Coming Down
Like most people around the world I couldn't help but be absorbed by the World Cup for the last month, by far the largest international sports spectacle on the planet. And I suppose that it was appropriate that the final game ended with a nice little head butt to the solar plexus, followed by some good ole spaghetti western styled drama. That head butt cued me right back to that world of Vale Tudo (We now call it MMA, sans the head butts) which seems to be busting out at the seams recently, with so many big money shows suddenly popping up in the U.S.A. in particular, rubbing Zuffa’s sciatic nerves (sans elbows), and as always there is something new in Japan, Europe, and Brazil.

One Of Our Own
All I know is that after Brazil and Argentina (Literally knocked out by Germany with a knee to the body of their goal keeper) were no longer in the running I lost my passionate interest in the tournament; thus the only saviour for my sport lust would be the PRIDE open weight Grand Prix's second round. Call the Japanese crafty, but they needed to resolve the overwhelming presence of Brazilian fighters, and therefore matched Minotauro (Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira)against Fabricio Werdum. Perhaps they should have also matched Kazuyuki Fujita against Hidehiko Yoshida, and therefore the Japanese fans would still be rooting for one of their own in this open weight tournament.
Despite this effort to narrow the field and have more diverse fighters in the running, I believe that it is inevitable that it will be two Brazilians, Nogueira against Wanderlei Silva in the finals. (But then again, I thought it would be Brazil vs. Argentina in the World Cup finals – A dream match not fulfilled.) The moral here is that the most technically talented are not necessarily those who wind up winning it all. There are so many factors involved, such as referees, judges, organizers, luck, etc… But that's for another day.

Yoshida seemed uninspired in his preparation for Cro Cop after having worked hard up the food chain.

No Fedor/ No Satisfaction
Like an existential Russian character from a Tolstoy novel condemned to an ungodless fate, the PRIDE heavyweight champion sat stoically in his seat next to playboy Seichi Ikemoto during the semi finals. Although Fedor fell out of the tournament trying to recover from a nagging hand injury, one could not help but be disappointed that this quick dynamic pouncer would not be in the running. I would think that Nogueira in particular is disappointed, after having one Grand Prix taken from him because of the cut Fedor sustained in the finals. That cut should have given Minotauro the title that night, but instead they would meet again later to decide, and of course we know who won. Now lets see if the modest Russian really does become PRIDE's man for their U.S. debut.

Big Fish Little Fish
I suppose the weakest link in this tournament's quarter finals was Yoshida, who came in to confront Mirko Cro Cop with zero strategy and seemed to have prepared his weight for a sumo confrontation instead of MMA. You would think that with all that weight and judoka power under his gi, Hidehiko Yoshida would have at least forced the issue to the ground, but instead he literally did nothing. Yoshida's Gi seemed to only play the role of hiding that huge gut he’s been cultivating since endorsing a local working class beer in Japan. In the stand up exchange Yoshida acted like a very macho man who could take a hit, but none of that extra cushion helped in absorbing Mirko's smirk and predictable sinister limbic weapons. Lets face it, just like the Italian’s in the World Cup, Mirko got the (Mano Siniestra) easiest ride to the semifinals of anyone in this tournament; an obese former golden Olympian with weak knees. On the other side of the coin, this is not an indictment of Ikuhisa "The Punk" Minowa, but lets face it he was the smallest man in the tournament, and of course they matched him against Mirko, a very big man from K-1's big boned stable. It is as if PRIDE suddenly became the Pope and blessed him with a couple of fish in his swim through the stream to the ocean.

Episode Two
It is therefore truly appropriate that Mirko must now get past Wanderlei, whom he encountered in one of his first ever (special rules MMA match) back in the days. Although Wanderlei clearly dominated a much larger Cro Cop back then, it was deemed an automatic draw thanks to Mirko's calculated risk management. Lets face it folks, if stiffer competition makes a man stronger, then Mirko has little foundation on which to build his hope, and once again he gets the only non heavyweight left in the tournament. If the past is the lesson of history, it is doubtful that Mirko will get past Wanderlei but the Brazilian Chute Boxe mentor is definitely his best shot towards the title. This is principally due to styles (both are stand up fighters) and size advantage, which as strikers becomes more pronounced. It is essential that Wanderlei stay inside Cro Cops one weapon, utilizing the clinch, checking the chin and even equalizing it on the ground, and actually displaying his ground skills. Wanderlei hasn’t been "KO'd" since fighting fellow Brazilian Vitor Belfort in the octagon eight years ago. (44 sec. TKO) - As a matter of fact, eight years later, on this particular PRIDE night Belfort looked like the Vitor of old in a super fight against Yoshiki Takahase with a 36 sec. KO of fists. - On the other hand, Cro Cop's chin has been measured more than once, and don't be surprised if Wanderlei checks it and checks him out of the hotel.

In a rumble between two predators, short of busting out a 2x4, Wanderlai gave us a bit of foreshadowing.

Wander Wonder
Although Wanderlei Silva has lost only two fights in the last couple of years, one was an unjust split decision loss to Mark Hunt, and the other was a unanimous decision to Ricardo Arona, whom he seemed to be tenderizing for his prodigious son, Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua in the Middleweight tourney. He has since defeated Arona, and then stepped in to save this GP by bashing the thick skulled Kazuyuki Fujita who KO'd big James Thompson; that was Fujita's first PRIDE appearance in almost three years, and his first fight in one and a half years.
If any man in this world can take a hit to the head it's Fujita, and one could only admire the way he simply got back up after the stoppage, walking away after the missile strikes Sylva launched upon him like an unmerciful sovereign state. Fujita was so non-chalant, so matter of fact shaking the dust and rising from the rubble that would have rendered unconscious and hospitalized most any other man. This was a great and highly entertaining brawl, which displayed Wanderlei's stubbornness and refusal to believe that he is a middleweight. Although not the most well rounded, Fujita is definitely an exciting fighter to watch among the heavies so I’m sure the Japanese fans are disappointed to not have him in the finals. Maybe PRIDE can pair him up against Mark Hunt, who was craftily submitted by a tactful Josh Barnett.

Baby Faced
One cannot but help be impressed with the manner in which Josh Barnett took the big former K-1 GP champion Mark Hunt completely out of his element. The question was; what do you do with a big thick quick and agile striker such as Hunt? The answer for Josh Barnett was quite simple; take him to the canvass and then make an abstract impression on him with a limbic submission lock. Josh's Kimura was especially effective on Hunt, due to the fact that the Samoan does not have that flexibility of a grappler in those big thick arms and shoulders. The element that most helped out Josh aside from his jiu jitsu technique, pro wrestling spirit and passion for animation, was without a doubt his size and excellent physical conditioning which, he has brought on since his second loss to a Cro Cop, who could not finish the fight. (The first fight was a 46 second shoulder injury) It would be rather anti climatic if Josh were to face Cro Cop in the finals, and then again we never did get to see Brazil vs. Argentina in the World Cup finals. Barnett seemed very confident and undoubtedly reinvigorated, having finished Hunt with no damage to himself, while Minotauro seemed at his lowest performance rate since rolling with a Rico Rodriguez who brought nothing but weight into a unanimous and obvious PRIDE defeat against Nogueira.

Nogueira seemed to respect Werdum's jiu jitsu a bit too much in a relatively close war.

The Strongest Will
The question for a healthy and unscathed Barnett in top condition, will be if all his tools of the trade will be enough to overcome a true MMA journeyman whose will has never been broken, although his body is not at it’s healthiest. There is no doubt that Nogueira had a tough battle against Fabricio Werdum who very impressively took out the eternally recurring Alistair Overeem, whose corner threw the towel during his super close super fight war against Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. I give Werdum a lot of credit in his battle against his role model, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Mino seemed to be doing only what was enough to win, and undoubtedly shook Werdum hard in the stand up of what was primarily a boxing match between two jiu jitsu men. Werdum seemed much more inspired than Nogueira, but Mino's iron will was superior to Fabricio's ambitions. This was a war of respect in the ring, and afterwards the two men paid homage to Werdum's recently deceased jiu jitsu master.

Finally
Josh is taller, heavier, younger and confident. He once proclaimed to Minotauro while few listened "Omae Wa Mou Shindeiru! (You are already dead)" But if Nogueira is already dead, how do you kill a dead former Heavyweight PRIDE champion with an unshakeable will? Can Josh trade effectively with Nogueira having height reach and weight on his side? Can Josh outmaneuver a submission master who is not in his prime physically, and who is coming back from dual surgeries?
So who will it be in the PRIDE Open Weight GP finals? Just like the World Cup this only comes around once every so often, and it is very hard to tell. Cro Cop seems to have the home team blessings so far, but look what happened to Germany against Italy.

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