Pride FC Middleweight Tournament 2005

[Minty]

OK, Ive just found out some of the names competing in this years Tournament, and thought I should be nice and share the 13 confirmed named with you all :)

Yuki Kondo
Nakumura
Rogerio Noguera
Igor Vovchachyn
"Shogun"
Quinton Jackson
Dan Henderson
Kevin Randleman
Alistair Overeem
Hidehiko Yoshida
Wanderlei Silva

AND..... wait for it.....

Vitor Belfort!

The inclusion of Belfort blows the whole tournament wide open. Belfort is the only man on the list to have held a victory over Wanderlei Silva. He did so by knockout, within 40 seconds of the fight starting. Really looking forward to this :)

[Lungboy]

Sounds a very impressive lineup.

[Minty]

Aye and its not a full lineup yet! Looking forward to seeing who the next fighters to come in are. For those of you that dont know who most of them fighters are, I shall attempt to explain their fight style and their chance of winning. If Ive left someone out, it means I dont know much/anything about them:

Yuki Kondo - Strong grappler with solid striking skills. Outside chance of winning, but wouldnt put your money on him.

Igor Vovchachyn - The man who has been dubbed as being "born to fight", and when you look at him, that isnt just a title. Its a description. Very strong striker, with some grappling skills. Another outside chance but not up there with the big boys.

Quinton Jackson - Powerful wrestler with dangerous striking skills. Just because he lost to Silva twice, doesnt mean that Silva will definately beat him. One of the favourites for me.

Dan Henderson - Pound for pound, this is the best wrestler that Pride have on their roster. Brutal strikes both standing up, and from within the guard. Another one of my favourites.

Kevin Randleman - Good wrestler but ultimately overrated. I dont expect him to go far.

Alistair Overeem - Dangerous kickboxer. When Chuck Liddel entered the 2003 tournament, Pride pitted him against Overeem and Liddel was the underdog. That is how dangerous Overeem is with his strikes. Outside favourite

Hidehiko Yoshida - An Olympic Judo Gold medallist. Good grappling, but poor strikes. I dont expect him to go too far.

Wanderlei Silva - Utterly lethal striker with ground skills. He just prefers to stay standing. Outright favourite for me.

Vitor Belfort - It depends which Vitor turns up. If the Vitor that wants to fight turns up, then he could just well win it. If its the lethargic Vitor, I expect him to drop out quite quickly. Plus Pride will be looking to pit him against tough opponents, as the last thing they want is a UFC man (Hes entering with the backing of the UFC, and will have a UFC team, including the UFC president Dana White, in his corner. Just as Chuck Liddell had in the 2003 tournament) winning the tournament.