LOS ANGELES, California – The fight card for PRIDE FC: INFERNO is now official and among a cast of giants, making his long-awaited return to the ring will be "The Smashing Machine" Mark Kerr. Kerr’s last mixed martial arts match was in July of 2001. PRIDE FC: INFERNO is scheduled to debut on North American pay per view on February 8th, 2004 and the event will be held in the Osaka Castle Hall in Osaka, Japan.

Heading up the INFERNO fight card will be Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic versus Ron Waterman. "Cro Cop" is coming off of a devastating loss to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at FINAL CONFLICT and is looking to re-establish his dominance and return to his winning ways. "H20" Ron Waterman, a Colorado native, boasts an impressive record of 10-1-2 and last appeared in COLD FURY 3 in which he defeated Valentijn Overeem of Holland.

Also included on the card, qualification matches for the upcoming sixteen man heavyweight tournament (which will begin April 25th, 2004): Fresh off of his win against Giant Silva at Shockwave 2003, "The Texas Crazy Horse" Heath Herring takes on another giant in the 6’10, 260 pound UFC veteran "Big" Gan McGee … Mark Kerr makes his return to mixed martial arts, going up against Norihisa Yamamoto of Japan … undefeated Russian star Sergei Kharitonov takes on the 7’0, 400 pound L.A. Giant from California … and "Ice Cold" Igor Vovchanchyn goes head to head against Dan "The Bull" Bobish. The winners all move on to the heavyweight tournament!

Additional matches on the INFERNO fight card include Kazuhiro Nakamura versus Mexican pro-wrestler Dos Caras Jr. … both last fought in BUSHIDO … Nakamura is coming off a win against Daniel Gracie and the exciting Dos Caras Jr. is coming off a devastating knockout loss versus "Cro Cop" Filipovic … also, fresh off of a flying knee KO victory against Akira Shoji at SHOCKWAVE 2003, Murilo "Ninja" Rua takes on PRIDE FC veteran Alexander Otsuka.

PRIDE FC: INFERNO
Fight Card:
Main Event
Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic (Croatia) vs. Ron "H20" Waterman (USA)
PRIDE FC Heavyweight Grand Prix Qualification Matches
Heath Herring (USA) vs. "Big" Gan McGee (USA)
Mark Kerr (USA) vs. Norihisa Yamamoto (Japan)
Sergei Kharitonov (Russia) vs. L.A. Giant (USA)
Igor Vovchanchyn (Ukraine) vs. Dan Bobish (USA)
Additional Matches
Kazuhiro Nakamura (Japan) vs. Dos Caras Jr. (Mexico)
Murilo "Ninja" Rua (Brazil) vs. Alexander Otsuka (Japan)
(Fight Card Subject to Change)

PRIDE FC: INFERNO will premiere on North American pay per view through iNDEMAND, DIRECTV, DISH NETWORK, UrbanXtra, TVN1, Bell Express Vu, and Viewer’s Choice on Sunday, February 8th, 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.

LOS ANGELES, California – Dream Stage Entertainment today announced its event schedule for 2004.

PRIDE FC Event Schedule

February 1, 2004
Osaka Castle Hall
PRIDE FC 27 "INFERNO"

April 2004
Saitama Super Arena
PRIDE FC 16-Man Heavyweight Tournament (Opening Round)

June 2004
Saitama Super Arena
PRIDE FC 16-Man Heavyweight Tournament (Second Round)

August 2004
Saitama Super Arena
PRIDE FC 16-Man Heavyweight Tournament (Semi-Finals and Finals)

September 2004
Las Vegas. Nevada
Venue to be Determined

BUSHIDO Event Schedule

February 15, 2004
Yokohama Arena
BUSHIDO VOLUME 2

May 2004
Yokohama Arena
BUSHIDO VOLUME 3

July 2004
Nagoya Rainbow Hall
BUSHIDO VOLUME 4

November 2004
Yokohama Arena
BUSHIDO VOLUME 5

Fight cards will be announced as each individual event approaches.

LOS ANGELES, California – The fight card for PRIDE FC: BUSHIDO VOLUME 2 is coming together and headlining the event will be a team competition, pitting the Chute Boxe Team of Brazil (led by Wanderlei Silva) against Team Japan! BUSHIDO VOLUME 2 will take place on February 15th, 2004 from the Yokohama Arena in Japan and is scheduled to debut on North American pay per view on March 21st, 2004.

BUSHIDO VOLUME 2 will feature a three-man team competition, as the Chute Boxe Team will be taking on Team Japan. Headed by reigning PRIDE FC World Middleweight Champion and 2003 Grand Prix Champion Wanderlei Silva, the Chute Boxe Team of Brazil is one of the most successful fight teams in the world. In his first match since winning the Middleweight Grand Prix title in November of 2003 (which included victories over Hidehiko Yoshida and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson on the same night), Silva will be taking on Ikuhisa "The Punk" Minowa of Japan. Minowa, now training with the Brazilian Top Team, is coming off a hard-fought loss to Quinton Jackson at SHOCKWAVE 2003. In the other team matches, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (the younger brother of Murilo "Ninja" Rua) will be taking on Japanese shoot fighter Akihiro Gono and up and coming Chute Boxe star Jadson Costa will compete against a yet to be named Japanese opponent.

Also scheduled to appear on the fight card, Japanese legend and fighting star Hayato "Mach" Sakurai and PRIDE FC veteran Daiju Takase.

PRIDE FC: BUSHIDO VOLUME 2
Fight Card
Chute Boxe (Brazil) vs. Team Japan
Wanderlei Silva (Brazil) vs. Ikuhisa "The Punk" Minowa (Japan)
Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (Brazil) vs. Akihiro Gono (Japan)
Jadson Costa (Brazil) vs. TBA
Additional Matches:
Hayato "Mach" Sakurai (Japan) vs. TBA
Daiju Takase (Japan) vs. TBA
More fights to be announced soon!

(Fight Card Subject to Change)

• Even though he is facing what’s likely the toughest time of his life, Vitor Belfort is a man with a mission and with this in mind he departs to the USA tonight, leaving Brazil for Las Vegas. Vitor will finish his preparation for his UFC title bout against Randy Couture in Vegas, while his family keeps searching for his missing sister here in Brazil. It’s been 10 days already since his sister was last seen, and Belfort’s family and friends started a campaign to find Priscila (Vitor’s sister), asking for help on TV whenever is possible and pleading people to cooperate giving information to the police. In the middle of all the drama "The Phenom" is trying to focus on his fight and honor his working duty. Vitor spoke with FCF this Monday, before getting on the plane and thanked all the fans for the support in this tough time, and promised to give his best inside the octagon. His heart is certainly torn, in what is probably his hardest fight ever. For those used to Vitor’s looks at his last fight against Marvin Eastman, the 26 year old fighter is now sporting a completely shaved head! FCF continues to wish and hope for the best for Belfort’s family, and if anyone living in Brazil has any info, please contact the police.
• After a short staying in Wallid Ismail’s team, Brazil Dojo, that lasted only a few months, PANCRASE and PRIDE veteran Paulo Filho is back with the Brazilian Top Team. Filho left BTT and went for Brazil Dojo because of a better financial package, where he would get sponsored for his training. However, according to the fighter things didn’t continue to be as they should, therefore he decided to comeback to the Brazilian Top Team where he feels more comfortable, considering he knows all his training partners for a long time. Mario Sperry is now taking care of Paulo’s management for his international fights, as the young fighter hopes to participate in the next PRIDE BUSHIDO show. Paulo Filho also stated he is coming back to the 85kg division now.
• Speaking of the Brazilian Top Team, training has been hard in the academy as the Japanese February shows are approaching and several fighters are likely to compete in them. Strong rumors have that Ricardo Arona will be making his PRIDE comeback at the early February show, against a yet to be named opponent. Arona is already training hard and eager to fight, as his last outing was against Murilo Ninja back in 2002.
• Another Brazilian Top Team fighter who is very likely to be taking part in the next PRIDE show, is the one and only Rodrigo Minotauro Nogueira! Minotauro is already preparing after taking care of his own MMA promotion this last December and some well deserved vacations after it. His opponent is yet to be announced, and in the meantime the submission wizard is making sure he is ready to face anyone DSE might throw in his path.
• Another camp that is getting ready for the Japanese February shows is the so feared Chute Boxe academy. Training has been tough in the new gym, as Murilo Ninja Rua is scheduled to participate in the next PRIDE show and is still awaiting an opponent. Ninja is reported to be sharpening his Muay Thai and willing to show lots of stand up action in his next fight. His brother, Mauricio Shogun, is also getting himself ready for an outing at PRIDE BUSHIDO, in mid-February. Shogun’s opponent may likely be Japanese veteran Akihiro Gono, who recently defeated Chute Boxe member Nilson de Castro in PANCRASE, but nothing is sure right now.
• Chute Boxe’s participation at PRIDE BUSHIDO won’t be limited to Shogun, as a new star on the rise is preparing for his likely Japanese debut. Fresh from his MECA win, Jadson Costa is training with the hopes of taking part in BUSHIDO, as this is not set in stone yet, but it’s very likely to happen. Jadson competes at 70kg, and Japanese veteran Takanori Gomi is rumored as a possible opponent. Joining Shogun and Jadson, will likely be none other than Wanderlei Silva himself. "The Axe Murderer" has been training hard and although rumors have that he will be facing Yuki Kondo, his opponent is likely to be another Japanese fighter who recently fought, and lost, at PRIDE New Year’s eve show, however no one knows for sure as of now. FCF will have more on the February shows soon.
• As the training continues to be tough as always in Chute Boxe, the team’s new partners Jorge Macaco Patino and Luis Azeredo have been experiencing a hard time in training in the academy, but show amazing heart and giving them all in the sessions. Macaco is now in Curitiba to spend some time training, and had the chance to spar with Murilo Ninja Rua, leaving the session with a busted nose, but happy as he could be as the warrior truly likes tough training. Luis Azeredo also experienced a cut in his eyebrow, also courtesy of Ninja, and both guys impressed everybody with their toughness and guts, as they thanked the fighters for the tough training and didn’t mind the bruises and cuts at all. The thought of an even improved Azeredo is scared, and may very well become a reality very soon with this kind of training!
• The Brazilian Northeast scene continues to provide good MMA quality as HEAT FC has been shaking things over in the region. Conrado Carlos, one of the HEAT promoters, is working on the third edition of his already regionally traditional RN VALE TUDO, a small feeder show to find some local talent, for next February. Conrado is currently deciding in what small town the show will be held, as among the fighters who will compete will be names such as DEEP veteran Gleison Tibau, HEAT veterans Alexandre Vaca and Sergio Junior. Vaca is a BJJ brown belt, who was a purple belt world champion, and recently dominated Marcelo Uriapuru at HEAT FC 2.

‘We have teams from Finland, Sweden, Japan and France coming to Florida for matches, and the Florida teams are stepping up for some hard fights’ begins matchmaker Miguel Iturrate. The three main events feature the American TOP TEAM defending the home turf against a team of Japanese fighters. ‘Izuru Takeuchi and Takuya Wada are formerly with SHOOTO and now with Pancrase – they are high ranked, veteran fighters with excellent records, and they represent BIG step up fights for Marcel Ferreira and Jorge Santiago.’ explains the matchmaker. ‘Takeuchi lost to ATT’s Dustin Denes, and Ferreira is next for him. Santiago is coming off a loss at the last AFC and needs a win as well. These are pressure packed fights for both teams.’ Returning from France will be up and comer Antony Rea, taking on Florida native Crafton ‘Blaze’ Wallace, a physical specimen who people can’t wait to see fight! Scandinavians David Bielkheden and Sauli Heilimo will be cornered by European star Joachim Hansen for their matches. Heilimo, a skilled fighter, faces up and comer Carlo Prater, who trains at Yves Edwards Thugjitsu school in Houston, TX. Bielkheden takes on local favorite Charles McCarthy who is undefeated in AFC and looking to impress again upon his return to Florida. Also, making his MMA debut is Hugo Berto, son of Diesel Berto, who is a PRIDE judge and a legendary martial arts figure from Florida. One more match to be added.