Pride Shockwave 2006 fight card so far

[Shogun Locc]

Dream Stage Entertainment revealed two compelling lightweight fights on Tuesday for its New Year's Eve "Shockwave" bill. Along with confirmation of a heavily-rumored Tatsuya Kawajiri vs Gilbert Melendez fight, PRIDE announced that Shinya Aoki would take on Joachim Hansen.

Kawajiri (19-3-2) is unbeaten in four fights this year, while Melendez (11-0-0) returns to PRIDE after taking it to Nobuhiro Obiya in August.

Aoki has enjoyed a breakout 2006, winning each of his four bouts. After fighting five times in 2005, Hansen (14-4-0) has split a pair of contests this year, including the disappointing disqualification loss to Kawajiri in Shooto.

Updated Card
Fedor Emelianenko vs. Mark Hunt
Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Gilbert Melendez
Shinya Aoki vs. Joachim Hansen

 

[WXS STOMP3R]

MELENDEZ IS A BADASS. I HOPE HE DOES GOOD BOY GOT SKILLS.

 

[Snubnoze]

If melendez wins that should put him in place for a title shot with Gomi. If not, a fight with Hansen (assuming he wins) to determine who fights Gomi. Hansen is also a fuckin badass...

 

[Shogun Locc]

If melendez wins that should put him in place for a title shot with Gomi. If not, a fight with Hansen (assuming he wins) to determine who fights Gomi. Hansen is also a fuckin badass...

I think mitsuhiro ishida deserves a title shot more then melendez......melendez has had only one fight in pride and ishida has four back to back victories. Glibert needs to get some more fights in pride to be in title contention.

 

[Nuttkase]

If melendez wins that should put him in place for a title shot with Gomi. If not, a fight with Hansen (assuming he wins) to determine who fights Gomi. Hansen is also a fuckin badass...

Gomi is a savage. By far my favorite Lightweight in MMA for a while now.

I agree with Shogun that Ishida deserves a title shot more than Melendez does.

So what does everyone think is going to happen in Emelianenko vs. Hunt? I got my money on Fedor...I just don't know how it's going to happen yet lol.

 

[Shogun Locc]

All I know is fedor Emelianenko vs Mark hunt is going to be a very exciting war.

 

[BigE916WRM]

I have Fedor against any human, that being said, this is the fight that I have said over the last year that would be tough for him and we could see a flash KO win. Still got the house on Fedor.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Two more fights have been added to Pride Shockwave 2006. Light Heavyweight fighter Mauricio “Shogun” Rua will face Japanese Judoka Kazuhiro Nakamura. Both fighters are coming off of wins at Pride 32: The Real Deal. Originally scheduled to face Marvin Eastman, Nakamura stopped late replacement Travis Galbraith with strikes. “Shogun” Rua rebounded from an injury loss to Mark Coleman with a kneebar submission victory over Coleman’s teammate Kevin Randleman.

Also announced, current Pride Lightweight Champion Takanori Gomi will face current Shooto Pacific Rim Welterweight Champion Mitsuhiro Ishida in a non-title match. The #1 ranked Gomi retained his Lightweight title at Bushido 13 with a unanimous decision over Marcus Aurelio in an anticipated rematch. Ishida has been impressive in his four Pride appearances, utilizing his wrestling prowess to remain undefeated.

Confirmed Shockwave fights so far:

Fedor Emelianenko vs. Mark Hunt (Heavyweight Title Match)
Shinya Aoki vs. Joachim Hansen
Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Gilbert Melendez
Mauricio Rua vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura
Takanori Gomi vs. Mitsuhiro Ishida (Non-Title Match)

 

[Shogun Locc]

Shogun vs nakamura is gonna be real interesting...I wish gomi vs ishida was for the title but it's gonna be a war regardless

 

[Snubnoze]

I don't understand why they have the Gomi fight as non-title. Ive never complained about non title's in GP's, even if the champ doesn't win but this doesn't make sense. Ishida has earned it...

Can't wait for this PPV tho....

 

[Shogun Locc]

Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic announced on his official website that he has pulled out of his scheduled fight on the PRIDE card on December 31st.

Cro Cop stated that he is still recovering from surgery on his ankle and that he can still not kick the way he'd like to. It was rumored in the Japanese media that Cro Cop's opponent was supposedly going to be the Korean giant Hong-Man Choi.

 

[Shogun Locc]

It was announced on the official website of Fedor Emelianenko that Fedor suffered a broken toe in training this week and may now have to pull out of his scheduled fight against Mark Hunt on the PRIDE card on December 31st.

 

[Shogun Locc]

An additional fight was announced for the upcoming PRIDE SHOCKWAVE 2006, to be held at Saitama Super Arena on December 31st. Kiyoshi Tamura and Ikuhisa Minowa will fight in a rematch four years in the making. Following the recent Takanori Gomi VS Mitsuhiro Ishida match, the Tamura-Minowa bout is the second big match-up of Japanese stars to be featured at SHOCKWAVE. A press conference was also held on December 13th by Dream Stage Entertainment to announce this match and conference details will posted later.


Kiyoshi Tamura (Japan/U-FILE CAMP.com)
VS
Ikuhisa Minowa (Japan/Freelance)

The revenge match that Minowa has longed for will finally become reality! Tamura and Minowa first fought each other in September 2002 in the DEEP Ariake Colliseum event. Tamura, a RINGS veteran, and Minowa, a PANCRASE fighter at the time, attracted a lot of attention in this inter-organizational match-up of Japanese stars.

Minowa made his entrance carrying a Japanese sword and wearing a red and white kimono. Although he gave his all in the fight, when it came to striking, grappling and pushing the fight, Tamura was better all-around. This fight is also famous for a scene where Minowa, after giving up back position to Tamura, pointed to "Heaven", rolled forward and tried for a knee-lock.

Later, Minowa expressed his desire to fight Tamura again when he fought Tamura's favorite student, Ryuki Ueyama. After defeating Ueyama by decision, Minowa pointed to Tamura serving as Ueyama's cornerman and said, "You're next!" Tamura, however, simply turned his back to Minowa and walked away.

Finally, Minowa will get his chance at revenge. Will Minowa's growth over these past four years be enough to defeat Tamura? What kind of fight will Tamura show the fans in his first PRIDE fight since his February against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira?

 

[MainEventClick]

If Fedor sits out this card goes from Great to: it depends on how the matches go.

 

[Shogun Locc]

Josh Barnett and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira will face off at Pride Shockwave 2006 on December 31st in a rematch of their hotly contested fight from earlier this year, according to Tatame's web site and Nogueira's own statements in a a Brazilian newspaper

The Barnett-Nogueira rematch was first reported by Tatame, and since then Nogueira has written the following in his latest column in the Brazilian newspaper Jornal dos Sports (roughly translated from Portuguese to English):

"My adversary for the next Pride event, on the 31st of December, will be the American Josh Barnett, and revenge will be mine in my last fight of the year. Shortly after [Nogueira's first fight with Barnett], I made it clear to Pride management that although I respect the judges decision, I would like a revenge match, since I didn't feel the decision being given to Barnett by 2 to 1 was just. I am motivated and focused for this fight and am certain I will put in a good performance. Barnett is a great fighter and has shown how he is dangerous on the ground. In a fight at this level, anything can happen, but I am quite confident I can beat him."

Barnett and Nogueira previously fought in the quarter-finals of the Pride Open Weight Grand Prix on September 10th. After a Fight of the Year candidate with world-class submission grappling that you're rarely going to see in the heavyweight division or any other weight class, the extremely close fight went to the judges for a decision.

One of the judges gave the fight to Nogueira, while the other two judges gave it to Barnett, thus making Barnett the winner by split decision. Later that night in the Finals of the Pride Open Weight Grand Prix, Mirko Cro Cop defeated Barnett by submission to become the 2006 Pride Open Weight Grand Prix Champion.

Barnett is currently the #3 Heavyweight in the Rankings, behind only Fedor Emelianenko and Cro Cop, while Nogueira is the #4 Heavyweight.

The Barnett-Nogueira rematch has not been officially announced by Pride, and there's always a slight chance that Pride could change its plans at the last minute even after informing the fighters that they're going to be fighting a particular opponent, but as of now the highly anticipated rematch is set to take place at the Pride Shockwave show on December 31st.

 

[Shogun Locc]

PRIDE's parent company Dream Stage Entertainment has announced two more bouts for its New Year's Eve card at Saitama Super Arena in Tokyo.

While DSE originally indicated that the Dec. 31 card would not feature any rematches, that plan fell by the wayside with the announcement that shoot-style pro-wrestling legend Kiyoshi Tamura would take on former foe Ikuhisa Minowa.

Rather than make that bout an exception, DSE continued the theme of revenge by officially adding a pair of rematches on Monday between Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Josh Barnett, as well as Akihiro Gono and Yuki Kondo.

Nogueira and Barnett originally met in the semifinals of PRIDE's Open-Weight Grand Prix, a match-up that was anticipated by MMA fans, and rumored by promoters for over four years. Barnett, a former UFC heavyweight champion, took a hotly contested split decision over the former PRIDE heavyweight champion in perhaps the most outstanding heavyweight contest this year.

Rivalry between Gono and Kondo extends even further back in time to the rings of Pancrase in December of 2001. Early in the third round the Pancrase icon mounted Gono and began pounding away on the bloodied GRABAKA ace until his corner threw in the towel.

Five years later it is a reversal of role. Gono has risen from obscurity and emerged as one of Japan's most outstanding fighters as well as a bonafide star in PRIDE, while Kondo has won only three of his last eight bouts and has lost his last five bouts in PRIDE.

DSE has now announced eight bouts for "Shockwave." It is expected that the full line-up will contain 10 fights, as previously stated by PRIDE General Director Nobuhiko Takada

so far this is the fight card:

Fedor Emelianenko vs. Mark Hunt (Heavyweight Title Match)
Shinya Aoki vs. Joachim Hansen
Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Gilbert Melendez
Mauricio Rua vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura
Takanori Gomi vs. Mitsuhiro Ishida (Non-Title Match)
Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Ikuhisa Minowa
Josh Barnett vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
Akihiro gono vs. Yuki kondo

 

[SuiPSYedKing]

Man they dropped WANDERLEI SILVA from SHOCKWAVE

Monday, December 18, 2006 - by Al Yu - MMAWeekly.com
According to Tatame (a leading source of Combat news in Brazil), Pride Middleweight Champion Wanderlei Silva will not be participating at Shockwave on New Year’s Eve. The Chute Boxe fighter had been tentatively scheduled to fight at Pride’s biggest show of year and has appeared on advertisements.

Rafael Cordeiro, one of the leaders in Chute Boxe, revealed that Silva is currently training hard and will defend his title at Pride’s second U.S. show. Without a scheduled opponent for the champion, it appears that DSE does not want to risk Silva getting injured at Shockwave, thus jeopardizing his fight in February. Although fans will be disappointed about Silva’s absence, it seems to be the most sensible decision for Pride.

Confirmed Shockwave fights so far:

Fedor Emelianenko vs. Mark Hunt (Heavyweight Title Match)
Shinya Aoki vs. Joachim Hansen
Tatsuya Kawajiri vs. Gilbert Melendez
Mauricio Rua vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura
Takanori Gomi vs. Mitsuhiro Ishida (Non-Title Match)
Ikuhisa Minowa vs Kiyoshi Tamura
Yuki Kondo vs Akihiro Gono
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs Josh Barnett

 

[Shogun Locc]

Pride has confirmed bout number nine of what now starts to look like Shockwave 2006's final card. Japanese powerhouse Kazuyuki Fujita will take on wrestler Eldar Kurtanidze, a 34-year-old two-time Olympic bronze medalist. Here's what the December 31st show looks like right now:

Heavyweight title bout
Fedor Emelianenko (champ) vs Mark Hunt
Rodrigo Minotauro vs Josh Barnett
Takanori Gomi vs Mitshuhiro Ishida
Tatsuya Kawajiri vs Gilbert Melendez
Shinya Aoki vs Joachim Hansen
Maurício Shogun vs Kazuhiro Nakamura
Kiyoshi Tamura vs Ikuhisa Minowa
Akihiro Gono vs Yuki Kondo
Kazuyuki Fujita vs Eldar Kurtanidze

Eldar Kurtanidze, also known as Luka Kurtanidze (born April 16, 1972) is a Georgian wrestler who competed in the Men's Freestyle 97 kg at the 2000 Summer Olympics and won the bronze medal. He was also a bronze medallist in the 1996 Summer Olympics at 90 kg. In addition to his Olympic bronze, he has two gold medals from the world championships in 2002 and 2003. He also competed in the 2004 Summer Olympics, but was eliminated early. In 2006 he raised his weight to compete in the 120 kg weight class.