Hendo vs. Vitor - Pride USA

September 22 2006
TOKYO, Japan

PRIDE FIGHTING is proud to announce an additional bout for its first ever show on American soil, "THE REAL DEAL." The event will take place on SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21st from the THOMAS & MACK CENTER in LAS VEGAS, NEVADA. Just added to the card: "DANGEROUS" DAN HENDERSON versus "THE PHENOM" VITOR BELFORT.

A two-time member of the U.S. Olympic wrestling team, "DANGEROUS" DAN HENDERSON has translated his skills into the world of mixed martial arts. With one of the most wicked right hands in the business, Henderson has catapulted to the sport's elite with wins over the likes of Renzo Gracie, Murilo "Ninja" Rua, and Yuki Kondo. On December 31, 2005, Henderson won the PRIDE FIGHTING welterweight title with a victory over Brazil's Murilo Bustamante.

"THE PHENOM" VITOR BELFORT returns to Las Vegas, this time under the PRIDE FIGHTING banner. A former UFC light-heavyweight champion, Belfort possesses a phenomenal combination of lightning quick fists along with elite ground skills as a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Belfort is coming off of a KO victory over Yoshiki Takahashi last July 1stat PRIDE FIGHTING's "CRITICAL COUNTDOWN ABSOLUTE."

Headlining the Thomas & Mack event is PRIDE FIGHTING heavyweight champion and 2004 Grand Prix champion, FEDOR EMELIANENKO against former Olympic wrestler and PRIDE FIGHTING 2000 open weight Grand Prix champion MARK "THE HAMMER" COLEMAN. Also, 2005 tournament champion, MAURICIO "SHOGUN" RUA will meet the explosive two-time NCAA wrestling champion, KEVIN "THE MONSTER" RANDLEMAN in a match of Team Hammer House versus Team Chute Boxe. Also previously announced, "THE BABY FACE ASSASSIN" JOSH BARNETT versus Olympic judo gold medallist PAWEL NASTULA and former IBA World super heavyweight Champion, ERIC "BUTTERBEAN" ESCH versus former K-1 Grand Champion, "THE SAMOAN MONSTER" MARK HUNT.

Tickets to PRIDE FIGHTING's "The Real Deal," sponsored by Caesars Palace, are available at www.pridefc.com or 1-866-US FIGHT. Ticket prices range from $50 to $700. PRIDE FIGHTING's first U.S. card will also be featured on Pay-Per-View for $39.95. Check your local cable or satellite provider for details.

wow, the "battle of the two guys that have looked absolutely shot recently." fantastic.

the show is beguinning to be great...just wait until the day of the show....

Pride is always building the show until the last week.

Does anyone know if this is at 205 or 185? I don't think Belfort could make 185, but Dan could fight at 205 easily.

Dan walks around at like 196lbs when he's maxed out, just FYI.

wicked matchup!

196 maxed out, that's not THAT big considering Belfort will probably weigh 220 come fight time :(

Dan's fought bigger guys his whole career - it won't be anything new to him.

GO HENDO!

I just got confirmation that the fight is at 205lbs.

Could be interesting. Hendo has always fought better when fighting bigger opponents

yep its his cardio. he brings vitor to the 2nd rd & the chances of him getting the nod greatly increase

This is a must win for both guys IMO.

Those are two big name fighters who have both looked average at best.

AWESOME FIGHT! Both guys have alot of fans and detractors

So is ringgrrl dating Hendo er sonething?

LOL - no, I help him run his website among other work I've done for the TQFC guys.

And I haven't spelled it "ringrrl" in like two years now, btw.

GO HENDO! is correct

I look forward to this fight. Dan is one of my favorite fighters.

OiKing took the words right out of my mouth!