The match-up will have no relation to the middleweight tournament, as an official reserve match will be announced soon. Both Sakuraba and Randleman are coming off of tough losses and looking to re-establish themselves in the rankings. Sakuraba is representing the Takada Dojo, while Randleman is fighting out of Mark Coleman's Hammer House Gym.

In addition, the fight card also features top ranked heavyweight Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic against former PRIDE FC heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira. Due to a thumb injury to reigning champion Emelianenko Fedor, the Cro Cop/Nogueira match-up is for the PRIDE FC interim heavyweight championship, with the winner to face Fedor in 2004. Nogueira, arguably the world's top heavyweight grappler, is coming off a decision victory against Ricco Rodriguez while Cro Cop, arguably the world's top heavyweight striker, is coming off of a dramatic knockout victory over Igor Vovchanchyn.

All of these new matches are in addition to the middleweight tournament, which will feature Hidehiko Yoshida versus Wanderlei Silva and Quinton Jackson against Chuck Liddell. The winners of each of these match-ups will go on to the final round, which will be held on the same evening.