TOKYO, Japan - Former IBA heavyweight boxing champion, ERIC "BUTTERBEAN" ESCH is set to make his PRIDE Fighting debut at BUSHIDO SURVIVAL. The 350-pounder sports a boxing record of 72 wins (54 KOs) with 7 losses and 4 draws. His opponent will be the “giant killer”, IKUHISA “THE PUNK” MINOWA, who has defeated the likes of Giant Silva, Kimo Leopoldo and Phil Baroni.
The four tournament bouts will feature DAN HENDERSON vs. KAZUO MISAKI, RYO CHONAN vs. PAULO FILHO, GEGARD MOUSASI vs. AKIHIRO GONO, and DENIS KANG vs. AMAR SULOEV. Others scheduled to participate in non-tournament bouts include “The Fireball Kid” TAKANORI GOMI as well as Japanese fighter MITSUHIRO ISHIDA
PRIDE FIGHTING’S BUSHIDO SURVIVAL is the second round of an exclusive 16-man welterweight tournament, spanning three events. BUSHIDO SURVIVAL is scheduled to premiere in the United States on Fox Sports Net on Sunday, August 27th, 2006 at 7:00pm nationwide.
Ikuhisa “The Punk” Minowa vs. Eric “Butterbean” Esch
U.S. Premiere Schedule:
Premiere Date: Sunday, August 27th, 2006
Premiere Time: 7:00 pm nationwide
FIGHT CARD
Tournament Bouts:
Dan Henderson (USA) vs. Kazuo Misaki (Japan)
Akihiro Gono (Japan) vs. Gegard Mousasi (Armenia)
Ryo Chonan (Japan) vs. Paulo Filho (Brazil)
Denis Kang (Korea/Canada) vs. Amar Suloev (Russia)
Non-Tournament Bouts:
Tatsuya Kawajiri (Japan) vs. Chris Brennan (USA)
Nobuhiro Obiya (Japan) vs. Gilbert Melendez (USA)
Shinya Aoki (Japan) vs. Jason Black (USA)
Hatsu Hioki (Japan) vs. Jeff Curran (USA)
Ikuhisa “The Punk” Minowa (Japan) vs. Eric “Butterbean” Esch (USA)
Takanori Gomi (Japan) vs. TBA
Mitsuhiro Ishida (Japan) vs. TBA
Fight Card Subject to Change.
These are the world’s elite mixed martial artists squaring off in the PRIDE ring exclusively on FSN!
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