PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix 2005: Possibly the Best 16-Man Field Ever Assembled

The time has come again. The best 205-pound fighters on the planet gather to compete for the coveted PFC Middleweight Tournament championship title. This year there is no true weak link. There is hardly a “filler” fighter on board to round out the brackets. To a certain extent, every fighter on the card has a shot to win the title.

With current champion Wanderlei Silva in the mix, the favorite to win it all is a given. However, when names like Henderson, Arona, Nogueria, Vovchanchyn and Jackson are on board, plus the legitimate threats of injury and exhaustion, there’s no guarantee Silva will repeat.

We have a number of athletes who have tasted greatness before and miss the flavor. Fighters like Rua, Kondo, Overeem, Sakuraba, Yoshida, Randleman and Belfort. Even the dark horses, including Lister, Nakamura and Dong Sik, have a real chance to make it out of the opening round.

The entire card breaks down as follows:

Hammer House wrestler Kevin Randleman confronts Yoshida Dojo judoka Kazuhiro Nakamura.

Before they meet in the Abu Dhabi super-fight, Ricardo Arona from the Brazilian Top Team meets Dean Lister of City Boxing and Gracie United.

Kickboxer Igor Vovchanchyn of Team Vovchanchyn goes toe-to-toe with former King of Pancrase Yuki Kondo.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu fighter Vitor Belfort faces kickboxer Alistair Overeem from Team Golden Glory.

Team Quest wrestler Dan Henderson and Brazilian Top Team jiu-jitsu fighter Rogerio Nogueira square off.

Takada Dojo fighter Kazushi Sakuraba and Korean judoka Yoon Dong Sik take to the ring.

Wrestler Quinton Jackson of Team Oyama battles Muay Thai fighter Mauricio Rua from the Chute Boxe Academy.

And in the main event, Chute Boxe fighter and current PFC middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva takes on judoka Hidehiko Yoshida of the Yoshida Dojo in a rematch of their 2003 Final Conflict bout.