Friday, Aug 26, 2005
Pride Middleweight Grand Prix:final Conflict 2005 Weigh-ins
 Pride Middleweight Grand Prix: Final Conflict 2005 Weigh-Ins By Roxanne Modafferi TOKYO, August 27th — The banquet hall doors of the Century Marriott Tokyo Hotel swung open. Camera-toting reporters dashed to the first two rows of a sea of chairs closest to the stage where the fighters would be weighed in. A few minutes later, at least one hundred mostly Japanese entered the room, shuffling after an official who held a sign saying "Pride Fan Club." After being told in three different languages to wait, ominous music flooded the room from overhead speakers. The fighters made their entrance. Weigh-ins were preceded by opening statements by Dream Stage Entertainment CEO Nobuyuki Sakakibara and Nobuhiko Takada.
Officials brought in the scales and Igor Vovchanchyn was the first to step up, followed by his opponent Kazuhiro Nakamura. Alistair Overeem came next carrying a big hammer, which he was forced to relinquish once it tipped the scales too heavy. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua followed closely behind. Next came Wanderlei Silva, glaring at everyone like a hungry wolf, opponent and audience alike. Another dangerous man stalked onto the stage, and Ricardo Arona stepped on the scales. The famous stare-down ensued. Their eyes locked, Silva and Arona exchange a few terse words in Portuguese, much to the audience’s delight, before returning to their seats on opposite ends of the room. The weigh-ins ended with cheers from the fan club and posing for group pictures.
Weights:
Pride Final Conflict 2005 will be held tomorrow (Sunday, August 28, 2005) at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. The event will air the same day on Pay-Per-View in North America, check your local listings for times. |
posted by Full Contact Fighter @ 8:00 pm
