NOTE:Okay, the video won’t let us embed it to start at the 35:00 mark, so you’ll just have to go there yourself.
What you see above is the complete video of PRIDE Shockwave 2005, an event that featured Fedor Emelianenko, Wanderlei Silva, Mirko Cro Cop, Dan Henderson, Mark Hunt, Kazushi Sakuraba, Takanori Gomi — should we keep going? alright, then — Minowaman, Ricardo Arona, Aleksander Emelianenko, Hayato Sakurai, Giant Silva, James Thompson, Zuluzinho, Murilo Bustamante, Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett and a main event between two Olympic judokas (Hidehiko Yoshida and Naoya Ogawa) that reportedly earned both men $2 million.
It might have been the most talent-rich MMA card in the history of the sport, and if you have seven hours to watch the whole thing, go for it. But we’ve cued it up to one moment in particular: A six minute tap-dancing presentation that leads directly into PRIDE’s traditional taiko drums and fighter introductions. That’s right, I said tap-dancing. And the crowd loved it!
The spectacle of PRIDE couldn’t possibly be sustained. (I wonder what the total fighter payroll was that night, including Yoshida and Ogawa’s $4 million?) But it’s nice to remember that for one moment in time, in one part of the world, MMA looked like this. PRIDE was wild, unpredictable, a feast for the senses, and willing to try anything to please its fans.
Or as one reddit commenter put it: “Yeah. I mean, the UFC has some videos, lights, and music which are cool and all but Pride choreographed entire fight cards.” LOL…
NOTE:Okay, the video won’t let us embed it to start at the 35:00 mark, so you’ll just have to go there yourself.
What you see above is the complete video of PRIDE Shockwave 2005, an event that featured Fedor Emelianenko, Wanderlei Silva, Mirko Cro Cop, Dan Henderson, Mark Hunt, Kazushi Sakuraba, Takanori Gomi — should we keep going? alright, then — Minowaman, Ricardo Arona, Aleksander Emelianenko, Hayato Sakurai, Giant Silva, James Thompson, Zuluzinho, Murilo Bustamante, Charles “Krazy Horse” Bennett and a main event between two Olympic judokas (Hidehiko Yoshida and Naoya Ogawa) that reportedly earned both men $2 million.
It might have been the most talent-rich MMA card in the history of the sport, and if you have seven hours to watch the whole thing, go for it. But we’ve cued it up to one moment in particular: A six-minute tap dancing presentation that leads directly into PRIDE’s traditional taiko drums and fighter introductions. That’s right, I said tap-dancing. And the crowd loved it!
The spectacle of PRIDE couldn’t possibly be sustained. (I wonder what the total fighter payroll was that night, including Yoshida and Ogawa’s $4 million?) But it’s nice to remember that for one moment in time, in one part of the world, MMA looked like this. PRIDE was wild, unpredictable, a feast for the senses, and willing to try anything to please its fans.
Or as one reddit commenter put it: “Yeah. I mean, the UFC has some videos, lights, and music which are cool and all but Pride choreographed entire fight cards.” LOL…
(Trunchface: When a troll face meets a punch-face, the result is always legendary.)
You see, this is what we love about “old school” fighters like Mauricio Rua and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. They don’t give a shit about rankings (probably because they know the UFC’s official ones are shit anyways), the easiest path to a title shot, or sponsorship deals with anyone not named Praetorian. They only care about scores, and specifically, settling them. It is for this reason alone that Lil’ Nog — the same one currently riding a two-fight win streak including a win over Rashad Evans at UFC 156 earlier this month — recently stated an interest in a rematch with Rua — the same one who has gone loss-win in his past 7 contests and is on the heels of a UD loss to Alexander Gustafsson in December. That is of course, according to UFC President Dana White:
(Shogun vs Evans) is a fight, yeah. That is a fight that could happen, yeah. But I keep hearing this thing that Nogueira and Shogun want to fight each other, they want to do the rematch. I don’t know how that makes sense for Nogueira, but that’s what they want, that’s what I’m hearing they want. Far be it from me to not give somebody what they want.
Let’s just act like that last sentence never happened for a moment and focus on the potential matchup at hand. Rua and Nogueira first met back at PRIDE FC – Critical Countdown 2005, where Rua emerged victorious by way of unanimous decision in a fight that became an instant classic amongst fans of the sport. The rematch (and a TUF: Brazil coaching gig) was first suggested by Nog back in August, and while circumstances have surely changed in the time since, we can’t imagine there would be a lot of resistance to the idea from a fan’s point of view. Clearly White agrees, but how about you Taters?
Now break out your foam fingers and chug some Yunker Fanti, because we’ve thrown a full video of Rua/Nogueira 1 after the jump to get you amped for the all but inevitable rematch. PRIDE NEVA DIE!!!
(Trunchface: When a troll face meets a punch-face, the result is always legendary.)
You see, this is what we love about “old school” fighters like Mauricio Rua and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. They don’t give a shit about rankings (probably because they know the UFC’s official ones are shit anyways), the easiest path to a title shot, or sponsorship deals with anyone not named Praetorian. They only care about scores, and specifically, settling them. It is for this reason alone that Lil’ Nog — the same one currently riding a two-fight win streak including a win over Rashad Evans at UFC 156 earlier this month — recently stated an interest in a rematch with Rua — the same one who has gone loss-win in his past 7 contests and is on the heels of a UD loss to Alexander Gustafsson in December. That is of course, according to UFC President Dana White:
(Shogun vs Evans) is a fight, yeah. That is a fight that could happen, yeah. But I keep hearing this thing that Nogueira and Shogun want to fight each other, they want to do the rematch. I don’t know how that makes sense for Nogueira, but that’s what they want, that’s what I’m hearing they want. Far be it from me to not give somebody what they want.
Let’s just act like that last sentence never happened for a moment and focus on the potential matchup at hand. Rua and Nogueira first met back at PRIDE FC – Critical Countdown 2005, where Rua emerged victorious by way of unanimous decision in a fight that became an instant classic amongst fans of the sport. The rematch (and a TUF: Brazil coaching gig) was first suggested by Nog back in August, and while circumstances have surely changed in the time since, we can’t imagine there would be a lot of resistance to the idea from a fan’s point of view. Clearly White agrees, but how about you Taters?
Now break out your foam fingers and chug some Yunker Fanti, because we’ve thrown a full video of Rua/Nogueira 1 after the jump to get you amped for the all but inevitable rematch. PRIDE NEVA DIE!!!
In keeping with the theme of UFC on FUEL 8’s main card — which will feature such legends as Wanderlei Silva, Takanori Gomi, and Mark Hunt — Lombard and Okami also competed for PRIDE early in their careers. Lombard lost decisions to Akihiro Gono and Gegard Mousasi under the PRIDE Bushido banner in 2006, while Okami submitted Steve White via strikes (at PRIDE The Best Vol.3 in 2002) and outpointed Ryuta Sakurai (at PRIDE Bushido 2 in 2004). Video proof is after the jump.
Though Michael Bisping might argue that he and Vitor Belfort are the only two middleweights worth a damn at the moment, another savage knockout performance from Lombard could place him in the proverbial “mix.” Your predictions for this one, please.
In keeping with the theme of UFC on FUEL 8′s main card — which will feature such legends as Wanderlei Silva, Takanori Gomi, and Mark Hunt — Lombard and Okami also competed for PRIDE early in their careers. Lombard lost decisions to Akihiro Gono and Gegard Mousasi under the PRIDE Bushido banner in 2006, while Okami submitted Steve White via strikes (at PRIDE The Best Vol.3 in 2002) and outpointed Ryuta Sakurai (at PRIDE Bushido 2 in 2004). Video proof is after the jump.
Though Michael Bisping might argue that he and Vitor Belfort are the only two middleweights worth a damn at the moment, another savage knockout performance from Lombard could place him in the proverbial “mix.” Your predictions for this one, please.
(Hector Lombard vs. Gegard Mousasi. Lenne Hardt absolutely kills it at 1:27-1:37.)
Though Silva probably has little recollection of the last time he competed in Saitama, the Axe Murderer became an MMA superstar in Japan, where he went undefeated through his first 20 fights in PRIDE and held the middleweight title for over five years. But his current stint in the UFC — where he’s won just three of eight fights since 2007 — has suggested that Silva is nearing the end of the road, and his next bad loss could be his last. Can he come up with another heroic effort against the All American?
Speaking of PRIDE legends, longtime lightweight champ Takanori Gomi will be welcoming Diego Sanchez back to the lightweight division at UFC on FUEL 8. Gomi has won his last two UFC fights against Eiji Mitsuoka and Mac Danzig, while Sanchez is coming off a decision defeat against Jake Ellenberger in February. Sanchez hasn’t competed at 155 pounds since being utterly shredded by BJ Penn during their lightweight title fight three years ago.
Though Silva probably has little recollection of the last time he competed in Saitama, the Axe Murderer became an MMA superstar in Japan, where he went undefeated through his first 20 fights in PRIDE and held the middleweight title for over five years. But his current stint in the UFC — where he’s won just three of eight fights since 2007 — has suggested that Silva is nearing the end of the road, and his next bad loss could be his last. Can he come up with another heroic effort against the All American?
Speaking of PRIDE legends, longtime lightweight champ Takanori Gomi will be welcoming Diego Sanchez back to the lightweight division at UFC on FUEL 8. Gomi has won his last two UFC fights against Eiji Mitsuoka and Mac Danzig, while Sanchez is coming off a decision defeat against Jake Ellenberger in February. Sanchez hasn’t competed at 155 pounds since being utterly shredded by BJ Penn during their lightweight title fight three years ago.
Dong-Hyun Kim vs. Siyar Bahadurzada (WW): Coincidentally, both of these guys are coming off wins against Paulo Thiago. However, Bahadurzada hasn’t competed since April due to a hand injury.
Riki Fukuda vs. Brad Tavares (MW): Tavares is on a two-fight win streak with decisions against Dongi Yang and Tom Watson, while Fukuda retired Tom DeBlass in his last appearance.
Cristiano Marcello vs. Kazuki Tokudome (LW): Though he entered the UFC through TUF: Live, Cristiano Marcello may be best known as the guy who choked out Krazy Horse Bennett backstage at a PRIDE event. (He also competed once in PRIDE, losing a decision to Mitsuhiro Ishida in 2006.) Fresh off a decision win against Reza Madadi, he’ll be facing Tokodune, an 11-3 Pancrase vet who will be making his UFC debut.
Alex Caceres vs. Kyung Ho Kang (BW): With back-to-back victories over Damacio Page and Motonobu Tezuka — and shout-outs from Ben Henderson himself — things have been looking up for the former yard-fighter known as “Bruce Leroy.” He’ll be welcoming Road FC champ Kyung Ho Kang into the Octagon.
