Ryan X Sakuraba is ON (reliable source)

[Lacrymosa]

Cello,

I have no doubt that you believe that's true, but I heard that Frank was physically and technically dominated when he visited and sparred at Renzo Gracie's academy.

That doesn't quite add up for those who consider Shamrock a god. I mean, really, aside from Tito, Horn (as a rookie), Igor (in a freak knockout), and Jackson (a one-dimensional wrestler), Frank Shamrock hasn't really fought the powerhouses of the UFC....and he certainly wouldn't venture outside of his weight class to fight a heavyweight.

I do believe Frank Shamrock is a talented fighter, but there ARE better fights for him out there. Like Kenny, though, Frank seems to pick his matches carefully.

[Hawk]

Ronin,
After Rickson beat Funaki his people tried to set up the match. They couldn't work it out. Eventually, it will be worked out and they'll fight. By the way, this isn't something unusual for Rickson. He fights when he's ready & has for a long time. The same thing happen the first time he fought Zulu. Zulu came through, gonna do this & that to Rickson, HOWEVER, he never did it face to face. The next time around, Rickson got the match set and left the big man looking up at the lights. Rickson is easy to get to fight. All you have to do is go to his school and make an a$$ out of yourself challenging Rickson & everybody else. Anjo did this and paid the price. If Rickson's such a paper tiger, its always amazed me that no one has followed Anjo's lead.
Hawk

[Oberleutnant]

quad/tony10: I'm not sure which interview you saw, however I saw in an interview Sak said he wasn't particularly interested in fighting Ryan, but he fights WHOEVER THE PROMOTERS PIC, regardless of whether or not he's interested in the guy.

[cello]

lacrymosa, frank is a small guy, I wouldnt be surprised if got handled in a sparring situation, especially if he was sparring with a heavier guy. You have to have a strong background in bjj to just walk into an academy and expect to tap out guys. There is no way he's going to tap renzo wearing a gi in renzo's school. Could renzo do the same thing in a real match, I dont know, I dont think so. I sparred with igor in bayside one time and aside from his strength he wasnt that impressive at all. Could he and the guy who picked him up and dropped him on his head, beat me up in a real match? I think yes.

c

[Tony10]

Ober--

Yeah, that's probably right too. I didn't mean that Sak is picking this; it's probably just what you say.

[Cooter]

Tony10,
I hear you, and Saku did say he wasn't too interested in fighting Ryan, but he's also not especially choosy about who he fights. He steps up against whoever DSE puts in front of him, and I just think they (DSE) want to dip into the Gracie well one more time. The only real restriction he's adamant about is that he doesn't want to fight guys who are heavier than he is, and that includes fighters who are middleweights by SEG's criterion--Ortiz, Belfort, and Silva in particular. Who does that leave? At the 175-185 pound range, the only guys with "names" are Shamrock, Henderson, and a truckload of Gracies. It's not clear that the first two want to fight Saku, so Ryan may have gotten it by elimination?

Re: Ryan's skills, who the heck knows? To his credit, in his 30 seconds in Pride, he was just plain awesome--he took down a near-Olympic-level wrestler and showed great hands. Combined with Gracie ground skills, that's a formidable package. I understand that we shouldn't read too much into one fight though, and Ryan sure is green, at least in the cage. He does have a 500-0 streetfighting record, you know.

I would certainly see like to see Ryan get some more experience (and prove his worthiness) before taking on a guy like Saku, but it appears the die has been cast

[fascistfury]

maybe yan will bring a gun...then he'll kick sak's A$$...but that's about he only wy he'll defeat sak!

[cello]

Yeah, i dont think he can pull it off either. I didnt see saks fight with vitor, but if vitor's main strength got neutrilized, i dont see what ryan can do. I wish him luck though if this fight goes down.

c

[StrongerThanDeath]

I know he's the best Gacie but I dont think he can beat Sak.

Frank Shamrock however might be able to do it....who knows until we see it actually happen???

[Christian]

Sak ROCKS!!!!
Sak by submission.

[Ronin]

Hawk:

I realize Rickson is a bad-ass in the dojo, but he does seem awfully reluctant to take on Sak. I realize he has a lot to lose, but that's what comes with the mantle of being "family champion". I just want to see this fight before Rickson gets too old and goes on disability. I mean, at his age, a broken hip could end his career. j/k.

As for Frank:

I wouldn't call Frank an "active fighter" cello, since he hasn't fought in a year. He's off my Top 10 list for now. But Lac, give the guy some credit, he fought everyone they put in front of him. "Freak knockout"? No more than Renzo's KO of Oleg. Frank was the man until this year. Now it's Sak.

[GROUND CONTROL]

Lacrymosa - Frank has never trained in Renzo's academy. He visited Ralph's academy. He also never wore a gi they trained without one. Frank said that he did get tapped but he only went their to learn. When Ralph started going for the kill Frank turned it up also. He did catch him in a leg lock and hurt Ralph's knee. In an interview Ralph said he did hurt his leg rolling with Frank but Frank never caught him. Even if they were to put on gi's and he got tapped so what? He dosen't train with a gi and is expected to lose.

[cello]

ronin, frank is not active active, but compared to rickson... He's more around than jimmy hoffa.

But it dosnt matter, the guys that I want see "step up to the plate" are not. Frank wants more training time and rickson wants $45,000,001.00 in a swiss account.

c

[L3FTH00K]

it's simply risk vs. reward.
If Sak losses to Ryan its horrible but if Sak wins it would have been expected. After beating Royler, Renzo, and Royce Sak deserves the big dawg, thats Rickson.

[Eazy-E]

Oh Great?!

Now we get to see the arguably best middleweight fight against a new guy with very little 'professional' experience. And Ryan is smaller, right?

This doesnt sound like the makings of a very even fight. I would expect that Sak will win pretty easily. If Renzo, Royler and Royce cant beat this guy, what the Fluck is Ryan going to do?!

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but Ryan has nowhere near the NHB or BJJ experience as the other three Gracies who already lost to Sak. Cant they find us a better opponent for Sak? I would much rather see TRIGG v Sak.

Whatever happened with the idea that a challenger had to work his way up the ranks before he 'earned' a fight against the champion? There have got to be dozens of more deserving guys than Ryan. Fighting against Sak in Pride is a big deal ($$ and reputation) for most challengers. It helps propell their career if they do well. Thus, I would much rather see it go to someone who has earned this over the last few years.

On the other hand, Ryan seems like a real goon, and maybe it will do him some good to be pimped in front of 50,000 live fans and millions on TV.

And once Sak wins this, which Gracie will they wheel out next?! Rockson?

E