................The Spanish team is comprised of Carlos Valeri, Juan Manuel Suárez, Eulogio Fernández, Rafael Rodriguez and Rogent Lloret. The Finns are Niko Puhakka (Pictures), Janne Tulirinta (Pictures), Lucio Linhares (Pictures), Niklas Winber and Jarno Nurminen.

We are used to top contenders fighting each other. Men who know everything there is to know about each other and then some. When they step into the same room to be weighed, they see each other for the umpteenth time, and there is no mystery.

Here things are a little different, however. There are no flamboyant champions with stacks of DVDs and YouTubes full of highlight reels. The Russians saw their opponents' fights only if they had seen them fight live before or found them on the Internet. As a result, most haven't seen their opponents in action. They may know that one is a striker and one a Greco-Roman wrestler, but that's about it.

And this is what makes the weigh-in so interesting. Ahmed Sultanov, who last year took a well-deserved majority decision over Eric Pele (Pictures), quietly mentioned how impressed he was with his opponent. Rogent Lloret of Spain is a very lean and cut 230 pounds and was by far the biggest fighter on the "Flying Dutchman" today. Though he has an 0-1 record, he's somewhat of a mystery, especially since the Russians haven't seen him fight. All they know is that he is a European BJJ champion and that he is very skilled at, and favors, the choke in all its permutations.................