With Rafael WerneckWanderlei Silva did not fight at Pride 29, however, he stole the show one more time! During a short break between bouts, the middleweight champion stepped into the ring and made a surprise appearance with the PRIDE Middleweight title belt and the GP belt from 2003. Wand grabbed the microphone and asked the audience who should be his opponent at the Middleweight Grand Prix opening round, scheduled to April 23rd at Osaka Dome. Realizing the crowd was yelling ?Saku, Saku, Saku?, in a clear reference to the idol Kazushi Sakuraba, Wand pointed to another Japanese fighter seated next to Sakuraba. ‘No. I’ve made my choice. I want you, Yoshida!’ challenged Wand. Curiously, that was the second time that Wand states he wants to fight Yoshida again. Wanderlei Silva and Hidehiko Yoshida fought for the first time at the Middleweight GP 2003 semifinals. Wand won by judge?s unanimous decision and moved to the final when he beat Quinton Jackson and conquered the GP title. Rogerio Minotouro Nogueira, who also confirmed to fight in the Middleweight Grand Prix, bets on his compatriot against Yoshida. ‘I think this time Wand will have less difficulty defeating Yoshida. To tell you the truth, I believe that Wand will be in the final round, despite the tough guys he might face to get there’ predicts Rogerio.
