WERDUM VERSUS ZENTSOV ADDED TO
FINAL CONFLICT 2005

From Dream Stage Entertainment
August 16, 2005
TOKYO, Japan – The match up of Fabricio Werdum versus Roman Zentsov has been added to the fightcard of PRIDE FIGHTING’S upcoming event, FINAL CONFLICT 2005, which is scheduled to premiere on North American pay per view on August 28th, 2005 at 9:00 pm EST, 6:00 pm PST.

Werdum is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt and represents both the countries of Brazil and Spain.  Thus far in his mixed martial arts career he is undefeated with a record of 5-0-1, capped off by his last victory at PRIDE Fighting 29 “Fists of Fire” against Tom Erikson (via choke).  Werdum is a member of Mirko Cro Cop’s Cro Cop Squad Gym, lending his expertise in the ground game to the team’s legendary striking reputation.  Roman Zentsov is a native of St. Petersburg, Russia, and a member of Fedor Emelianenko’s Red Devil Sport Club.  Equally strong on his feet and on the ground, Zentsov looks to take out Werdum as each of their respective team leaders (Fedor and Cro Cop) will face off in the main event of the evening. 

Additional bouts include UFC veteran and legendary brawler David “Tank” Abbott against Judo Olympic gold-medallist Hidehiko Yoshida … Yoshida’s protégé, Kazuhiro Nakamura, going head to head with Ukrainian hard-hitter Igor Vovchanchyn … the semi finals and finals of the 2005 middleweight tournament featuring Wanderlei Silva, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Alistair Overeem and Ricardo Arona … and the long awaited heavyweight title fight between champion Fedor Emelianenko and challenger Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic.

      
Fabricio Werdum (Brazil/Spain) vs. Roman Zentsov (Russia)

FIGHTCARD:
The Semi-Finals and Finals of the Middleweight Tournament:
Wanderlei Silva (Brazil) vs. Ricardo Arona (Brazil)
Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (Brazil) vs. Alistair Overeem (Holland)
Winner Silva/Arona vs. Winner Rua/Overeem

Heavyweight Championship Match
Fedor Emelianenko (Russia) vs. Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic (Croatia)
(Champion)                (Challenger)

Additional Matches:
 David “Tank” Abbott (USA) vs. Hidehiko Yoshida (Japan)
Igor Vovchanchyn (Ukraine) vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura (Japan)
Fabricio Werdum (Brazil/Spain) vs. Roman Zentsov (Russia)

Matches Subject to Change.

PRIDE FIGHTING’S 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix Tournament has spanned three events … TOTAL ELIMINATION (opening round), CRITICAL COUNTDOWN (Second Round) and now FINAL CONFLICT (Semi-Finals and Finals).   Sixteen fighters began last April and at FINAL CONFLICT only one will be crowned champion! 

FINAL CONFLICT 2005 premieres on North American pay per view via iNDEMAND, DIRECTV, DISH NETWORK, UrbanXtra, TVN1, VU!, and Viewer’s Choice Canada on Sunday, August 28th, 2005 at 9:00 pm EST, 6:00 pm PST (including a countdown show at 8:30pm EST, 5:30pm PST).  For additional replay times, please contact your pay per view provider or pridefc.com. 

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