Fedor Emelianenko, champion "poids lourds" du Pride FC depuis 2003 (victoire contre Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Noigueira) et vainqueur du Pride Grand Prix 2004 ne participera finalement pas au Grand Prix 2006.

Son partenaire d'entraînement Roman Zentsov et son frère Alexander Emalianenko avaient participé au premier tour et Zentsov (vainqueur de Gilbert Yvel) devait laisser sa place à Fedor lors du second tour. Malheureusement, l'intervention chirurgicale subie par Fedor nécessitera une plus longue convalescence et Fedor ne pourra pas combattre le 1er juillet.

Pour la plus grande satisfaction des fans, c'est Wanderlei Silva (le champion en titre des moins de 93 kg) qui intègrera le tournoi au second tour. La rumeur indique même qu'il serait opposé à "Minotauro" (partenaire d'entraînement de Ricardo Arona contre lequel Wanderlei vient de livrer deux combats à l'issue extrêmement serrée).

Entretien de Fedor Emelianenko sur www.fightsport.com avant décision des médecins :

Interviewer: What was your impression of the May 5th event?

Fedor: Firstly, I feel bad that Aleks lost, very disappointed. That is my first impression. Zentzov winning is my only consolation. The results of the other fights were basically as expected.

Interviewer: What was the cause of Alexander's loss?

Fedor: Perhaps I think something was lacking in the preparation phase. Also, what I want to say is that in the first round Josh Barnett seemed to be rubbing something into his eyes and called for a break in the action. That stopped the fight and there was a doctor to check him, but the results were fine. It was apparent that there was nothing wrong with the eye, so I don't understand why he did that.

Interviewer: Afterwards Josh pointed at you and provoked you.

Fedor: I think that sort of demonstration is a very good thing (laughing). Josh is a good fighter, a strong fighter, but he was defeated twice by Mirko Cro Cop. Comparatively, I think Josh is less than Mirko, and he will fail when faced with a fighter of that level. Of course I respect him as a fighter.

Interviewer: Is Josh worthy of fighting you, having defeated your brother?

Fedor: It's not a matter of worthiness or not. I defeated Mirko, although it was not without hard work. Considering that he lost to Mirko twice, it's apparent that there is still a gap between us. But I am ready to fight anyone, so I don't underestimate anyone.

Interviewer: How about the comments by Mr. Sakakibara that he wants Fujita or Yoshida to go against you, if you are able to participate in the second round of the GP?

Fedor: I feel Fujita-san is a good fighter. However, it took a while for him to beat Thompson. I thought Fujita could've ended the fight earlier. Yoshida, well this matchmaking was lucky for him.

Interviewer: Did Fujita seem to have improved since fighting with you?

Fedor: To be honest, it seemed he has not improved, although we haven't seen him fight much so I don't know. He seemed weaker than the time when he fought me.

Interviewer: One year ago you said you were interested in fighting Yoshida, as he is a gold medalist. What is your feeling now?

Fedor: I still want to fight against Yoshida-san, because I always want to fight against the wonderful player who has captured an Olympic medal. Because Yoshida is the type of fighter who fights thinking how to show a great technique. Fighting him is very interesting.

Interviewer: T.K. Kohsaka retired after his fight. What did you think?

Fedor: It was very strange to see that T.K. did not show his usual high level technique. He dared to fight strike-for-strike with Hunt, which is Hunt's strong point. I thought that being defeated by Hunt without showing his own strong points was very strange. Why did T.K.-san do that? Why were his good techniques not shown and opportunities not taken? I think it was possible to show the techinques in which he had more advantage.

Interviewer: Do you have a message for T.K.?

Fedor: That fight is only a strange impression for me, rather than any feeling about retirement. I think T.K. could have put out his strong points and shown his merit quickly. It is not necessary to bravely show your weak points. Why did he not use his multiple techniques, even in the mount? I am baffled.

Interviewer: Since you fought against T.K., do you have any feeling about his retirement?

Fedor: No. If a professional athlete chooses to retire, there is no special feeling about it.

Interviewer: I see, then what do you think about Hunt's statement that he will overthrow you in the second round?

Fedor: He is a good fighter, but it is very doubtful that he can win in the second round. I think he will possibly be defeated by someone.

Interviewer: Who then becomes the most formidable opponent for you in the second round?

Fedor: The fighter who has improved the most, especially with new techniques that have not been used before. There are many fine fighters and the results were roughly as expected, but no one showed any new techniques or considerable growth. Therefore I don't think there is a most formidable opponent for me. Perhaps I will get to face such an opponent, but the fact is that for many of them, this will be their second defeat by my hand. However, Noguiera is there, but we have fought twice and he lost both fights. So with that in mind, I don't think there is a significant foe. If Nogueira has acquired some new skills then he might be a wonderful opponent, but after seeing the first round I don't think he's shown any considerable growth.

Interviewer: That is a confident statement! What is the state of your right hand now?

Fedor: The doctor has seen it again, but nothing can be said at the current stage. There is still a metal plate in it now.

Interviewer: Will you be able to participate in the second round?

Fedor: I want to participate very much. I will fight in July or whenever the hand heals.

Annonce officielle du www.pridefc.com :

A confused PRIDE Openweight Grand Prix has gained some clarity.

PRIDE Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko has officially withdrawn from the PRIDE Openweight Grand Prix. Emelianenko, who underwent surgery on his right hand to repair a damaged thumb, will not be ready in time to compete on July 1st as was previously hoped. Dream Stage Entertainment slotted Emelianenko into the second round, giving him a bye through the first round on May 5th, hoping that he would be sufficiently healthy enough to fight. However, a Russian doctor informed DSE President Nobuyuki Sakakibara that the earliest that the metal plate in Fedor's hand could be removed is in June.

Emelianenko apologized to the Japanese fans for his lingering injury, and went on to state that he would like to fight any time in the late year, whether it be at the Openweight Grand Prix finale in September, at PRIDE's first American show in Las Vegas in October, or on New Years Eve at Otoko Matsuri.

In Emelianenko's place, will be PRIDE Middleweight Champion Wanderlei Silva. Silva, who was scheduled to be in the first round of the Grand Prix before contract disputes, is rumored to be taking on Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

Also, Croatian superstar Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic's teammates from the Team Nokaut have confirmed that despite a deep bone bruise to his left ankle, Filipovic will indeed participate in the July 1st Openweight Grand Prix event at Saitama Super Arena

Le K1, c'est le Grand Prix "toutes catégories" pour les sports de percussion (Karaté, Kempo, Kung-Fu, Kick-Boxing, etc), c'est aussi la branche MMA (le K1 Heros) et c'est enfin le K1 Max : un tournoi pieds-poings pour des hommes de 70 kg maximum.

On connaît enfin les appariements pour le tournoi final de la 5ème édition :

Dans sa branche dédiée aux Arts Martiaux Mixtes (MMA), le K1 s'est trouvé une vedette chez les petites catégories : Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto. Il affrontait cette fois une autre Japonais Kazuyuki Miyata ... et l'a emporté par KO en 4 secondes de combat ! Record battu !

Mais les organisateurs ne se sont pas contentés de cette seule affiche.

Parmi les autres résultats, on notera la victoire expéditive de l'Indien (une nationalité pas si courante en MMA) "Black Mamba" face au pourtant très bon Hideo Tokoro qui avait mis KO le champion de Shooto Alexandre "Pequeno" Nogueira et aussi obtenu un match nul contre Royce Gracie en pesant pourtant près de 20 kg de moins.

La victoire (enfin) du vétéran Don Frye contre l'ancien yokozuna de Sumo "Akebono", celle de l'homme au visage de Shrek (Antonio Silva) contre le lutteur Tom Erickson, et du Japonais Kazuhiro Hamanaka contre le sumotori "Wakashoyo", montrent que le K1 Heros est aussi capable d'offrir des combats de poids lourds (super-lourds même).

Touts les détails à : http://www.so-net.ne.jp/feg/k-1gp/top715.htm

Depuis la naissance du K1 Grand Prix, les Néerlandais ont prouvé que les meilleurs kick-boxeurs du monde sont originaires des Pays-Bas. Peter Aerts, Ernesto Hoost, Remy Bonjasky et le géant Semmy Schilt totalisent 10 titres sur les 13 éditions du K1 depuis 1993.
Un K1 Amsterdam (capitale des Pays-Bas) s'impose donc comme l'événement de ce milieu d'année.

Voici les résultats du 13 mai 2006 :

Dans le tournoi, le local Melvin Manhoef a du se retirer sur blessure malgré sa victoire (KO1) en quart de finale. C'est le Suisse Bjorn Bregy qui s'est ensuite emparé de la victoire en signant trois KO consécutifs (contre le Français Freddy Kemayo, l'autre Français Naoufal "Iron Leg" et, en finale, contre le remplaçant hollandais Ghokan Saki).

Mais le plus intéressant est venu des "super-fights" :
-Semmy Schilt (vainqueur du K1 Grand Prix 2005) s'est consolé de sa récente défaite contre Peter Aerts en obtenant une victoire aux points contre son compatriote Lloyd Van Dams (qui a commencé une brillante carrière en Boxe Anglaise).

- Remy Bonjasky (vainqueur des éditions 2003 et 2004 du K1 Grand Prix) a signé une belle victoire aux points contre le puissant Jérôme LeBanner (double finaliste malheureux du K1 GP en 1995 et 2002).

- Enfin, dans le combat vedette de la soirée, Ernesto Hoost (quadruple vainqueur du K1 Grand Prix : 1997, 1999, 2000 et 2002) a obtenu une superbe victoire aux points contre son compatriote Peter Aerts (triple vainqueur du K1 Grand Prix : 1994, 1995 et 1998), pourtant auréolé de sa récente victoire contre Semmy Schilt. Ces deux hommes en étaient au moins à leur quatrième rencontre (des combats toujours très serrés) et s'affirment, une fois de plus, comme les meilleurs poids lourds de la décennie. Il faut toutefois préciser que Peter Aerts a accepté de remplacer au pied-levé (seulement une heure avant le combat !) Bob Sapp qui s'était désisté au dernier moment pour la plus grande tristesse des organisateurs et du public.

Tous les détails aux adresses suivantes :
http://www.so-net.ne.jp/feg/k-1gp/top722.htm
http://www.so-net.ne.jp/feg/k-1gp/top722.htm