Just My Thoughts: From UFC to PRIDE to K-1
Pride GP
Mike Sloan May 3, 2005
So, out with UFC 52 and in with PRIDE: Total Elimination, the MMA
card that was chock full with arguably the greatest single lineup
of bouts in MMA history. So many superstars within the sport and so
many possible legendary fights, yet such a letdown as far as the
actual fights went.
How could anybody go wrong with a card filled with fighters such as Wanderlei Silva, Quinton Jackson, Kazushi Sakuraba, Dan Henderson, Ricardo Arona, Kevin Randleman, etc.? Well, something went wrong, horribly wrong. My question is who can be blamed for this?
One answer, I can assure you, is not the heads at PRIDE. All they
did was arrange what was to be expected the be all, end all of all
MMA cards. However, even though MMA is as unpredictable as it is,
who would have expected PRIDE: Total Elimination to be as much of a
dud as it was?
What I firmly believe to be the culprit was what Phil Baroni said while acting as the color commentator for the event. It seemed as though every fighter (except for maybe Sakuraba, Yoshida, Silva and Rua) was trying everything in their power not to lose instead of trying to win. Whenever that happens, you can guarantee that the fights with such fighters involved will suck more than a brand new Hoover.
I’m not so sure about that.
For starters, Dean Lister versus Arona was not expected to be the second coming of Frye-Goodridge. So that fight turning out to be just a grappling match is forgiven. Besides, I like those types of fights anyway, and that chess match didn’t bother me anywhere near as much as it did other people.
Silva-Hidehiko Yoshida was a struggle until the very end. And Silva, in my opinion, was given a gift by the judges. That fight was about as close to judge as they come and with that in mind, I figured the Japanese superstar would have been given the nod on the scorecards.
With Mark Hunt being given the benefit of numerous doubts and having been awarded a victory over Silva, surely Yoshida would have, right? Well, this sport is unpredictable. That battle was filled to the rim with drama, intensity and desire from both ends, resulting in the most important fight of the PRIDE Grand Prix’s opening round.
And with the end result being such a surprise (well, to me at least) that in itself made up for the action of Lister-Arona, or lack thereof.
Another surprise was how badly Rampage got handled by Mauricio Rua. While it wasn’t a shock to see him lose, who would have guessed that he’d be obliterated in the manner that he was two Saturdays ago?
At first I thought he just didn’t show up to fight, didn’t try and that this whole born-again Christian thing had zapped the fight from him. But after watching the fight several times, it’s as clear as a Windexed window that Rampage’s rib was broken less than a minute into the fight.
The first time he is backed into the corner you can see him grab his side. From there, it was all downhill and anybody who has suffered a shattered rib will tell you, it’s hard as hell to fight with one.
Respect has to be given to Rampage for not quitting when he became injured so early and for giving it his best. And many props must be given to Rua for avenging his brother’s loss (What is this, a Van Damme movie?) and hammering Rampage to score the thrilling first round stoppage.
The Henderson-Nogueira fight was also exhilarating in my opinion and whenever a fighter unfurls a superb submission like the one Nogueira latched onto Hendo, its fun to watch. Many people groaned about that fight as well, but what, may I ask, was so horrible about it? It was a superb match-up with back-and-forth action and one of the combatants was slickly submitted.
What more can you ask for?
I can debate and detail every other bout on the card as well, but I won’t. I think the reason why everybody and their mama thought this last PRIDE was terrible was because the fights weren’t all knockouts or submissions. Sure, it wasn’t the greatest PRIDE in history but you have to keep this in mind: not every major event will deliver in terms of excitement. If one expects that, then he or she will be let down more times than a bag of groceries.
PRIDE: Total Elimination 2005 wasn’t a Perfect 10 and it wasn’t a zero. It was somewhere in the middle, but leaning towards the upper or better half. Put it this way — it could have been worse. It could have been a UFC 33 clone, right?
Get over it.
How could anybody go wrong with a card filled with fighters such as Wanderlei Silva, Quinton Jackson, Kazushi Sakuraba, Dan Henderson, Ricardo Arona, Kevin Randleman, etc.? Well, something went wrong, horribly wrong. My question is who can be blamed for this?
Advertisement
What I firmly believe to be the culprit was what Phil Baroni said while acting as the color commentator for the event. It seemed as though every fighter (except for maybe Sakuraba, Yoshida, Silva and Rua) was trying everything in their power not to lose instead of trying to win. Whenever that happens, you can guarantee that the fights with such fighters involved will suck more than a brand new Hoover.
But looking back on the event and reviewing the fights
individually, did they really suck as bad as everybody says? Was
this PRIDE really as bad as what the fans and media have been
claiming?
I’m not so sure about that.
For starters, Dean Lister versus Arona was not expected to be the second coming of Frye-Goodridge. So that fight turning out to be just a grappling match is forgiven. Besides, I like those types of fights anyway, and that chess match didn’t bother me anywhere near as much as it did other people.
Silva-Hidehiko Yoshida was a struggle until the very end. And Silva, in my opinion, was given a gift by the judges. That fight was about as close to judge as they come and with that in mind, I figured the Japanese superstar would have been given the nod on the scorecards.
With Mark Hunt being given the benefit of numerous doubts and having been awarded a victory over Silva, surely Yoshida would have, right? Well, this sport is unpredictable. That battle was filled to the rim with drama, intensity and desire from both ends, resulting in the most important fight of the PRIDE Grand Prix’s opening round.
And with the end result being such a surprise (well, to me at least) that in itself made up for the action of Lister-Arona, or lack thereof.
Another surprise was how badly Rampage got handled by Mauricio Rua. While it wasn’t a shock to see him lose, who would have guessed that he’d be obliterated in the manner that he was two Saturdays ago?
At first I thought he just didn’t show up to fight, didn’t try and that this whole born-again Christian thing had zapped the fight from him. But after watching the fight several times, it’s as clear as a Windexed window that Rampage’s rib was broken less than a minute into the fight.
The first time he is backed into the corner you can see him grab his side. From there, it was all downhill and anybody who has suffered a shattered rib will tell you, it’s hard as hell to fight with one.
Respect has to be given to Rampage for not quitting when he became injured so early and for giving it his best. And many props must be given to Rua for avenging his brother’s loss (What is this, a Van Damme movie?) and hammering Rampage to score the thrilling first round stoppage.
The Henderson-Nogueira fight was also exhilarating in my opinion and whenever a fighter unfurls a superb submission like the one Nogueira latched onto Hendo, its fun to watch. Many people groaned about that fight as well, but what, may I ask, was so horrible about it? It was a superb match-up with back-and-forth action and one of the combatants was slickly submitted.
What more can you ask for?
I can debate and detail every other bout on the card as well, but I won’t. I think the reason why everybody and their mama thought this last PRIDE was terrible was because the fights weren’t all knockouts or submissions. Sure, it wasn’t the greatest PRIDE in history but you have to keep this in mind: not every major event will deliver in terms of excitement. If one expects that, then he or she will be let down more times than a bag of groceries.
PRIDE: Total Elimination 2005 wasn’t a Perfect 10 and it wasn’t a zero. It was somewhere in the middle, but leaning towards the upper or better half. Put it this way — it could have been worse. It could have been a UFC 33 clone, right?
Get over it.
