Additional Matches Announced For
PRIDE Fighting's
Critical Countdown 2005
June 26,
2005
Saitama Super Arena
Saitama, Japan
TOKYO, Japan -
Two non-tournament bouts have been
announced for PRIDE FIGHTING’S next event, CRITICAL
COUNTDOWN 2005. In the first,
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira of the Brazilian Top Team will take on
Poland’s 1996 Judo Olympic
gold-medalist, Pawel Nastula. In the second bout, Russia’s Sergei
Kharitonov takes on veteran
heavyweight, Pedro “The Rock” Rizzo of Brazil.
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (Brazil)
vs. Pawel Nastula (Poland)
PRIDE’s former heavyweight
champion, Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira is a fighter who needs no
introduction. A finalist in the
2004 heavyweight Grand Prix, “Minotauro” is the total package, coupling
outstanding Jiu Jitsu skills with
a solid boxing background. Nogueira has been in legendary matches with the
likes of Bob Sapp, Fedor
Emelianenko, Heath Herring, and Mirko “Cro Cop”
Filipovic. His opponent
will be the legendary Judoka,
Pawel Nastula. The 1995 and 1997 Judo World Champion and 1996 gold
medalist at the Olympic games in
Atlanta, Nastula brings his legendary Judo skills to the PRIDE ring to
compete against the world’s elite
mixed martial artists.
In the second bout, Russia’s
Sergei Kharitonov will take on UFC veteran, Pedro “The Rock” Rizzo.
Kharitonov is one of PRIDE’s
toughest heavyweights, boasting wins over Choi Mu Bae, Semmy Schilt,
and
Murilo “Ninja”
Rua. Kharitonov reached the semi-finals of the 2004 heavyweight grand
Prix. Pedro “The
Rock” Rizzo will be making his
PRIDE debut, but he is no stranger to mixed martial arts. This Brazilian
striker trains under Marco Ruas
and has career wins over Ricco Rodriguez, Tra Telligman,
Andrei
Arlovski, and Mark
Coleman. Kharitonov versus Rizzo … which of these heavy-hitting strikers
will be left
standing?
In addition to these matches,
there is the second round of the Grand Prix tournament. Defending tournament
champion, Wanderlei Silva,
reached the second round of the tournament after a hard-fought split decision
victory over Hidehiko Yoshida.
Yoshida’s protégé, Kazuhiro Nakamura, considered an underdog by many
in the first round, advanced by
defeating American Kevin Randleman by unanimous decision. Japanese
fighter, Kazushi Sakuraba,
advanced via a thirty-eight second first round KO of Korean judoka Yoon
Dong
Sik. Ricardo Arona
advanced after winning a unanimous decision over Dean Lister. Chute
Boxe’s rising
star, Mauricio “Shogun”
Rua, reached the second round by knocking out 2003 tournament finalist,
Quinton “Rampage”
Jackson, in the first round. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira of the
Brazilian Top Team
advanced by submitting Team
Quest’s Dan Henderson via armbar. Igor Vovchanchyn advanced by
winning a unanimous decision over
Japanese Yuki Kondo. Golden Glory fighter Alistair Overeem
advanced
by submitting UFC tournament
representative Vitor Belfort via guillotine.
PRIDE FIGHTING’S 2005 Middleweight
Grand Prix Tournament spans three events … TOTAL ELIMINATION
(opening round), CRITICAL
COUNTDOWN (Second Round) and FINAL CONFLICT (Semi-Finals and Finals).
The date for FINAL CONFLICT will
be announced soon.
Tournament Matches:
Wanderlei Silva (Brazil)
vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura (Japan)
Kazushi Sakuraba (Japan)
vs. Ricardo Arona (Brazil)
Mauricio “Shogun”
Rua (Brazil) vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (Brazil)
Igor Vovchanchyn (Ukraine)
vs. Alistair Overeem (Holland)
Additional Matches
(Non-Tournament):
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
(Brazil) vs. Pawel Nastula (Poland)
Sergei Kharitonov (Russia)
vs. Pedro Rizzo (Brazil)
Additional match ups to be
announced soon.
(Participants and Matches Subject
to Change)
CRITICAL COUNTDOWN 2005 premieres
on North American pay per view via iNDEMAND, DIRECTV, DISH
NETWORK, UrbanXtra, TVN1, VU!, and
Viewer’s Choice Canada on July 1st at 10:00pm EST, 7:00pm PST
(including a countdown show at
9:30pm EST, 6:30pm PST). For additional replay times, please contact your
pay per view provider or
pridefc.com.
For more information on PRIDE FC,
visit pridefc.com!
- From Dream Stage
Entertainment with a little editing from us (color, highlights, etc...)
(5/25/05)
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