April 19, 2006 TOKYO, Japan – Two additional bouts have been announced for PRIDE FIGHTING’S upcoming May 5th event, TOTAL ELIMINATION ABSOLUTE 2006:  JAMES “COLOSSUS” THOMPSON versus KAZUYUKI “IRONHEAD” FUJITA and ALISTAIR “DEMOLITION MAN” OVEREEM versus Team Crocop’s FABRICIO WERDUM. 

Coming off of 3 consecutive victories, the 6’4 264 lb "COLOSSUS" JAMES THOMPSON is on a winning streak and has destroyed all his last three victims with KO or TKO. On May 5th, he will face the smaller 6’0 232 lb KAZUYUKI FUJITA, who is the only fighter to have come close to KOing the current heavy weight champion, FEDOR EMELIANKO. FUJITA has not fought in PRIDE since 2003, but returns to the ring at TOTAL ELIMINATION ABSOLUTE with the dream of being crowned the world’s number one fighter!

The 6’5 ALISTAIR OVEREEM is not to be take lightly as he has defeated the likes of SERGEI KHARITONOV, IGOR VOVCHANCHYN and VITOR BELFORT. With an arsenal of deadly Muay Thai strikes as well as an improved ground game, this Dutchman will battle Team Crocop’s FABRICIO WERDUM. Hailing from Brazil, WERDUM is well versed on the ground and coaches MIRKO FILIPOVIC in Brazilian JiuJitsu. With a PRIDE record of 3 wins to 1 loss, WERDUM competes in this tournament eager to prove himself as a fighter and to claim the title of the world’s best fighter.

The card so far features Japanese Judo legend and Olympic gold medallist HIDEHIKO YOSHIDA against the former WBO NABO cruiserweight boxing champion YOSUKE “YOSUKEZAN” NISHIJIMA. Meanwhile, the Croatian sensation, MIRKO “CROCOP” FILIPOVIC goes toe to toe with IKUHISA “THE PUNK” MINOWA, leaving JOSH “BABY-FACED ASSASIN” BARNETT to clash with Red Devil’s ALEKSANDER EMELIANENKO.

Other fighters expected to participate in the tournament include:  ANTONIO RODRIGO NOGUEIRA, MARK HUNT, “TK” KOSAKA, and WANDERLEI SILVA.  Additional participants and match ups to be announced soon.

TOTAL ELIMINATION ABSOLUTE is the first round of PRIDE FIGHTING’S 2006 16-Man Grand Prix Tournament.  ABSOLUTE means no weight classes.  The tournament will span three events … TOTAL ELIMINATION ABSOLUTE (Opening Round), CRITICAL COUNTDOWN ABSOLUTE (Second Round) and FINAL CONFLICT ABSOLUTE (Semi-Finals and Finals).   Dates for the latter two events will be announced soon.

TOTAL EILIMINATION ABSOLUTE 2006 is scheduled to premiere on North American pay per view on Friday, May 5th, 2006.

INDEMAND, DIRECTV, DISH Network, TVN
PPV Premiere Date: Friday, May 5th, 2006
Premiere Time: 10:00 pm ET, 7:00 pm PT
Count Down show: 9:30 pm ET, 6:30 pm PT

TOURNAMENT MATCHES

Hidehiko Yoshida (Japan) vs. Yosuke Nishijima (Japan)
Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic (Croatia) vs. Ikuhisa “The Punk” Minowa (Japan)
Josh Barnett (USA) vs. Aleksander Emelianenko (Russia)
James “Colossus” Thompson (UK) vs. Kazuyuki Fujita (Japan)
Alistair Overeem (Holland) vs. Fabricio Werdum (Brazil)

TOURNAMENT PARTICIPANTS

Mark Hunt (New Zealand)
“TK” Kosaka (Japan)
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (Brazil)
Wanderlei Silva (Brazil)

Participants and fight card subject to change.

For additional replay times, please contact your pay per view provider or pridefc.com.

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