2006 in Pride FC

The year 2006 was the 10th year in the history of the Pride Fighting Championships, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan. 2006 had 10 events beginning with, Pride 31 - Unbreakable.

Debut Pride FC fighters

The following fighters fought their first Pride FC fight in 2006:

• Clay French
• Cristiano Marcello
• Cyrille Diabate
• Dae Won Kim
• David Baron
• David Bielkheden
• Edson Claas Vieira
• Eldari Kurtanidze
• Eric Esch
• Eun-Su Lee
• Evangelista Santos
• Gegard Mousasi
• Gilbert Melendez
• Gregory Bouchelaghem

• Hatsu Hioki
• Hector Lombard
• Jason Black
• Jean-Francois Lenogue
• Jeff Curran
• Joe Pearson
• Joey Villasenor
• John Olav Einemo
• Kenji Arai
• Luciano Azevedo
• Mark Weir
• Mike Plotcheck
• Mitsuhiro Ishida

• Naoki Matsushita
• Nobuhiro Obiya
• Olaf Alfonso
• Paul Rodriguez
• Robbie Lawler
• Sean O'Haire
• Seichi Ikemoto
• Shinya Aoki
• Tae Hyun Lee
• Travis Galbraith
• Won Jin Eoh
• Yoshihiro Nakao
• Yosuke Nishijima

Events list

Pride 31: Unbreakable

Pride 31: Unbreakable^[1] was an event held on February 26, 2006, at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

Pride FC: Bushido 10

Pride FC: Bushido 10^[2] was an event held on April 2, 2006, at Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo, Japan.

Pride FC: Total Elimination Absolute

Pride FC: Total Elimination Absolute^[3] was an event held on May 5, 2006, at Osaka Dome in Osaka, Japan.

This event featured the first round of Pride's 2006 Open-Weight tournament. Seven tournament matches were held along with one alternate match. The seven winning participants advanced to the second round, Pride Critical Countdown Absolute. The winner of the alternate bout will take the place of any fighter who is unable to participate in subsequent matches.

Pride Heavyweight Champion and 2004 Heavyweight Grand Prix winner Fedor Emelianenko was originally set to enter the tournament with a first round bye, but a hand injury prevented him from participating. Wanderlei Silva, then current Pride middleweight champion, received his bye into the second round.

2006 Pride Open-Weight Grand Prix Bracket

¹Fedor Emelianenko suffered a hand injury and could not participate in the tournament. He was replaced by Wanderlei Silva.

Pride FC: Bushido 11

Pride FC: Bushido 11^[4] was an event held on June 4, 2006, at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

Pride FC: Critical Countdown Absolute

Pride FC: Critical Countdown Absolute^[5] was an event held on July 1, 2006, at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

2006 Pride Open-Weight Grand Prix Bracket

¹Fedor Emelianenko suffered a hand injury and could not participate in the tournament. He was replaced by Wanderlei Silva.

Pride FC: Bushido 12

Pride FC: Bushido 12^[6] was an event held on August 27, 2006, at Nagoya Rainbow Hall in Nagoya, Japan.

Pride FC: Final Conflict Absolute

Pride FC: Final Conflict Absolute^[7] was an event held on September 10, 2006, at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

This event comprised the semifinal and final rounds of the Pride Open-Weight Grand Prix tournament. The tournament began on May 5, 2006, at the Total Elimination Absolute event and then continued on July 1, 2006, at Critical Countdown Absolute.

On August 5, 2006, Mirko Cro Cop announced his withdrawal from the tournament following a dispute over pay with Pride.^[8] On August 7, 2006, it was reported that the matter had been resolved and Cro Cop would once again take his place in the finals.^[9]

2006 Pride Open-Weight Grand Prix Bracket

¹Fedor Emelianenko suffered a hand injury and could not participate in the tournament. He was replaced by Wanderlei Silva.

Pride 32: The Real Deal

Pride FC: Bushido 13

Pride FC: Bushido 13^[10] was an event held on November 5, 2006, at Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan.

This event consisted of the semifinal and final rounds of the Bushido Welterweight Grand Prix.

In a lightweight championship bout, Takanori Gomi faced Marcus Aurélio, who had defeated Gomi in a non-title fight at Pride Bushido 10.

Originally Gilbert Melendez was set to face Shinya Aoki but an injury during training forced Melendez to withdraw from the fight. Clay French replaced Melendez in the fight.^[11]

2006 Welterweight Grand Prix bracket

¹ Paulo Filho dropped from the Grand Prix due to injuries sustained during his bout with Kazuo Misaki, who replaced him in the final round against Denis Kang.

Pride FC: Shockwave 2006

See also

• Pride Fighting Championships
• List of Pride Fighting Championships champions
• List of Pride Fighting events

References

1. ^ "Pride 31 - Dreamers". Sherdog. Archived December 5, 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
2. ^ "Pride - Bushido 10". Sherdog. Archived November 16, 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
3. ^ "Pride FC - Total Elimination Absolute". Sherdog. Archived December 5, 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
4. ^ "Pride - Bushido 11". Sherdog. Archived December 5, 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
5. ^ "Pride FC - Critical Countdown Absolute". Sherdog. Archived December 5, 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
6. ^ "Pride - Bushido 12". Sherdog. Archived December 5, 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
7. ^ "Pride FC - Final Conflict Absolute". Sherdog. Archived December 5, 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
8. ^ "Cro Cop" to Walk Way from Pride GP – Sherdog.com, August 5, 2006
9. ^ "Cro Cop" and DSE Reach Financial Terms – Sherdog.com, August 7, 2006
10. ^ "Pride - Bushido 13". Sherdog. Archived October 31, 2014 at the Wayback Machine.
11. ^ Melendez Out, French in at Bushido – Sherdog.com, November 1, 2006