From Dream Stage Entertainment
LOS ANGELES, California –
Two more bouts have been added to PRIDE FIGHTING’s October 31st event, HIGH OCTANE. Already headlining the event is the highly anticipated title bout between middleweight world champion Wanderlei Silva and top contender Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Now added to the fightcard: “The Texas Crazy Horse” Heath Herring versus rising Japanese star Hirotaka Yokoi and New Zealand’s deadly striker Mark Hunt versus American Dan “The Bull” Bobish. All of these bouts are in addition to the colossal match-up of Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic versus Josh “The Babyface Assassin” Barnett and the pivotal middleweight bout of Dan “Hollywood” Henderson versus Kazuhiro Nakamura.

HIGH OCTANE will take place from the Saitama Super Arena in Japan and is scheduled to debut on North American pay per view via iNDEMAND, DIRECTV, DISH Network, and TVN on Sunday, October 31st, 2004 at 9:00pm EST, 6:00pm PST.

At 10-1, Hirotaka Yokoi is one of Japan’s most promising heavyweights; he is a veteran of the Rings organization and was victorious in his PRIDE FC debut, defeating Jerrel Venetiaan at PRIDE 23 CHAMPIONSHIP CHAOS 2. But it wasn’t until the opening round of the heavyweight Grand Prix tournament at TOTAL ELIMINATION 2004 that this fighter out of Osaka, Japan, made a name for himself. That evening he gave PRIDE FIGHTING interim heavyweight champion, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, everything he could handle. The champion was finally able to defeat his young opponent using a rarely seen choke-hold, but Yokoi’s fighting spirit won over the crowd. Yokoi’s opponent at HIGH OCTANE will be the 6’4, 240 pound Texan, Heath Herring. Representing team Golden Glory out of Holland, “The Texas Crazy Horse” had been riding a four fight-winning streak (which included wins over the 7’2 Giant Silva at SHOCKWAVE 2003 and Yoshiki Takahashi during the opening round of the heavyweight Grand Prix at TOTAL ELIMINATION 2004), that is until he reached the second round of the heavyweight tournament against Nogueira. Like Yokoi, Herring proved to be a difficult match for Nogueira … and like Yokoi, Nogueira used the exact same chokehold to defeat Herring! With both young fighters coming off of loses to Nogueira, which of the two will recover and take the next step forward in the heavyweight rankings?

The second bout added to the HIGH OCTANE fightcard features the classic match-up of striker versus grappler. At 5’10 and 250 pounds and representing Liverpool Kickboxing out of New Zealand, Mark Hunt is known as one of the most dangerous strikers in the world. After making the move from K-1 to MMA, Hunt made his PRIDE FIGHTING debut against Hidehiko Yoshida at CRITICAL COUNTDOWN 2004. Though he was not successful in that match, Hunt showed great promise and fans are eager to see what this kickboxing legend will do next. Hunt’s opponent at HIGH OCTANE will be MMA veteran and former “King of the Cage” heavyweight champion, Dan “The Bull” Bobish. This 6’1, 300 plus pound fighter combines a solid wrestling background with a brawling fight style and one thing is always certain---this bull charges forward! Originally from Brooklyn, New York, Bobish now lives and fights out of Cleveland, Ohio. In his career, Bobish has wins over “Dangerous” Dave Beneteau, “Big” Eric Pele and Mike Kyle. Will it be the night of the striker or will the grappler prove superior? Check out HIGH OCTANE to find out.

More matches to be announced soon!

FIGHT CARD

Wanderlei Silva (Brazil) vs. Quinton Jackson (USA)
(Champion) (Challenger)
(This bout is for the PRIDE middleweight championship)

Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic (Croatia) vs. Josh Barnett (USA)
Dan Henderson (USA) vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura (Japan)
Hirotaka Yokoi (Japan) vs. Heath Herring (USA)
Mark Hunt (New Zealand) vs. Dan Bobish (USA)

Fight card subject to change.

For more information on PRIDE FC, visit pridefc.com!