does anyone know if the coverage for the fights will change as far as PPV goes? Are they going to be on the same channel (UFC and PRIDE)?
Wow, this is awesome. Gomi vs Nick II? The saga begins..
Thank god the grand prix will continue. I was missing the tournament style events already. Why are they better than the UFC events?
Because they favor the ones who can take opponents out instead of the pray and lay guys or the ones who play it safe and take fights to decision. The more 3-round fights you have, the more exhausted you’ll be, so thats a nice incentive to go out there and kick some ass, just like Cro Cop did at the heavyweight grandprix.
WAR SAKURAI!
Sakurai vs Gomi II? Vengeance.
oh shit please dont start the WAR!!! shit on this site….Troll, Ban, Wasteland, bla bla bla dear loard leave that shit with sherdog…..so annoying…anyways, i would like to see BJ in it, but with his fight with pulver might count him out, plus he would need to get in better shape if he is gonna have to fight twice in one night…i think the ufc lightweights in all will do good in the Grand Prix, im excited as hell to see it
The great thing about the Grand Prix is the exposure for all fighters. You can have a guy who everyone knows, but hes never been tested. Even if he didnt win a Grand Prix just showing up and winning a match or 2 vs top competition could legitimize a boatload of fighters. When guys fight 4 times within 3 months the amount of face time they have with the fans is priceless. I think the top doggs will want to show off their skills. I used to think PRIDE might have the UFC’s #, but after Nick Diaz go go plata’d the great Gomi I am beginning to think UFC would be more dominant. But that is the great thing, i dont have to “think” or “guess” anymore cuz its gunna go down and we will finally know who is the best of the best in the MMA world. God I love this shit.
[quote comment=”21472″]oh shit please dont start the WAR!!! shit on this site….Troll, Ban, Wasteland, bla bla bla dear loard leave that shit with sherdog…..so annoying…[/quote]
Hehe, don’t take it too seriously - I was just curious who’d recognize it
lets fucking do this.this is what ive been waiting for,now if they just put it on spike instead of ppv it will be the greatest
haha great thanks…i dont even write on sherdog forums, here you can have conversations and legitament aruments with other bloggers, on sherdog they just argue with eachother about pointless stuff, or just throw their two cents in without aknowledging what anyone else is saying…not to mention its annoying that everyone says the same stupid shit like that and can only talk about how much they think they know and how dumb TUF “Newbs” are….
This is just an example of what the merger will do for fans. Should be interesting and a great way for the Japanese to get introduced to North America fighters.
this would be bad ass
^^STFU White Belt troll. I must visit sherdog more often, I haven’t visited there for long time. Good laughs there.
this is fucking awesome, i think the ufc guys named will all do good in this tournament if they decide to go, i think if bj could figure out a way to make it happen then he would win in all for sure, i think griffin and edgar and melvin and daddy and all those guys would for sure be able to at least be competitive, i can’t wait for this shit
damn i forgot about my boy huerta, he could def win that shit, he’s a serious serious dude, this is gonna be fucking awesome…i would also like to see how ken flo would do it a tournament style like this, i think he would be very good fighting twice in one night
Loken and MMADude are UFC nuthuggers, lol. I check Sherdog every once in while, too. Read it too long and your brain will explode, though.
I can’t wait to see who will actually fight…my PPV bill is going to be off the charts…
what the hell does noel know, he’s just a whitebelt…wasteland…haha damn thats retarded…ufc young guys will definately turn some heads for the japanese fans…as far as winning it it, from UFC i would say sherk or penn if they are in it, or Joe Stevenson..the Pride guys would be Sakarui or Melendez, maybe Gomi if he steps up…all in all it will be EXCITING…but im with wildbill, im gonna be one poor sap with all the ppvs
UFC lightweights in the Grand Prix will be incredible. It’s a shame that prior scheduling will likely keep out guys like Sherk, Guillard, Stevenson, Franca, Pulver and Penn. Still, this is a great opportunity for Edgar, Guida, Varner and others to win some fans and gain some traction towards top contender status. Also, a good way for UFC fans to get an introduction to the Pride guys.
id love to see melendez vs guillard
you can effectively count out these guys:
Melvin Guillard (fights next week)
Joe Stevenson (fights next week)
Kenny Florian (fights next week)
Dokonjonosuke Mishima (fights next week)
Roger Huerta (fights next week)
Tyson Griffin (suspended until July)
Sean Sherk (injured, has title fight booked)
Hermes Franca (has title fight with Sherk)
Jens Pulver (fights Penn in June, mid-tournament)
B.J. Penn (fights Pulver in June, mid-tournament)
John Halverson (suspended)
the best guys UFC could send over with these circumstances would be Frank Edgar or Spencer Fisher. Clay Guida is also available, but I would expect 4 UFC guys at the max, if any do show up there at all.
I think the final GP lineup will be something like this:
Tatsuya Kawajiri
Marcus Aurelio
Mitsuhiro Ishida
Takanori Gomi (who will elect to fight at 155)
Gilbert Melendez
Joachim Hansen
Luiz Azeredo
David Baron
Nobuhiro Obiya
Cristiano Marcelo
and perhaps UFC guys in Fisher, Edgar, Guida, and someone else, with 3 bottom feeders probably filling out the rest of the field. if Shinya Aoki decides to drop to 155, that would be outstanding. I didn’t list Diaz because he only has one fight remaining on his PRIDE contract.
BJ shouldn’t participate. Everyone knows what a lazy bum he is and up to 3 fights in a row with his cardio? Never.
[quote comment=”21605″]you can effectively count out these guys:
Melvin Guillard (fights next week)
Joe Stevenson (fights next week)
Kenny Florian (fights next week)
Dokonjonosuke Mishima (fights next week)
Roger Huerta (fights next week)
[/quote]
What are you talking about? These guys can fight in seven weeks if necessary. Before his suspension, Alves was scheduled to fight 3 weeks after his win at UFC 66. If anything, these guys will already be in shape and ready to go. Barring injury, of course, I think it’s very possible for these guys to enter the grand prix. Putting chumps in doesn’t make sense. The UFC has to put solid fighters in, otherwise is doesn’t make much sense for them to send guys over there!
[quote comment=”21618″][quote comment=”21605″]you can effectively count out these guys:
Melvin Guillard (fights next week)
Joe Stevenson (fights next week)
Kenny Florian (fights next week)
Dokonjonosuke Mishima (fights next week)
Roger Huerta (fights next week)
[/quote]
What are you talking about? These guys can fight in seven weeks if necessary. Before his suspension, Alves was scheduled to fight 3 weeks after his win at UFC 66. If anything, these guys will already be in shape and ready to go. Barring injury, of course, I think it’s very possible for these guys to enter the grand prix. Putting chumps in doesn’t make sense. The UFC has to put solid fighters in, otherwise is doesn’t make much sense for them to send guys over there![/quote]
I think the main valid point of sIrmix’s post is the fact that the ufc needs to send strong guys to make a statement…
frankie edgar is def a strong guy, he can hang with anyone, and i wouldn’t count out spencer fisher, he’s no pussy…and i agree with sir mix a lot, i think melvin and daddy both would be able to compete in this tourny, they’ll have almost 2 months to rest and train…
I gotta agree that as long as there are no serious injuries a lot of fighters will see this a chance to get their name out there. Fights scheduled before the Grand Prix probably wont keep them out but I doubt any of the guys that have fights soon after will elect to go.
i forgot about ty griffin being suspended, that sucks, i think he out of all the ufc lws could have used this tourney to prove the most, he lost to edgar and that was a bad ass fight that i don’t think he was expecting, i sure wasn’t, i love griffin he’s one of my favorite guys, i wish he could fight in this
I truly felt sorry for Tyson Griffin that night. It shows how matchmakers can nearly ruin someones career with such lousy match-ups. One or two more matchups like these and he can forget about MMA.
He is a guy with alot of potential, so lets hope with a new check-up the suspension gets lifted before july, so he can compete at the grand prix.
The UFc has to send the top guys over there to make a statement. I hope they put it on spike.
Also now that Zuffa owns Pride are we gonna start seeing only five fights a PPV instead of ten cuz that would suck!!!!!
Sherk will be there. He’s had alot of time off and as long as he isn’t injured in his title fight Dana will sent him. Dana’s gonna send the fucking best he’s got even if they’re shot. Just as long as it means kiking Prides ass. Plus Sherk probrably is pissed about Gomi saying that he would be an easy fight, he’ll be looking to make a statement. One more thing, Gomi will be there. After getting his ass handed to him by Diaz he won’t want to lose a another UFC guy. On a personel note Pride has been “BITCHING” for years that they have the better fighters but nobody knows about them. “Well here’s yours chance to prove it mother fuckers”. By the way Hughes whooped Sakurai,Tito and Vitor kicked Wanderlei’s ass,Diaz punked Gomi, and Penn beatdown Sakurai & Gomi.
Being biased is one thing, you don’t have to make an art out of nuthugging thou. Pride has alot of talented and very entertaining lightweights. If UFC fighters can prove they can win a tournament and not only a single fight every 3rd month: good for them. Speculating leads to nowhere, but this stuff is really not needed:
[quote]
“Well here’s yours chance to prove it mother fuckers”
[/quote]
[quote comment=”22063″]Sherk will be there. He’s had alot of time off and as long as he isn’t injured in his title fight Dana will sent him. Dana’s gonna send the fucking best he’s got even if they’re shot. Just as long as it means kiking Prides ass. Plus Sherk probrably is pissed about Gomi saying that he would be an easy fight, he’ll be looking to make a statement. One more thing, Gomi will be there. After getting his ass handed to him by Diaz he won’t want to lose a another UFC guy.
On a personel note Pride has been “BITCHING” for years that they have the better fighters but nobody knows about them. “Well here’s yours chance to prove it mother fuckers”.
By the way Hughes whooped Sakurai,Tito and Vitor kicked Wanderlei’s ass,Diaz punked Gomi, and Penn beatdown Sakurai & Gomi.[/quote]
uh, dude, Sherk’s title fight is in the middle of the tournament. there’s no way he’s fighting next month, because he’s still hurt. Sean Sherk will NOT be in the PRIDE Grand Prix.
I guess once again I’m the only 1 who wants 2 c a compettitive match like Penn vs. Sherk!!!
In the poll on the this site regarding this event, it seems many here havent used their head.
You must fight twice in the same night on two occasions to win. Penn never has and never will have the stamina to fight that much. Sherk’s game is not meant for 2 15 min matches in the same night. He also will not last. You’ve got to look at guys that can end fights with brutal KO power quickly, like a Hansen or Gomi. Or you have to be able to submit with the skill of Royce Gracie, a la a Hermes Franca ( my vote ) or a Florian ( should have been on the list ) or Nick Diaz ( my pick to win it all if MaHa ( Mach to you ) doesnt participate).
Unfortunately, the Pride lightweight class was 161 because that is the natural weight physionomically of a man 5′8″. With Pride having to adopt the bullshit UFC weight classes that are based on boxing, many great Pride LWs wont fight. The Japanese dont really cut weight much. They consider it disrespectful.
im just glad that its taking place in japan, im tired of having Pride in the US! dont get me wrong, its cool that theyre traveling around the world and trying to get Pride known world wide, but the rules in the US are not as great as the rules in Japan!
and also, since theyre having UFC fighters fighting under Pride rules, they should also have the Pride fighters fight in the UFC under UFC rules; NO EXCUSES FOR THE LOSERS!!!