Don't click unless you wanna know/discuss Pride results

[kikboxr1]

Well, I just got back from my first live Pride. All I can say is wow, that was one heck of a show. Tokyo Dome seemed to be more crowded than it was for the K-1 Grand Prix last year.

1st Match:
Renzo Gracie vs Michiyoshi Ohara - Renzo by unanimous judges decision

Renzo seemed to be trying to fight like Ryan this time...he was not very aggressive with takedowns however was generally on the attack with punches. The better part of this fight was spent in a clinch with neither fighter doing much of anything. Ohara was yellow carded twice for holding the ropes. I don't think he threw one punch the whole match.

2nd Match:
Quinton Jackson vs Yuki Ishikawa - Jackson by 1st Round KO

3rd Match:
Dan Henderson vs Murilo Ninja - Henderson by judges decision

I dunno what fight the judges were watching, but I saw Ninja basically maintain a side mount for the first and second round, then Dan getting the best in the 3rd round. I definitely would not call the whole fight for Dan though.

4th Match:
Masaaki Satake vs Semmy Schilt - Schilt by 1st Round KO

Did anyone expect different? Schilt is like 2 feet taller than Satake.

5th Match:
Igor Vovchanchyn vs Mario Sperry - Sperry by submission (choke)

I was really suprised that Mario won so fast. It was about the 2 minute mark when he sank an arm triangle choke and Igor tapped.

6th Match:
Tom Erikson vs Matt Skelton - Erikson by submission (choke)

Tom used a one handed strangle (didn't know that was legal actually) to win in the first round.

7th Match:
Nobuhiko Takada vs Mirko Cro Cop - Draw

This was the letdown of the night. I normally don't bash on fighters but this was just inexcusable. Takada ran from Mirko the whole match, and anytime Mirko tried to approach Takada would just buttscoot. He must have plopped on his rear thirty times.
I hope Pride doesn't invite Takada back anymore. Even the Japanese crowd was booing him.

8th Match:
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs Heath Herring - Nogueira by unanimous decision

Heath Herring proved a worthy contender for the first Pride Heavyweight championship match, making this the most exciting match of the evening. Heath constantly pulled off impresive escapes from Nogueira's ground attacks, but unfortunately could never form to much offense of his own.

9th Match:
Kazushi Sakuraba vs Vanderlei Silva - Silva by injury at the end of the 1st round

Sak and Silva each had pulled off good moves through the match, but in the last minute Sak tried an armbar and Silva answered by picking him up about six feet in the air and then slamming him to the mat, with Silva's own weight falling on Sak as well. Sak had landed on his shoulder and it looked to maybe have displaced it. After the match Sakuraba cried while apologizing to his fans. He looked as sharp as ever for the match, as if he had trained very hard for it.

[Tony10]

Thanks for the update.

Too bad about Sak.

[Pancrase]

I'm glad to see Sperry win over Igor in good fashion. Not because I'm a big fan of BJJ but I would like to see him compete in Pride more often against some big names. Plus he is impressive technically and that is what I like to see.

[JaredExtreme]

Yeah, Ze Mario is definetly Ze $hit !!!!

[oviedoh45]

Got any pictures?

[kikboxr1]

From where I was sitting it would have been pointless to take pictures. I couldn't have gotten much further from the ring.

[Bond]

Agreed, Sperry beat Igor impressively- Guys like Igor were what Helio had in mind when developing GJJ . Sperry has tightened up his NHB game- He stayed tight , went for the takedown instead of being content to allow a lesser skilled Grappler to land on top, creating the G&P possibility- Sperry is the man.
On the Takada fight- Events in Japan when a japanese fighter is being hyped or judged, is vaguely remisicent of 1980s heavyweight boxing matches when a white heavyweight was being hyped or judged- Somebodies looking to sell tickets and make money- all other considerations are secondary

[Karlinhos]

how much were your tickets???

[kikboxr1]

My tickets were a whopping 7000 yen. I dunno, with the current exchange rate maybe $65 or so. And those were the cheapest seats...

[Zhoozhitsu]

Sperry's quick win was definitely a surprise.

Henderson continues to baffle the world w/ decisions that favor him. It can't be 'cause he's pretty. He's missing his front row teeth. Maybe the judges feel sorry for him. I like watching him. He has lotsa heart, but I don't think there has been a decision that hasn't gone his way. Maybe he can write a book about it.

Nogueira continues to impress. Herring didn't even wanna do standup w/ him! He shut Herring down completely.

As for Takada? When has he not looked pathetic in NHB, except when they fix his match?

[Evilution]

Henderson lost a decision to Silva. Henderson does have a lot of decisions but I think he does a good job of controlling the fight in most cases. I think the deciding factor in the fight with Ninja was that Henderson was really close to a K.O. and Ninja never reallly was although he did control the first 2 rounds.

[dan downard]

I didnt see pride,but I have a question about the Henderson match.Since it's not sport jits and they arent giving points for positions,was Dan ever in danger while he was being held in the first two rounds?Was he being hit,or being attacked with submissions?
You said he was close to getting a knockout in the latter round,so I am guessing that he was actually getting in some good shots on his opponent.

[Szczepankiewicz]

I watched the fight this Saturday night. Henderson was on the bottom and Ninja did control the first two rounds. The striking from ninja was elbows, knees, rabbit punches. Nothing big. But he kept very busy and almost totally controlled the tempo of the first two rounds. Henderson owned round 3.

I was very surprised when they awarded the fight to Henderson.


I was totally disgusted by the Gracie - Ohara fight. Renzo looked good but Ohara refused to fight. They only showed the last two rounds. I was happy I didn't have to sit through the whole fight.