PRIDE.33 Final Results
9th match [PRIDE MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP]

Wanderlei Silva VS Dan Henderson

Winner R3 2:06 Dan Henderson by KO (Left Hook)

8th match

Takanori Gomi VS Nick Diaz


Winner R2 1:45 Nick Diaz
 by Submission(Gogo Plata Tap Out)

7th match

Mauricio Rua VS Alistair Overeem


Winner R 3:27 Mauricio Rua
by KO (Super Man Punch)

6th match

Sergei Kharitonov VS Mike Russow


Winner R1 3:26 Sergei Kharitonov
by Submission (Guillotine Tap Out)

5th match

Hayato "Mach" Sakurai VS Mac Danzig


Winner R2 4:01 Hayato "Mach" Sakurai
by TKO (Right Hook)

4th match

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira VS SOKOUDJOU


Winner R1 0:23 SOKOUDJOU
by KO (Left Hook)

3rd match

Travis Wiuff VS James Lee


Winner R1 0:39 James Lee
by Submission (Guillotine Tap Out)

2nd match

Kazuo Misaki VS Frank Trigg


Winner R3 5:00 Frank Trigg
by Decision (Unanimous 30-27)

1st match

Joachim Hansen VS Jason Ireland

Winner R3 2:33 Joachim Hansen
by Submission (Armbar)

"PUT UP OR SHUT UP!”
Message to Dana White
PRIDE is back in the U.S.S.A. and the Japanese fight organization is definitely here to prove to American MMA fanatics that they pack the biggest punch. From Brazil, not only are they giving us Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, twin brother of Minotauro, Mauricio Shogun Rua the man who handed him his only loss via a split decision in the Middleweight tournament, but also the legendary Wanderlai Silva, whose been wanting to battle Chuck Liddell for a long time. “He is a champion here and I’m a champion in Japan I want to fight, I don’t know what’s the problem.” Lets hope Wanderlai is not looking past Dan Henderson because of this reoccurring Liddell theme. This repeat performance by PRIDE in North American soil is part of the continuing war of MMA organizations in their quest for world domination. Especially as UFC Prez D.W. has now signed Fabricio Werdum, announcing from the U.K. that they are not yet finished tempting more fighters from the PRIDE stage to step into the octagon. If the UFC keeps going that route, they might have major lay offs of the existing talent.
The “Second Coming” is indeed an exciting offering from DSE as PRIDE 33 is matching up some of the most agile and hyper exciting MMA fighters in the world, including a sample of UFC veterans such as Nick Diaz and Frank Trigg, who as well as Henderson, will be confronting PRIDE Champions. As a matter of fact, it is a show, which will showcase many champions and former champions. From the rings of SHOOTO we have Hayato Mach Sakurai, Hoachim Hansen, and of course Takanori Gomi who will be facing the technical Nick Diaz who is expressing a large amount of confidence for his PRIDE debut, inspired by the music and calling Gomi a “little punk.” For Diaz to go down almost ten pounds to reach Bushido Lightweight champion Gomi’s weight will be a test to his stamina although he said he felt fine at this new fight weight after the weigh in. The ropes will most likely not be a factor for the Gracie jiu jitsu fighter who likes to stand and trade and is more multifaceted on the ground game than a typical Zuffa wrestler.
Decade Dent
What could be better than the U.S. debut of Wanderlai Silva, a man who is celebrating his tenth anniversary in MMA since his debut in BVF 6 Campeonato Brasileiro de Vale Tudo 1. We all get to celebrate with Dan Henderson, an ex-patriot of the octagon who has planted a great plot in the Japanese dream stage. Of course this fight will be different than the first six years ago, but in particular because of the rules differing.
"The rules make the fight" is the mantra of the MMA experimentalist. From an era of head butting in Brazilain Vale Tudo for Silva, to a place which prohibits knees, leg strikes and stomps to downed opponents, the fight will take on different fronts. Henderson is indeed at home, and Wanderlai flew in from the South American summer and will be limited in one of his key weapons. It will definitely be the stand up for Silva and if Henderson clinches he might want to take it to the ground if the dirty boxing gets dangerous. Wanderlai is perhaps too powerful of a striker for a Henderson who traveled down to Welterweight and is now back to Middleweight. Henderson is naturally a bit lighter and he is at his full strength weight wise. When fighters cut too much body weight they loose a certain capacity to take a hit, so this won’t be a problem for Henderson.
Attitude vs. Humility
“He’s not very mentally strong, he’ll fall apart like everybody else… I got a huge ego, I’m not gonna lie.”
Frank Trigg can definitely talk as he has repeatedly proven as a PRIDE expert commentator, and before a fight he doesn’t hold anything back in words or attitude as he displayed twice before succumbing to Matt Hughes for the UFC Welterweight title. But if there is one thing that Trigg should not be underestimating is Misaki’s mental strength, heart and power as a striker. Although Trigg will want this fight on the ground he might find it difficult to take the Grabaka man to the ground, and if he does succeed, he might be taken aback by Misaki’s improvement on the ground. Team GRABAKA was once upon a time all about the grappling, but Misaki and Gono have succeeded up on their feet. This was how Misaki took it to Dan Henderson, even though he prepared himself for that fight with Ricardo Almeida near the Big Apple. If Trigg comes in as he did against Charruto Verissimo with an insane display of wrestling power and a capacity to strike down over the guard, he might impress everyone, but Misaki is a man who very methodically sticks to his game plan and eventually wears away his opponents. Neither fighter will be lacking juice as they are both naturally “ welterweights” (170 lbs.) Although Misaki has always fought at 183 lbs. for Frank Trigg it will be a new experience but it’s against an ideal opponent size wise, especially since Trigg has gotten naturally thicker. I look for Misaki to apply the damage by TKO while Trigg has to find the finish on the floor.

If you compare this PRIDE card with the UFC’s next show in Ohio which has a line up of ex champions being resurrected, there is no doubt who holds the stronger card. The bigger show is denser with talent, and fighters such as Alistair Overeem, against whom Chuck Liddell had to come back from near unconsciousness to defeat are only part of the excitement. The fact that every fight matters is the difference between PRIDE and it’s competitors, but simply usurping talent won’t do it. This year is the real beginning of the MMA wars, which will be waged by the men with the cash, now its gonna also be a question of how well each organization treats their fighters. After all there are others shows moving in to the scene, flying relatively obscure but rising fighters to tropical paradise and paying fat bucks for guaranteen multi fight contracts (no snags due to losses). Now for the fans it’s time to sit back and reap the benefits of the MMA Wars.

PRIDE.33 Bout Order
9th match [PRIDE MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP]

Wanderlei Silva VS Dan Henderson


8th match

Takanori Gomi VS Nick Diaz


7th match

Mauricio Rua VS Alistair Overeem


6th match

Sergei Kharitonov VS Mike Russow


5th match

Hayato "Mach" Sakurai VS Mac Danzig


4th match

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira VS SOKOUDJOU


3rd match

Travis Wiuff VS James Lee


2nd match

Kazuo Misaki VS Frank Trigg


1st match

Joachim Hansen VS Jason Ireland

"The place where Japanese Samurais would put their spirits on the line, you don't see that in other promotions like the UFC, bodog or Elite (Extreme Combat). They are not cameo players here. To American audiences, there is no curve ball, but a dead straight."
This was the opening comment from DSE head Nobuyuki Sakakibara when he announced the additional cards at the press conference. Then Takanori Gomi followed, "I want to see the Japanese winning fights, and show how strong PRIDE is". Also Kazuo Misaki added, "I want to put up a fight where the audience would feel they want to come back and watch the Samurai spirit again."
Gomi is facing Nick Diaz. Diaz once fought in Japan back in December 2002 and lost to Kuniyoshi Hironaka in a split decision but that was when Diaz was only 19 years old. For the past three years, he consistently made UFC appearances maintaining an above .500 average with six wins and four loses in the Octagon. Diaz never got a chance to challenge tfor he UFC title because of the three consecutive losses he suffered till April of last year but for the last two fights he has scored a tapout and a KO win. Diaz is cutting down from 170 lbs & under welterweight class in the UFC to 160 lbs & under lightweight of PRIDE so his power and destructivity are, for sure, going to be a threat to Gomi. At the press conference Gomi was modest, "In my first PRIDE year, I made it to the Saitama (Super Arena on New Years Eve), in the second year, I won the GP, then I defended a title in the third year. The fourth year is the year of challenge for me. I am going to approach it though I am a challenger." Gomi knocked out Mitsuhiro Yoshida on New Years Eve but, "Its not a time for me to bask in the glow." For some reason, most media outside Japan ignored it but earlier this year, Gomi had declared that he wants to "fight in the UFC." And some Japanese sports paper even reported that PRIDE already has given Gomi "a go ahead" with additional provocative comment by Gomi, "The fight against Sean Sherk? If that happens, it will be a breeze for me. It would be great if I can fight Matt Hughes and BJ Penn." Then all of sudden, this big news about Gomi ready to step into the Octagon to prove PRIDE is better cooled down fast. No one is talking about it now and strangely no reporters asked Gomi in regards to the UFC at this press conference either. However, the Japanese fans remember Gomi's comment in regards to the UFC, especially towards Sherk so the pressure is on Gomi because he has to back up his words with an action and that is to not just win but to dominate Diaz.
This is going to be first US appearance for Misaki. He took off from the New Years Eve show because of injury but he lookes like he is in a good condition, "Last year's momentum, I want to use it to make a first impact this year." He is taking on Frank Trigg. Finally Misaki is taking on someone closer to his own size.
Kazuyoshi Nakamura is going to face Travis Wiuff. Wiuff originated from wrestling, made a pro MMA debut in 2002, and in the span of a little over four years, Wiuff fought 51 fights and has amazing record of 42 wins and 9 loses. He is an iron man of today's MMA. Wiuff fought in the UFC once and it was against Renato "Babalu" Sobral. Nakamurara said, "I think I saw that fight when I was training at Brazil."
Hayato "Mach" Sakurai is taking on Mac Danzing. He is 27 years old with a record of 16 wins 3 loses and 1 draw. Mostly he has been fighting in Gladiator Challenge and KOTC shows. In October 2005 Danzig defeated Takumi and captured the KOTC lightweight title. Until the loss to Clay French this year, he defended this title twelve straight times. He is Trigg's student so this fight can be described as a disciple trying to take revenge for his master because Mach has defeated Trigg in Shooto. For Mach this is the first fight in Las Vegas since UFC 36, a title match against Matt Huges. Mach couldn't do much in that fight because of a hip injury. On top of that, in the last PRIDE show, Mach came to Vegas, and gambled with the money he borrowed from a friend and lost more than couple thousand dollars in just five minutes, "So I want to crank on it in the fight."

(from left to right) Kazuhiro Nakamura, Kazuo Misaki, Takanori Gomi, and Hayato Mach Sakurai.

On January 22nd DSE announced four additional cards for the upcoming Vegas show on February 24th.

Takanori Gomi vs. Nick Diaz

Kazuo Misaki vs. Frank Trigg

Hayato "Mach" Sakurai vs. Mac Danzing

Kazuhiro Nakamura vs. Travis Wiuff

*Detailed Report Coming Soon

PRIDE Fighting Championships has just announced the main card for the ”Second Coming” at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is the second coming in more than one way, as a much awaited rematch between Dan “Hollywood” Henderson and Wanderlei “Axe Murderer” Silva will occur on February 24th in American soil. Dan Henderson once told me that his fight against Wanderlei was the “toughest fight” of his life. It will be a huge challenge for Henderson in his native land, but the stomps and kicks will not be available for the Brazilian, in what I imagine to be a five rounder. This card was predictable and definitely makes sense in terms of PRIDE endearing themselves to the American audiences.(01/10/2007)

The second PRIDE show on US soil is going to be titled as "Second  Coming." This does not simply mean coming back, but it supposedly also means the "Reincarnation of Christ."
The Main Event of the show is going to be the PRIDE middleweight  title bout. Wanderlei Silva will defend his title against either Ricardo Arona, Anotonio Rogerio Nogueira, or Dan Henderson. DSE is planning to make a decision on this sometime very soon.
Besides these fighters, other fighters mentioned as "possibilities"  were Denis Kang, Aleksander Emelianenko, Kazuyuki Fujita, and Takanori Gomi. Besides Dan Henderson, there were no other American fighters. DSE head Nobuyuki Sakakibara said, "American fans haven't  seen the battles between world's best fighters. We want to showcase  the world best fights." DSE is not emphasizing utilizing American  fighters to the US market. (02/08/2007)

DSE Presents 'PRIDE.33 - Second Coming -'
Saturday, February 24th, 2006
At Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.A.

Complete Cards (Subject to Change):

PRIDE Middleweight Championship Title Match

Wanderlei Silva (Champion/Brazil/Chute Boxe Academy) vs. Dan Henderson (Challenger/U.S.A./Team Quest)

Lightweight Bout

Takanori Gomi (Japan / Kugeyama Rascal Gym / PRIDE Lightweight Champion) vs. Nick Diaz (U.S.A. / Ceasar Gracie Jiu-jitsu)

Welterweight Bout

Kazuo Misaki (Japan / GRABAKA) vs. Frank Trigg (U.S.A. / RAW Team)

Lightweight Bout

Hayato "Mach" Sakurai (Japan / Mach Dojo) vs. Mac Danzing (U.S.A.)

Middleweight Bout

Kazuhiro Nakamura (Japan / Yoshida Dojo) vs. Travis Wiuff (U.S.A. / Elite Performance)

Scheduled to Fight (Subject to Change):
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (Brazil / Brazilian Top Team)
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (Brazil / Brazilian Top Team)
Aleksander Emelianenko (Russia / Red Devil)
Ricardo Arona (Brazil / Brazilian Top Team)
Kazuyuki Fujita (Japan / Team Japan Fujita Office)