The opening video package shows a cross with the message "LIFE has a GOAL." Then the "PRIDE GP 2005 Middleweight" logo is shown along with highlights from the 4/23 Osaka Dome & 6/26 Saitama shows with a rising sun in the background. A lot of the focus is on Silva. Then "PRIDE HEAVY-WEIGHT championship" is shown and clips of both Mirko & Fedor are shown with the tagline "LIFE has a GOAL" to end it. Alistair Overeem is shown with a really hot girl touching him. Then it says "A CELEBRATION."

A slightly modified version of the normal stage is being used, but still looks good. The fighters are being introduced. Tank Abbott comes out in a red shirt and he actually looks sober. Yoshida comes out with a big grin on his face. Mirko comes out with his arms raised. He has a PRIDE shirt on. Fedor comes out in a red shirt and waves his hand to the crowd. Alistair Overeem, "Mr. Ikemen," comes out with the dreaded hammer. Shogun has a ballcap on and looks really excited. Arona comes out with his arms in the air and looks real intense and serious. Silva comes out with his arms raised and a very confident pose.

A video package for Kazuhiro Nakamura is shown. It starts off with the dreaded move where Nakamura tried to take off the gi in the 6/26 Saitama fight against Vanderlei Silva. While footage of the 6/26 fight is shown, Yoshida is shown in a small box on the right corner of the screen trying to explain why Nakamura did what he did. Nakamura is asked for comments and all he can do is laugh. We move onto footage of Igor Vovchanchyn's brutal KO of Yoshiki Takahashi and the tagline "SPEED & POWER." The video package focuses on Nakamura training with Mark Hunt in Australia. Hunt is asked to give comments on Nakamura. 

gor Vovchanchyn comes to the ring in a red shirt with his face on it. The fans seem to be giving him a good reaction. The building is definitely full, that's for sure. Nakamura comes out with the blue Judo gi on.

1. GP RESERVE MATCH: Igor Vovchanchyn vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura

Nakamura has taken the gi off before the fight. Both guys shake hands during the referee instructions. Round one. Igor's got his left arm out, trying to gauge distance. Nakamura goes for a punch and ends up getting tagged and goes down. Igor goes on top of Nakamura to try to deck him. Igor's all over him early. He is laying some punches on Nakamura's face. Igor has side-mount now. Igor is working with some body shots. Igor is on top of Nakamura and hitting some more punches. Very aggressive showing so far. Nakamura is trying to hold on and buy some time. The fighters are re-positioned with Igor in side-mount. 2 minutes passed. Igor remains on top and Nakamura is trying to clinch or grab for Igor's right arm. Igor moves to side-mount while Nakamura basically bear-hugs. Nakamura managed to roll Igor to the bottom position and is on top for the first time. The fighters are re-positioned to the center of the ring. Nakamura is squatting on top of Igor and Igor nearly rolled out of the predictament. Igor has the guard on now. Nakamura is now standing. Igor goes for a kick and Nakamura tags Igor when Igor tries to stand up. Both standing and Igor is getting real aggressive on punching, and he manages to take Nakamura down. Igor hits Nakamura in the face with a shot, and Igor's in side-mount now. 5 minutes passed, half-way through round one. Igor is trying to use his left arm to get some distance, and Nakamura is trying anything to get out of his current predictament. Nakamura goes for an ankle lock and Igor stands up to break out of it, then lands back on top of Nakamura in side-mount. Nakamura out-wrestles Igor and reverses position. Igor is trying to use his legs to scissors to wrap around Nakamura's left leg. Nakamura is in side-mount now. 8 minutes passed. Nakamura is trying to work for a submission on Igor's left arm, either to get him in a crank hold or work for the arm-lock. Nakamura is getting the arm-lock cinched and Igor is fighting it as much as he can. 45 seconds left. Igor looks to have escaped it. Igor manages to get out of bottom position and is on top with 10 seconds to go, as he punches away. End of round one.

Round two starts. Igor is on the attack standing up and he clearly feels comfortable. He takes Nakamura down and is now on top. Igor's trying to use right punches to score points. Nakamura tries to roll out and manages to reverse position. Igor has a full guard on now. The fighters are re-positioned to the center of the ring. Nakamura has really slowed the pace down. Nakamura squats while on top and tries for some punches but no luck. 2 minutes passed, 3 minutes remaining. Nakamura is now in side-mount. He seems to be trying to go for an arm-lock. He's going for Igor's right arm and is trying for it, but can't get it on. Nakamura gets off of Igor and Igor ends up on top. 1 minute remaining. We see the referee issue the dreaded yellow card to the guys. Stand-up now and Igor caught Nakamura and ended up on top of him on the mat near the turnbuckle. End of round two.

Winner - Kazuhiro Nakamura (by decision)

A video package for the PRIDE semi-final Middleweight GP is shown. Vanderlei Silva is shown arriving from Brazil to Tokyo. Footage of hot Brazilian women on the beach is shown and training footage of Silva airs. It's with Kazushi Sakuraba. Silva makes comments about Sakuraba's big heart. Silva is given a Sakuraba baseball hat to wear. Arona's image is shown but Silva is asked for comments on Arona's eye-gouging of Sakuraba. Arona is being made out to be ruthless and dirty. Arona is given a chance to comment. Silva gest the last comments. 

Ricardo Arona comes out first and has a killer look in his eyes. Silva is introduced and he comes out with the Sakuraba's hat and a "SAKU" title belt. DSE really is making this guy into a monster babyface.

2. GP SEMI-FINALS: Ricardo Arona (BTT) vs. Vanderlei Silva (Chute Boxe)

The two stare-down and look like they want to kill each other. Arona is not backing down. Round one starts. Silva goes right on the attack, but some distance between the fighters. Arona is not backing down at all. One minute passed. Nearly two minutes passed and so far caution, but Arona goes for a punch attempt. Two minutes passed. Silva starts an aggressive posture, but gives Arona distance. Three minutes passed. Silva goes for a left low-kick. Silva closes the distance with Arona. Arona goes for a right low kick and gets it. Arona is on top of Silva on the mat. The fighters are re-positioned in center of the ring. Silva has full guard on, Ricardo is standing and giving punches. Arona is in control. The fighters are re-positioned in the center again. Arona goes for a shot on Silva. 6 minutes passed. Arona is starting to hit some shots on Silva. Silva got hit hard with a punch. 3 minutes left. The dreaded yellow card pointed to Silva. Stand-up action now. Perhaps a smart tactic by Silva to get stand-up? Arona manages to get Silva down and is back in control. 2 minutes left. Arona has Silva surprised. Arona continues to work on top and is showing some good ring smarts here. He's not giving Silva a chance to get out of the situation. Arona tries to hit some side punches. I am amazed so far by this showing. Not what I expected at all. Both men standing near the end of R1 and Silva tries to attack, but the gong sounds. End of round one.

Round two starts. Silva fakes a kick. Silva goes for a shot and Arona counters. Not much action at all. Silva is really giving Arona respect here. 90 seconds gone in R2. Silva drives Arona to a corner but no result. Half-way done through R2. Shocking. Under 2 minutes to go. The fighters are warned about inactivity. 90 seconds left. Silva is starting to pick it up here out of desparation. Arona manages to take down Silva and Silva is eating Arona's elbow against the turnbuckle. Arona caught Silva with a knee to get that takedown. The fighters are re-positioned to the center and we have 40 seconds left. Arona just needs to hang on and he has this won easily. 30 seconds. Arona is really starting to hit Silva. 10 seconds! That is it! Arona's corner is jubilant!

Winner: Ricardo Arona (by decision, total domination) 

A video package airs for the PRIDE GP 2005 semi-final of Shogun vs. Alistair. Footage of Shogun beating up Rampage from the 4/23 Osaka Dome show and 6/26 Saitama vs. Rogerio is shown. Then we see comments from Shogun. Mr. Ikemen is shown with various techniques including the knee strike and the choke sleeper. Footage of Overeem vs. Igor is shown. Alistair gives comments.

Alistair Overeem comes out first with a cute woman (his girlfriend/wife?) waving the Dutch flag. Overeem has the hammer! Shogun comes out with a focus, but maybe nervous look.

3. GP SEMI-FINALS: Alistair Overeem vs. Mauricio Shogun

Round one starts. Alistair attacks immediately and gets Shogun down on the ground. He's going for the guillotine, but Shogun escapes! Fast action. Alistair gets Shogun down again. Alistair really is working here. Shogun is trying to clinch. Alistair gets another take-down. He is trying for some knee strikes. His height is big so far here. Shogun tried to get up and Alistair nearly caught him in a choke. Shogun is trying a bear hug, any sort of clinch to get the advantage. However, Overeem is keeping his balance. Alistair had a choke on Shogun with his right arm, not his normal arm, and Shogun escaped. Shogun on top now and in side-mount. Shogun is out of side-mount and is right on top of Overeem. Alistair gets up and Shogun tries for a clinch. Alistair gets Shogun down, but Shogun recovers and gets side-mount. Shogun is working for an arm submission perhaps? It seems to be the case. He is going after Alistair's left arm. Shogun goes for a leaping stomp and Overeem is on his knees on the ground struggling. Shogun is on top of Alistair now. Good fight so far. Shogun is in side-mount now. He seems to have control. He is going for some punches. Alistair is trying to cover and defend. Shogun really is working well here. The referee stops it, it's over.

Winner: Mauricio Shogun (1R TKO, 6 minutes, from punches)

Japanese fighters come out on the ramp to the ring. These are amateur wrestlers. Tomiaki Fukuda of FILA addresses the crowd. The wrestlers bow to the crowd. Greco roman wrestler Matsumoto gives comments. Kyoko Hamaguchi addresses the crowd. The fans react to her. There are both male and female wrestlers here. 

We see a video package of Mirko & Fedor, leading to Fabricio Werdum. Werdum is pushed as a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu champion who is 28 years old and the coach of Mirko. Verdum gives comments. Footage of Werdum vs. Tom Eriskon from the 2/20 Saitama show is aired. Roman Zentsov is previewed as a Red Devil guy with speed and power (M-1 highlights). He's pushed as the M-1 Heavyweight champion.

Zentsov came out in a "RUSSIAN POWER" shirt, Werdum in the "Hunter" shirt.

4. FABRICIO WERDUM VS. ROMAN ZENTSOV

Round one starts. Roman immediately goes for a punch on FW but FW manages to get on top of Roman in the corner. The fighters are re-positioned to the center with FW on top. Werdum starts punching and Roman reverses position. He's not a tall man, but Roman is sure big. 90 seconds gone in R1. FW manages to get out of it and is in side-mount. FW is working on an arm lock on Roman's left arm. He is trying to cinch it in. Roman manages to break it up. Werdum is still on top. Roman showed his back and FW is working on a choke sleeper. Roman turns it around and is on top now. Interesting counter-battle here. Roman tries to get on top and Werdum catches his arm and goes for an arm-scissors/triangle lock here and got it. Submission.

Winner: Fabricio Werdum (middle of 1R by submission)

The PRIDE ring girls are shown now. About 12 Japanese models with ring card signs. Intermission perhaps... 

The promo for Yoshida vs. Tank is about to start. Why PRIDE chose an intermission on a 7-fight card, I'll never know.

Old footage of Tank Abbott in UFC is shown, along with quick comments. Yoshida's previous PRIDE fight highlights are shown, including Yoshida vs. Mark Hunt. Footage of Yoshida at one of the VIVA JUDO events with kids is shown. Footage of Yoshida vs. Silva from 4/23 at the Osaka Dome is shown. Yoshida gives his comments.

5. HIDEHIKO YOSHIDA VS. TANK ABBOTT

Round one starts. Yoshida went to a surprise left high kick and missed. Tank goes for a takedown on Yoshida and gets it! Yoshida tries to clinch. Tank is too big for Yoshida to get a full guard on. Yoshida is trying to go for an arm here, but Tank is using his weight to his advantage. 2 minutes passed. Tank goes for a punch on Yoshida. Yoshida has not escaped yet. The fighters are re-positioned. Yoshida is getting caught up in the ropes, as Tank is fighting like he would in a cage with the bulldozing style. Yoshida is trying to leg-scissor Tank but Tank is doing enough to defend it and ends up in side-mount position. Yoshida is fighting defensively and is tired. The men are re-positioned and we are half-way done through 1R. Tank has gone longer than most expected. Tank tries for a couple of body shots. Tank is trying to stand up over Yoshida but Yoshida is trying for an arm-lock, so Tank closes the distance to prevent it. Tank fires a punch at Yoshida. The fighters are stood up, so now stand-up action with under 4 minutes left. Yoshida tries for a clinch and gets Tank on his knees, trying for a front choke sleeper. From this, Yoshida looked like he would try a knee. He is. Yoshida caught Tank on his back and is going for a choke sleeper. He got it on and cinched. It's over.

Winner: Hidehiko Yoshida (late 1R by choke sleeper)

We see footage of Mirko Cro Cop backstage. He is pacing back and forth. There is Ken Imai in his black suit looking serious. Cro Cop has an "Ultimate Force" T-shirt on. We see Fedor backstage and he too is pacing a little bit.

A video package is shown, with a picture of a Croatian graveyard of the Filipovic family plot. This is basically a childhood video story of Mirko's life and how his father died and the struggles he has had to overcome. Training footage is shown, including K-1 wins. He's labeled as the Terminator. Mirko's win over Kazuyuki Fujita by blood stoppage from 8/19/01 in Saitama is shown. Fedor is labelled as "THE TARGET." Fedor, the Last Russian Emperor, is shown with his choke over Fujita (talk about burying someone in one video package). Randleman's KO win over Mirko from 2004 is shown, then Mirko's KO win over Alexander is shown with Fedor disgusted. The PRIDE title signing ceremony on 6/27 between Fedor and Cro Cop is shown. This is basically a big video package to try to make Mirko the babyface. 

Kei Grand does the ring introductions for Fedor & Mirko. Mirko is announced first and, of course, gets big cheers from the audience. Some Japanese have the Croatian flag in the audience, and there are Croatians in red & white checkered outfits to support Mirko at ringside. Fedor is announced and comes out with a focus, determined look. The fans cheer Fedor, too. Mirko paces around the ring.

Takada is in the ring to do the pre-title match proclaimation.

6. PRIDE HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE MATCH - EMELIANENKO FEDOR VS. MIRKO CRO COP

Round one starts. Fedor goes for a clinch against the ropes on Mirko, but no luck. Fedor tries to time a couple of shots. One minute passed. Fedor is maintaining position in the center of the ring while Mirko rotates on stand-up. Mirko goes for a shot. So far, respect between the two. Fedor is stalking now, and he hits Mirko with a punch. Fedor slips out of the ropes but is brought back in. Mirko tries for a kick on Fedor. All stand-up. 4 minutes passed. Fedor tries to tag Mirko with a straight right. Fedor goes for a left punch. Mirko goes for a high-kick and Fedor defends, gets Mirko down and is trying to punch standing over Mirko. Fedor gets on top of Mirko. I see blood. It appears Fedor got cut or busted. Fedor is on top of Mirko in the middle of the ring and stands over Mirko to try to get a shot in. Mirko has the guard locked on. The referee asks for a doctor check. The referee, by no surprise, is Shimada. After the brief stoppage, Fedor is re-positioned back on top of Mirko. Fedor tried to stand over Mirko but settled back on top. Fedor tries again and Fedor tries to punch Mirko in the face. 3 minutes left. Fedor is trying different strategies while on top of Mirko. 2 minutes left. Fedor tries to punch Mirko again. 90 seconds left. Fedor continues to methodically work on top of Mirko. Fedor is using his right hand to try to punch. Fedor maintains top position. Mirko tries a left foot kick to Fedor's face but no luck. End of R1.

Round two starts. Fedor tries to tag Mirko with a right hook. Mirko tries to grab Fedor, but no luck. Fedor goes after Mirko with a punch. Fedor tries a right uppercut counter. Mirko tries a left punch. Fedor tries a clinch. Fedor tries a left kick. Fedor and Mirko attempt a clinch. 90 seconds gone. Mirko hits Fedor with a left punch. Both guys seem to counter each other well, with Fedor doing just a little better. Fedor tries to hit Mirko with a punch. 2 minutes left in R2. Fedor gets Mirko down to mat. The fighters are re-positioned to center of the ring. Fedor tries to punch standing over Mirko. 1 minute left. 10 seconds left. Not a lot happening other than Fedor in control. End of R2.

Round three starts. Fedor and Mirko counter each other's attack. Fedor caught Mirko with a knee in the mid-section. Fedor tries for a takedown and gets it. Mirko has the guard on. 4 minutes left. The fighters are re-positioned in the center. Fedor remains on top. 3 minutes left. Fedor has worked from the top since the second part of round one. Mirko needs to answer here quickly. Shimada stands the two fighters up. Mirko goes after Fedor and Fedor clinches to take him down. Two minutes left. Fedor is trying some left punches. Fedor goes for a big right punch. This is very methodical, but Mirko has no answer for this. Mirko is a little tired. 1 minute left. Well... Yuji Shimada stood the guys up again. Mirko tried for a kick, but Fedor was fine. Fedor tries for a clinch against the ropes and Fedor knocks Mirko down and is on top. End of R3.

Winner: Emelianenko Fedor (by decision) 

video package for Bushido 9 on 9/25 at Ariake Colosseum is shown. The Japanese fighters participating on the 9/25 Ariake show come to the ring - including Gomi & Minowa.

Main event time for the Middleweight GP.

7. 2005 MIDDLEWEIGHT GP: RICARDO ARONA (BTT) VS. MAURICIO SHOGUN (CHUTE BOXE)

Round one starts. Arona and Shogun both try to attack and Arona ends up with a takedown. Shogun manages to roll however. Shogun stands up and goes on the attack on Arona, with a big punch. Arona, however, stands up. Shogun goes for another punch and tries a Muay Thai clinch. Another punch, but Arona gets a big takedown on Shogun. Shogun has a bear hug on Arona and manages to take Arona down. Shogun works to get the side-mount and is trying some punches. Shogun stands up and tries for a vicious shot on Arona to get the fight stopped immediately. Arona's mouthpiece is automatically removed. Violent finisher.

Winner: Mauricio Shogun (early 1R KO)

After the fight, both Shogun and Arona got awards. In a strange moment, Sakakibara handed Arona a check and was pointing his finger at him. In a very interesting situation after the fight, Fox Sports Net Executive Vice President of programming and production George Greenberg entered the ring and read a message from a card. Talk about PRIDE paying money. This was during the awards ceremony for Shogun. Shogun is presented with a 20 million yen check. Shogun shakes the hand of Sakakibara.