My preview to Pride Bushido

dlofnep

PRIDE FC: BUSHIDO VOLUME 6 Fight Card
(Bouts shown in order from first to last)

Denis Kang (Canada) vs. Oba Takahiro (Japan)
Amar Suloev (Russia) vs. Paulo Filho (Brazil) *
Dean Lister (USA) vs. Akira Shoji (Japan) *
Daisuke Nakamura (Japan) vs. Marcus Aurelio (Brazil)
Luis “Buscape” Firmino (Brazil) vs. Luis Azeredo (Brazil)
Daijyu Takase (Japan) vs. Daniel Acacio (Brazil)
Aleksander Emelianenko (Russia) vs. Ricardo “The Mutant” Morais (Brazil)
Ryuta Sakurai (Japan) vs. Murilo Bustamante (Brazil)
Ikuhisa “The Punk” Minowa (Japan) vs. Gilbert Yvel (Holland)
Winner Suloev/Filho vs. Winner Lister/Shoji
Fedor Emelianenko (Russia) vs. Tsuyoshi “TK” Kosaka (Japan)

* Four Man Middleweight Tournament
Winner Must Fight Twice in One Night
Winner Earns Slot in PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix

(Fight Card Subject to Change)

This is easily the most stacked Bushido card since DSE decided to have a sub-event to it's main Pride FC show.

The first fight features Canadian sensation, Dennis Kang (16 - 7 - 1) taking on Takahiro Oba (2 - 1 - 0). Kang is coming off a 12 fight streak with no losses and only one draw against UFC veteran Andrei Semenov. He will be looking to cement his presense in the MMA community against Takahiro Oba. Oba is a DEEP veteran and is coming off 2 wins via TKO. This has all the makings of a good fight.. I expect Kang to take the win.

Second up we have a match in the 4 man tournament. UFC & Bushido veteran Amar Suloev (18 - 4 - 0) will take on brazilian sensation Paulo Filho (8 - 0 - 0). Amar is one of my favourite fighters. Amar is one of the most devastating strikers in MMA with a solid overall game.

Filho is a jiu-jitsu wizard who trains with Brazilian Top Team. He has never been defeated in mixed martial arts and has beaten japanese superstar, Yuki Kondo along with the highly spirited Akira Shoji. Expect this to be one of the best fights of the night.

The second match in the 4 man tournament will feature Akira Shoji (12 - 11 - 5) and grappling sensation Dean Lister (6 - 3 - 0). Anyone who is a fan of ADCC will know who Dean Lister is. He has lost his two last mixed martial arts fights, but only against two great fighters in fellow 4-man tournament participant Amar Suloev and the most winningest fighter in MMA history Jeremy Horn. This fight will be explosive but expect Lister to take the decision here or a win via submission.

One two, skip a few.. - Later on in the card with have a fight of the giants when Aleksander Emelianenko (5 - 1 - 0) takes on 6' 8" Brazilian monster Ricardo “The Mutant” Morais (9 - 3 - 1). . Not much to be said here - expect Aleksander to win via TKO in the first round. I don't think Morais can handle his aggressive style.

Murilo Bustamante returns to MMA action against Ryuta Sakurai. Sakurai (not to be confused with Hayato "Mach" Sakurai) is a little power-house but don't expect him to gain a W here against Bustamante. Murilo Bustamante needs no introduction in MMA.. He is a BJJ champion and a former UFC middleweight champion. Since going his seperate ways from UFC, Bustamante has had a spell of bad luck with 3 losses in a row. Expect Bustamante to try everything in his power to redeem himself here with a win.

Another interesting matchup on the Bushido card will be seasoned MMA fighter Ikuhisa “The Punk” Minowa (27 - 20 - 8) vs. taking on the always controversial Gilbert "The Ref Puncher" Yvel (26 - 9 - 1). Minowa has a good overall game but is alot smaller than Yvel. Yvel is a devastating striker with a mediocre ground game. If he keeps it standing, expect Yvel to win via KO here.. otherwise he could look like a fish out of water on the ground with Minowa. I do however expect it will be hard for 180 pound Minowa to take 220 pound Yvel down.

The main event of the evening will be a rematch between current Pride FC champ - Fedor Emelianenko (20 - 1 - 0) vs. Tsuyoshi “TK” Kosaka (17 - 8 - 1). Fedor's only loss in MMA comes at the hands of TK due to a cut early into their fight. This is really a chance for Fedor to redeem himself and to clear his record against TK. Expect Fedor to throw bombs through TK's infamous guard. Fedor by TKO (no pun intended).

John O'B.

dlofnep

Results: (match - winner - loser - method - time - round)



1 - Denis Kang - Takahiro Oba - Submission (Armbar) - 4:24 - 1
2 - Paulo Filho - Amar Suloev - Submission (Armbar) - 4:22 1
3 - Dean Lister - Akira Shoji - Submission (Triangle Choke) - 3:13 - 1
4 - Marcus Aurelio - Daisuke Nakamura - Decision (Unanimous) - 5:00 - 2
5 - Luiz Azeredo - Luiz Firmino - Decision - 5:00 - 2
6 - Daniel Acacio - Daiju Takase - TKO - 3:34 - 2
7 - Aleksander Emelianenko - Ricardo Morais - KO - 0:15 - 1
8 - Murilo Bustamante - Ryuta Sakurai - Decision (Unanimous) - 5:00 - 2
9 - Ikuhisa Minowa - Gilbert Yvel - Submission (Ankle Lock) - 1:10 - 1
10 - Fedor Emelianenko - Tsuyoshi Kohsaka - TKO (Doctor Stoppage) - 10:00 - 1


I'd say if I were a betting man, I'd be rich