Pride Fighting - Can't wait
Mark your calanders for April 25th as the start of the 16 man heavy weight total elimination challenge:
April 9, 2004
LOS ANGELES, California – Four more participants have been added to the sixteen man heavyweight tournament, TOTAL ELIMINATION 2004, which will take place on April 25 th , 2004 from the Saitama Super Arena in Japan. The event is scheduled to debut on North American pay per view on same day delay.
Newly Added Participants:
Kevin "The Monster" Randleman
Murilo "Ninja" Rua
Ron "H20" Waterman
Yoshiki Takahashi
Previously Announced Participants:
Mark "The Hammer" Coleman
Hirotaka Yokoi
Paulo Cesar "Giant" Silva
Sergei Kharitonov
Fedor Emelianenko
Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira
Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic
"The Texas Crazy Horse" Heath Herring
Stefan "Blitz" Leko
Henry "Sentoryu" Miller
Two of the previously announced competitors have dropped out---"Ice Cold" Igor Vovchanchyn due to injury and Sylvester "The Predator" Terkay for personal reasons.
One of the most successful amateur wrestlers to make the transition to mixed martial arts, Kevin "The Monster" Randleman was a three time All-American and two time national wrestling champion at Ohio State University. He enters the tournament as a PRIDE FC veteran and as the UFC's former world heavyweight champion, having won the title with a win against Pete Williams at UFC 23: Ultimate Japan 2. Along with Mark "The Hammer" Coleman, he is the second representative from the Hammer House Gym in this 16-man tournament.
Murilo "Ninja" Rua is the official heavyweight representative in the tournament for the Chute Boxe Vale Tudo team of Brazil. With Chute Boxe's Wanderlei Silva having won the 2003 middleweight tournament, "Ninja" is looking to make it a sweep and continue Chute Boxe dominance!
With a mixed martial arts record of 10-2, the 6'2, 250 lbs Ron "H20" Waterman is one of the most powerful men in the sport. His strength coupled with his wrestling and submission abilities makes this Colorado native one of the toughest match-ups in the tournament.
A mixed martial arts veteran with nearly thirty wins in the Pancrase organization, Yoshiki Takahashi blends a solid stand up game with an array of submissions. Among this heavyweight fighter's list of career victories is a win over Wallid Ismail at UFC 12: Judgment Day.
The final two remaining participants as well as the match-ups for the opening round will be announced soon. The schedule for the tournament will be as follows:
PRIDE FC 16-Man Heavyweight Tournament
TOTAL ELIMINATION 2004
April 25, 2004
Saitama Super Arena
(Opening Round)
CRITICAL COUNTDOWN 2004
June 20, 2004
Saitama Super Arena
(Second Round)
FINAL CONFLICT 2004
August 15, 2004
Saitama Super Arena
(Semi-Finals and Finals)
PRIDE FC: TOTAL ELIMINATION 2004 will premiere on North American pay per view through iNDEMAND, DIRECTV, DISH NETWORK, UrbanXtra, TVN1, Bell Express Vu, and Viewer's Choice Canada on Sunday, April 25th, 2004. The premiere time is 9:00pm EST, 6:00pm PST and the count down show is at 8:30pm EST, 5:30pm PST. For additional replay times, please contact your pay per view provider or pridefc.com.
Participants and fight card are subject to change.
