Pride Superstars Look to Shine at UFC 110

The lineup at UFC 110 looks a lot like that of a Pride Fighting Championships card this weekend. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Wanderlei Silva, and Mirko Cro-Cop are all on the line up. Rodrigo takes on a wrestling phenom in Cain Velasquez much like he did in pride he is taking on a powerhouse who has the physical strength to beat Minotauro but we are unsure if he has the kind of heart or submission prowess to deal with the legend. Wanderlei Silva takes on an up and coming Middleweight in Micheal Bisping in Wandy's first ever trip to the 185lb division. There is now even a squash match on the card with Mirko CroCop's original opponent Ben Rothwell pulling out last minute due to illness and Aussie Anthony Perosh stepping up to face Mirko. Legends die hard and all of the fans who loved Pride in it's heyday are looking for vintage performances from the fighters who so often wowed crowds in Japan. The main and co-main event could also be billed as Pride vs UFC bouts as the men opposing the Pride stars are UFC grown talent. Michael "The Count" Bisping earned his place amongst the UFC via his winning stint on The Ultimate Fighter series, and although he had quite a few fights before his UFC stint he was relatively unknown to the masses until after. Cain Velasquez built such a reputation in training that he was hard-pressed to even find opponents willing to face him outside of the UFC. Now having fought the majority of his seven fights inside of the Octagon Velasquez looks to take another step up in competition and face the Legen that is Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Will this card be a night that Pride Fighting fans look upon and be proud to have witnessed the heyday of such stars? The only fighter out of the three that has maintained the kind of prestige he built in Japan is Minotauro. He is the only man to hold Heavyweight titles in both Pride and The UFC, and continues to give stellar performances facing the best opposition the organization has to offer. In my mind he is a far greater Champion than his former Pride nemesis Fedor Emelianenko, although admittedly still the best heavyweight in the game, he has let his management decide who and where he fights to the point that he has missed so many opportunities along the way. Meanwhile Rodrigo looks to take another run at heavyweight gold with a win over the rising Velasquez, Mirko looks to resurrect the head-kick before hanging them up, and Wanderlei looks to unleash his brand of terror upon the 185lb class. Pride may be dead and gone, but the Legends that graced it's squared circle will live on forever and this weekend look to re-emerge.