Sherdog’s Top 10Sherdog’s Top 10: One-Round Fights
No. 3
Don
Frye was as tough as they come. | Photo: Stephen
Martinez/Sherdog.com
3. Don Frye vs. Yoshihiro Takayama
Pride 21 “Demolition”
June 23, 2002
Frye-Takayama is the heavyweight slugfest par excellence, an utterly insane, sloppy and brutal brawl that set the standard for an entire sport. Frye was an elite heavyweight, with wins over Ken Shamrock, Gilbert Yvel, Gary Goodridge and many others, while Takayama was a professional wrestler with little going for him aside from size and durability.
That combination led to a vicious and epic opening exchange that still has yet to be matched. Each fighter grabbed a single-collar tie and simply went to town, blasting away with hooks and uppercuts until fatigue set in and the two were forced to separate. The action returned quickly, though, with an exchange of wild hooks that included Frye spitting out his mouthpiece and continuing to punch away. Finally, Takayama ended up on the bottom due to a failed takedown. Frye passed to mount and blasted him with punches for the stoppage.
Was it technical? No. Was it skilled? No, not particularly. Was there any defense to speak of? No, none. Still, it was incredibly violent and fun, and it still represents the gold standard for sloppy slugfests.
Number 2 » Hughes vs. Trigg
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