Sherdog.com Preview: PRIDE Middleweight GP “Final Conflict” Part II
Alistair Overeem vs. Mauricio Rua
Aug 25, 2005
OVEREEM: Dutch kickboxer Alistair Overeem (Pictures) carries a 21-5 record in MMA. The
“Demolition Man” trains in Holland with Dennis Raven, Peter
Hoopman, Andrew Gijs Houtveen and the rest of the Tatsujin Dojo. He
represents Team Golden Glory along with fighters Semmy Schilt (Pictures), Gilbert Yvel (Pictures) and his brother Valentijn Overeem. He will be
making his ninth PRIDE appearance (6-2).
Overeem started competing in wrestling at 16 and also carries a 7-1-1 record in kickboxing. He began fighting MMA in the It’s Showtime promotion in Holland, where he faced RINGS veteran Ricardo Fyeet. There he vanquished Fyeet in the first round with a rear-naked choke.
Overeem entered the 1999 RINGS King of Kings tournament and battled
Russian Top Team member Iouri Kotchkine for the first
time (they met again in RINGS Russia). Kotchkine was able to
control him on the feet with strikes and on the ground with
wrestling to take a decisive decision victory.
He bounced between the RINGS Holland event and the 2 Hot 2 Handle shows and the original RINGS promotion in Japan. Overeem fought Bobby Hoffman (Pictures) in the RINGS Millennium Combine 2 show but with just 23 seconds left in the round, Hoffman threw a heavy overhand right, knocking him out.
Overeem won a four-man tournament at the 2H2H 5 and choked out UFC veteran Aaron Brink at 2H2H 6. In his next trip to Japan, Overeem took on highly touted Russian striker (13-0 as a pro at the time) Bazigit Atajev at PRIDE 24. He struck with “Volk” Atajev and caught him with a knee to the body that stopped the bout just prior to the second round bell.
The Dutchman clobbered “Batman” Mike Bencic (Pictures) at PRIDE 26 to get into the Total Elimination show but was knocked out by current UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell (Pictures) in the first round.
Overeem scored a win at Antonio Inoki’s New Year’s Eve 2003 show and went back to Holland to choke out PRIDE Bushido veteran and Golden Glory teammate Rodney Faverus. At PRIDE 28 he cut Hiromitsu Kanehara (Pictures) late in the second round for the win but he lost a decision to Rogerio Nogueira in February’s Fists of Fire.
He opened the PRIDE 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix as a dark horse to do any serious damage — but damage he did. Not only was he able to pound on Vitor Belfort (Pictures), he submitted the Brazilian in the closing minute of the first round. Last June in the quarterfinals, Overeem submitted Igor Vovchanchyn (Pictures) using the same guillotine choke early in the first round.
RUA: Muay Thai fighter and BJJ brown belt Mauricio Rua (Pictures) trains with his brother Murilo Rua (Pictures) and PRIDE middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva (Pictures) under Rudimar Fedrigo at the Chute Boxe Academy.
Rua began training Brazilian jiu-jitsu and Muay Thai many years before becoming a part of the Chute Boxe team. Once there, he began training under the tutelage of Professor Rafael Cordeiro (Pictures) and with the addition Cristiano Marcelo he will continue to improve. “Shogun” brings an 10-1 record in MMA and makes his seventh appearance (6-0) in the PFC.
Rua started fighting in the Rudimar Fedrigo-promoted Meca Vale Tudo events where he went 3-0, including a referee stoppage over current Chute Boxe fighter Evangelista Santos (Pictures).
He also competed in the IFC: Global Domination tournament held in 2003. Rua made it to the semifinal round, defeating Eric Wanderlei by TKO before losing to former Ruas Vale Tudo fighter Renato Sobral (Pictures) by submission.
In October of 2003, Rua made his PRIDE Bushido debut and knocked out “Mr. Pride” Akira Shoji (Pictures) early in the first round. At Bushido 2, Rua continued to impress, knocking out Pancrase star Akihiro Gono (Pictures). RINGS veterans Yasuhito Namekawa was dropped with strikes at Bushido 5 and “Shogun” continued his “KO Japan Tour” by knocking out Hiromitsu Kanehara (Pictures) in less than two minutes.
Rua’s most impressive knockout (in terms of impact) was over Quinton Jackson (Pictures). “Rampage” was dominated and midway through round one he was dropped in dramatic fashion, allowing “Shogun” to advance to the quarterfinals of the PRIDE Middleweight GP.
Then, in what some may nominate as the fight of the year, Rua took on Rogerio Nogueira for a spot in the semifinals. “Shogun” took the decision win in a hard-fought battle and now prepares for his battle with Overeem at Final Conflict.
MY PICK: Rua.
This could be a heck of a match and more competitive than it appears at first glance. It will be the battle of the knee strikes because both guys like to do damage flying in with knees. Overeem (6’ 4”) towers over Rua (5’ 10”), as he does with most fighters in this division, so his reach will likely be unmatched as well. However, I don’t think Overeem will be able to physically stay with Rua.
Rua’s stamina is unmatched and he fights like it was a track meet. That style has worked against him, but usually less than stellar competition run out of gas long before Rua is sucking air. We’ve also seen Overeem turn his head away from the action when the heat got too high. He did it with Liddell, Rogerio and Vitor so there’s no reason to think it won’t happen here.
The difference is “Shogun” has the most killer instinct of the three (Nogueira would be next). I feel it will be Rua by TKO from strikes late in the first round.
Overeem started competing in wrestling at 16 and also carries a 7-1-1 record in kickboxing. He began fighting MMA in the It’s Showtime promotion in Holland, where he faced RINGS veteran Ricardo Fyeet. There he vanquished Fyeet in the first round with a rear-naked choke.
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He bounced between the RINGS Holland event and the 2 Hot 2 Handle shows and the original RINGS promotion in Japan. Overeem fought Bobby Hoffman (Pictures) in the RINGS Millennium Combine 2 show but with just 23 seconds left in the round, Hoffman threw a heavy overhand right, knocking him out.
Continuing to jet back and forth, Overeem scored wins in both
promotions, including a victory over MFC veteran and Red Devil
Roman Zentsov
(Pictures) by keylock. Alistair
competed in the K-1 Lumber Jack Returns show in 2001, losing by TKO
to Errol Parris in a kickboxing bout and made his PRIDE debut in
The Best 2 show against Yusuke Imamura, stopping him in
under a minute.
Overeem won a four-man tournament at the 2H2H 5 and choked out UFC veteran Aaron Brink at 2H2H 6. In his next trip to Japan, Overeem took on highly touted Russian striker (13-0 as a pro at the time) Bazigit Atajev at PRIDE 24. He struck with “Volk” Atajev and caught him with a knee to the body that stopped the bout just prior to the second round bell.
The Dutchman clobbered “Batman” Mike Bencic (Pictures) at PRIDE 26 to get into the Total Elimination show but was knocked out by current UFC light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell (Pictures) in the first round.
Overeem scored a win at Antonio Inoki’s New Year’s Eve 2003 show and went back to Holland to choke out PRIDE Bushido veteran and Golden Glory teammate Rodney Faverus. At PRIDE 28 he cut Hiromitsu Kanehara (Pictures) late in the second round for the win but he lost a decision to Rogerio Nogueira in February’s Fists of Fire.
He opened the PRIDE 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix as a dark horse to do any serious damage — but damage he did. Not only was he able to pound on Vitor Belfort (Pictures), he submitted the Brazilian in the closing minute of the first round. Last June in the quarterfinals, Overeem submitted Igor Vovchanchyn (Pictures) using the same guillotine choke early in the first round.
RUA: Muay Thai fighter and BJJ brown belt Mauricio Rua (Pictures) trains with his brother Murilo Rua (Pictures) and PRIDE middleweight champion Wanderlei Silva (Pictures) under Rudimar Fedrigo at the Chute Boxe Academy.
Rua began training Brazilian jiu-jitsu and Muay Thai many years before becoming a part of the Chute Boxe team. Once there, he began training under the tutelage of Professor Rafael Cordeiro (Pictures) and with the addition Cristiano Marcelo he will continue to improve. “Shogun” brings an 10-1 record in MMA and makes his seventh appearance (6-0) in the PFC.
Rua started fighting in the Rudimar Fedrigo-promoted Meca Vale Tudo events where he went 3-0, including a referee stoppage over current Chute Boxe fighter Evangelista Santos (Pictures).
He also competed in the IFC: Global Domination tournament held in 2003. Rua made it to the semifinal round, defeating Eric Wanderlei by TKO before losing to former Ruas Vale Tudo fighter Renato Sobral (Pictures) by submission.
In October of 2003, Rua made his PRIDE Bushido debut and knocked out “Mr. Pride” Akira Shoji (Pictures) early in the first round. At Bushido 2, Rua continued to impress, knocking out Pancrase star Akihiro Gono (Pictures). RINGS veterans Yasuhito Namekawa was dropped with strikes at Bushido 5 and “Shogun” continued his “KO Japan Tour” by knocking out Hiromitsu Kanehara (Pictures) in less than two minutes.
Rua’s most impressive knockout (in terms of impact) was over Quinton Jackson (Pictures). “Rampage” was dominated and midway through round one he was dropped in dramatic fashion, allowing “Shogun” to advance to the quarterfinals of the PRIDE Middleweight GP.
Then, in what some may nominate as the fight of the year, Rua took on Rogerio Nogueira for a spot in the semifinals. “Shogun” took the decision win in a hard-fought battle and now prepares for his battle with Overeem at Final Conflict.
MY PICK: Rua.
This could be a heck of a match and more competitive than it appears at first glance. It will be the battle of the knee strikes because both guys like to do damage flying in with knees. Overeem (6’ 4”) towers over Rua (5’ 10”), as he does with most fighters in this division, so his reach will likely be unmatched as well. However, I don’t think Overeem will be able to physically stay with Rua.
Rua’s stamina is unmatched and he fights like it was a track meet. That style has worked against him, but usually less than stellar competition run out of gas long before Rua is sucking air. We’ve also seen Overeem turn his head away from the action when the heat got too high. He did it with Liddell, Rogerio and Vitor so there’s no reason to think it won’t happen here.
The difference is “Shogun” has the most killer instinct of the three (Nogueira would be next). I feel it will be Rua by TKO from strikes late in the first round.
