PRIDE 27 INFERNO Preview

Kazuhiro Nakamura vs. Dos Caras Jr.

KAZUHIRO NAKAMURA: Japanese grappler, All-Japan 100 kilo Division Judo Champion, training partner and protégé of Olympic Judo Champion and World Gold Medallist Hidehiko Yoshida, training out of the Yoshida Dojo with a record of 1-1 in MMA, making his 3rd appearance (1-1) in the ring of the PFC
Abbreviated Fight History: Nakamura is a highly accomplished judo player and recognized as the protégé of Olympic Judo Champion and World Gold Medallist Hidehiko Yoshida. He had always wanted to compete in an event like Pride. With his teacher becoming successful in the sport, it opened the door for Kazuhiro to compete. Below are some of Nakamura's more significant contests.

Nakamura/Antonio Rogerio Nogueira: Nakamura is a judo instructor and made his MMA debut at Pride 25 against Rogerio "Minotoro" Nogueira. Kazuhiro opened with an impressive body lock throw to the floor and landed inside Nogueira's guard. The powerfully built Nakamura stood up in Rogerio's guard and attempted a number of guard passes and threw kicks to the upper thighs of "Minotoro" with confidence. His grappling looked solid as he avoided an early armbar and numerous triangle attempts by the Brazilian. However the standing battle was all Nogueira. Late in the 1st round, Kazuhiro would jump back into guard and struck Rogerio a number of times in the face, avoiding armbars, triangles and even an Omo Plata in the process. In the second round Nakamura didn't seem interested in standing and went to the mat with Nogueira. He was able to reverse a bad position early (Nogueira had his back for half a second) and have the bout brought back up. Rogerio was able to bring it back to the mat and unloaded strikes in Kazuhiro's guard. Nakamura was inactive on the mat and allowed Nogueira to get his back. "Minotoro" never let up, letting Nakamura think he was trying for the choke but maneuvered him into an armbar for the win.

Nakamura/Daniel Gracie: Both come out swinging but Gracie is a lot bigger and Nakamura seems off balance. They trade knees in the clinch then separate and trade strikes again including leg kicks. Early on there are no indications this is judo vs. jiu-jitsu. Nakamura rushes in for the takedown but gets tagged with a short right to the face Gracie falls on top of him in half mount. Gracie passes to try and mount but he is rolled and Nakamura lands on top in Gracie's guard. They trade strikes on the mat with Kazuhiro periodically standing and trying to pass Daniel's guard. Nakamura's punching becomes more accurate in the guard and he is landing more frequently. Although lengthy, the ground battle was more entertaining than most because neither fighter backed down. Nakamura eventually obtained half guard but rather than continue the ground play, he chose to blast Gracie with a hard right across the face and stand up. They continued to exchange on the feet with Gracie staying busier and landing uppercuts and knees to the body. In the last minute Nakamura was tired and basically worked to stay in close while Gracie had a little more left in his tank to strike.

Round two opens with another lengthy stand-up exchange but both fighters are feeling the effects of the intense first round. Gracie seems fresher but Nakamura heats up and lands some solid shots to the face and body. With three minutes left, Kazuhiro lands a punishing left hook to Daniel's head and the crowd erupts. They clinch and Nakamura lands uppercuts inside. Not to be denied Gracie fires back with a succession of punches that provides Daniel the opening to grab Kazuhiro's head for a front headlock. They resume striking and Gracie throws more strikes but Nakamura is more accurate and powerful in his delivery. Nakamura's punches appeared to hurt and Gracie's didn't. They clinch and a failed takedown by Nakamura turns into a front choke in from the guard by Gracie. In the final minute Kazuhiro frees his head and they fight from guard. Gracie tries an armbar but cannot seal it and they remain there until stood up and each is penalized with a yellow card. With thirty seconds left they restart on the feet. Gracie lands the better strikes in the exchange and both fighters seem spent when the bell sounds.

Strengths And Weaknesses: As a judo practitioner, Nakamura's strengths are his grappling and throwing skills. However, he showed tremendous improvement in his stand-up game against Gracie. Kazuhiro is a very accurate striker. His weakness may be his stamina. He appeared to gas a little in both rounds but kept fighting.

How He Can Beat Caras Jr.: By controlling the pace and position on the mat. Given his background, Caras Jr. can wrestle really well but when you add the striking and submissions, it is a different game. He will likely be more concerned with and focused on positioning on the ground and Nakamura already seems quite comfortable with that aspect of fighting. If Kazuhiro can pound him with strikes, Caras Jr. will likely make a mistake to seal his fate.

DOS CARAS JR.: Mexican professional wrestler, Mexican Freestyle and Greco-Roman Wrestling Champion, Mexican Greco-Roman Wrestling Team member, Zero One professional wrestler, DEEP veteran, training with AAA pro wrestlers with a record of 3-3 in MMA, making his 2nd appearance (0-1) in the ring of the PFC

Abbreviated Fight History: The name "Dos Caras" means "two faces" and he is the son of famous Mexican wrestler Dos Caras and nephew of Mil Mascaras (means "one thousand masks). Dos Caras Jr. was a member of the Mexican Greco-Roman Wrestling Team for 5 years and had aspirations of going to the Olympics in 2000 but Mexico did not send a wrestling team that year. He then turned to professional wrestling in Zero One and other organizations and has been competing in MMA since 2001. Below are some of Caras Jr.'s more significant contests.

Caras Jr./Kengo Watanabe: These two have met twice. The win over Watanabe at DEEP 2001: 2nd Impact can legitimately be called a fluke. As Caras Jr. was suplexing him to the floor, Watanabe posted with his right hand and had the weight of both he and Caras Jr. crashing down on the limb. It was a very disturbing sight, especially when Caras Jr. didn't know what happened and kept punching Watanabe until the ref stopped the bout. The rematch at DEEP 2001: 4th Impact had a decidedly different outcome with Watanabe choking the wrestler out.

Caras Jr./Brad Kohler: This bout against UFC veteran Brad Kohler took place at DEEP 12. He beat Brad but this is not the same Kohler you saw in the octagon. He's 39 years old and has been sic for the better part of two years. He's still big but he's not the machine he once was. Kohler opened with his usual jumpy style waiting to land a big right hand but Caras Jr. took him down and landed in sidemount. Brad was punching from the bottom and then verbally submits stating he hurt his shoulder on the takedown. Not much of a win there for Caras Jr.

Caras Jr./Mirko Filipovic: At the bell Caras Jr. circles away from Filipovics left leg. When he shoots in for a takedown it is tentative and Mirko simply pushes him away. Filipovic starts to cut off the ring and avoids another poorly executed takedown. Caras Jr. clips Filipovic with a leg strike but Mirko continues to circle and close in. Mirko lands a left to the head in the corner but Caras Jr. continues to circle back and even shoots again. "Cro Cop" looks tired of the games, walks right in and lands a high left roundhouse to the head KOing the Mexican wrestler. He follows with up with a vicious left hand to the head when Caras Jr. is already out.

Strengths And Weaknesses: Caras Jr.'s strength is his wrestling. He has a legitimate Greco-Roman Wrestling background and wrestling runs in his family. His takedowns should be solid and he will have a size advantage. As for a weakness, it is definitely a lack of serious competition. Prior to the 6 fights on his record, Dos was doing full-time pro wrestling and MMA and wrestling are not the same things. Also, given the way he was KO'd by "Cro Cop", he needs to work on his blocking and striking in the clinch.

How He Can Beat Nakamura: Try to outwrestle him and possibly slam him to the mat. Caras Jr. won't have the advantage on the mat and Nakamura's striking looked pretty solid last time. If Caras Jr. can use his Greco-Roman skills to drop him from a clinch, there's a chance he could injure or at least stun Nakamura and take advantage of the opening to land strikes.

MY PICK: Nakamura. Kazuhiro is showing huge strides in his maturation as a fighter. He has performed well and made Yoshida look like a heck of a trainer. Caras Jr. has a better chance of winning this bout than he did against "Cro Cop" due to both fighters being grapplers but his unfamiliarity with the day-to-day submission and striking training that is part of MMA will hurt him. Nakamura will likely have his way standing and only go to the mat when he's ready to finish. I feel it will be Nakamura by submission (possibly an armbar) in the 1st Rd.

DOWN THE ROAD:
Nakamura/Assueiro Silva: Nakamura fancies himself the new "Gracie Hunter" so he should keep going but there aren't many Gracies that are heavyweights. Silva only recently got healthy again and needs to stay busy.

Nakamura/Carlos Barreto: He's not exactly a Gracie fighter anymore but he's back fighting in the Brazilian Heat FC event.

Caras Jr./Norihisa Yamamoto: Who else is he going to fight? Are you going to feed him to Wanderlei?

Caras Jr./Cyril Abidi: The K-1 fighter faced Don Frye in the Inoki NYE '01show and was choked out. Maybe he's like to try is again against someone with less experience than "The Predator".