The main card is themed around Team Gracie vs. Team Japan, with the winner ruled on a best of three fight format. The undercard is jam packed with rising Pride stars, and old fan favorites like Carlos “The Ronin” Newton and Mirko “Cro-Cop” Filipovic. That said, the event itself was above average, but the lackluster main events kept it from being anything to write home about.
Also, Bas Rutten’s humorous and informative commentating was missing for the American broadcast. Luckily, Matt Hume stepped in as a replacement, and his vast knowledge of MMA and especially grappling proved to be invaluable for the broadcast team. Renzo Gracie also helped out for some truly priceless commentary, such as saying “beautiful” every five seconds.
All in all, Bushido III had some very exciting undercard matches, with the main events faltering in comparison. On to the fights!