It looks likely that Wanderlei Silva will be in the UFC. I’m not over excited about that but the possibility of Fedor Emelianenko crossing over is HUGE!
At a post UFC71 press conference, Dana White said “yeah, that’s probably what we’ll do - Chuck versus Wanderlei” when questioned about Chuck Liddell vs Wanderlei Silva. Oh now I see how these rumor mills start turning…
Get Fedor to the UFC, PRONTO!
Dana White then went on to talk about hoe the UFC “would have all of the best fighters, “going on to say that the UFC “Were working on Fedor right now - everybody means everybody. They’re all going to be here.”
Joe Rogan and Mike Goldberg bore me but at least they confirmed that Dan Henderson is going to be the next challlenger for the light heavyweight title. Hollywood’s the current PRIDE welterweight and middleweight champion and he’ll be the challenger in the winner of tonight’s fight between Chuck Liddell and Quinton Jackson.
With the purchase of PRIDE FC buy UFC parent company Zuffa inc. the first order of business has been to secure the sanctioning for PRIDE events at all current UFC locations and venues worldwide. Although not as profitable and far reaching as UFC has been, the depth of the PRIDE fighting talent pool has always been as competitive. And as the two organizations merge rules and plan to host yearly “Mega-Fights”, the only question mark that seems to be left lingering is how the deep stable of PRIDE fighters will react to the UFC rules. It’s not so much that you can no longer kick a downed opponent, but that these fighters could have some serious problems defending the elbows that UFC fighters throw so well. Elbows are a very lethal and often times underestimated dimension of MMA fighters. They are a necessary component to any successful ground and pound and can wear a fighter down if connected in a stand up clinch – a method that PRIDE fighters never get to see, let alone defend against.
The only rule change advantage that may go in the direction of PRIDE is the shortened first round time from 10 minutes down to 5. A stat that could turn into a showcase of conditioning as PRIDE combatants train for a full 10 minute first round; although it’s hard to imagine how PRIDE fighters will react to the explosive quick starts we are privy to seeing in the UFC. When you know you have a full 10 minutes to take somebody out, it would be likely that most fighters would employ a more conservative and energy conscious first round strategy, a method that could get you in trouble against fast starting and overwhelming fighters like Mike Swick or Chuck Liddell.
Only time will tell and as we begin to see the migration of PRIDE fighters to the UFC these types of differences will become more and more apparent. Check the unified rules for PRIDE34.
Zuffa bought out PRIDE, now there are a brand new set of unified rules for PRIDE34 and they are reported as follows (from the mmaweekly then the ninjashoes site):
Foot stomps, soccer kicks, and knees to the head of a downed opponent will no longer be allowed.
Round times will change to 3 x 5-minute rounds and 5 x 5-minute rounds for championship fights (no more 10-minute first rounds).
The use of colored penalty cards will be discontinued.
Elbows will be allowed.
Shoes, gis, and pants will not be allowed (sorry Takaaki Aoki).
Wow, PRIDE no longer will have soccer kicks or foot stomps! WEAK! Wanderlei Silva, what you gonna do now? Cro Cop also favored this kick. Good job he’s in the UFC now :)
Now witness the destruction of Ron Waterman by Cro Cop via Soccer kick:
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