The MMA QUADRUPLE shot~!

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

That's pretty badass.

 

... I guess.

 

 

BTW, The Osaka Dome is going to look AWESOME.

[Guest Salacious Crumb]

God bless broadband. That was a pretty badass preview. I wish the WWF did ads half as good as that.

[Styles 0]

Sweet, that got me pumped. Got to love the Pride intro music.

[Guest Brian]

I'm caving, getting it, but I'm making people pitch in this time. What a month!

[AboveAverage484 0]

This will pump you up even more:

 

http://thefightgame.tv/pride_fc_middleweig...romo_videos.htm

[Styles 0]

An excellent and extensive 10 part preview of the Pride GP from Sherdog.

 

http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles.asp?n_id=2709

[Guest Salacious Crumb]

I have to admit I almost bought the GP based completely on the preview.

[Styles 0]

This will pump you up even more:

 

http://thefightgame.tv/pride_fc_middleweig...romo_videos.htm

If this is the same 12 minute one that was up at Sherdog, it's awesome. Seriously, anyone already getting the show should watch it to pump them up even more, and if you're still debating, after watching this you don't have a pulse if you don't want to see it. Tremendous video package that profiles all the fighters showing lots of great fight footage.

[AboveAverage484 0]

I have to admit I almost bought the GP based completely on the preview.

Almost? You must buy this show! You will buy this show!

[Styles 0]

This man didn't want to buy the show...

Jackson: "I don't want to buy the show"

 

He paid the price...

 

Jackson: "No, stop, I'll buy it now!"

 

....but it was too late.

 

Silva (translated from Portugese): "Next time you will be confident in your decision to buy the show"

 

Don't make the same mistake. Buy the show. Or Wanderlei will kick you in the face.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

My empty pockets say something different, though

[Guest Salacious Crumb]

I have to admit I almost bought the GP based completely on the preview.

Almost? You must buy this show! You will buy this show!

I would but I got the money for UFC 52 and can't spend the $30. Otherwise I'd definately order this.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

*Kevin Randleman vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura

 

Ack. Randleman has the power advantage and The Nak hasn't really faced anyone like him before. Randleman has shown himself prone to kimuras, armbars, and chokes in the past which The Nak could capitalize on, but they were mainly against guys who he couldn't power out of (cept for Sakuraba). Dammit. I don't want to pick Randleman, but I'm doing it anyways. Baroni, in his TE05 predictions, said that Randleman was looking for the KO and Nakamura has shown a willingness to stand. I love The Nak, but I don't think he has the tools to take The Monster. Randleman, Decision.

 

 

*Dean Lister vs. Ricardo Arona

 

Zzzzz.

 

Arona via Dec.

 

*Igor Vovchanchyn vs. Yuki Kondo

 

I think everyone and their mother is picking Igor as a dark horse in this tournament, and it's a pretty good pick. Igor only loses when he is overpowered (Rampage, Herring, Coleman), and there is no way Kondo overpowers him or outstrikes him.

 

Igor via TKO RD1

 

 

*Vitor Belfort vs. Alistair Overeem

 

I love this match. Vitor showed against Tito that he was willing to throwdown, and this fight should be no different. I think the way Vitor throws will fuck Alistair right-up and he'll get KO'd. However, if Alistair is able to weather the storm, a tired Vitor against a knee-throwing Alistair could make for some nice HLR material. Belfort by TKO RD 1

 

 

*Dan Henderson vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira

 

I will make a bold prediction. Henderson by Decision This could be the FOTN, if Hendersons previous match with Big Nog was any indication. I can imagine a longer-than-you-think amount of stand-up time, but ultimately this will be won on the ground and I think Hendo will do more damage there and win on points.

 

*Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Yoon Dong Sik

 

Sakuraba showed against the Gracies that he knows how to fuck with traditional martial artists, this should be no different.. especially if YDS wears a gi. Judo guys typically have more power, so that is where this fight may differ from the Gracie fights, but Sakuraba still should be able to pull through. Sakuraba by TKO, RD 2

 

*Quinton Jackson vs. Mauricio Shogun Rua

 

This is Shoguns coming out party. No more Japanese filler fights, it's time for him to step up and knock Jacksons head off. I think this guy is the dark horse of the tournament. He's a wilder version of Silva, and Jacksons problem in his 2 fights with Wanderlei was trying to contain the madness. Shogun by Murderizing. RD 1

 

*Wanderlei Silva vs. Hidehiko Yoshida

 

Yoshida/Silva I was fucking amazing and was one of the first fights I saw where I jumped up and put my hands on my head and said "Oh god, Oh god, Oh god, this is awesome". Yoshida looked like crap against Gardner, and Silva is looking to make an impression after his loss against Hunt. This is not good for Japanese fans, but is good for everyone else. Silva TKO RD 1

 

Awesome card, and I think there are 3 FOTYC. Can't wait to download it

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

From Dur Murltz...

 

Pride line-up and thoughts. I kicked ass on UFC, only missing the main event (7-1) and did really strong on New Year's Eve. The February UFC wasn't so hot, but nobody did well on that one since the favorites lost almost every match:

*Kevin Randleman vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura: Randleman should win. Nakamura has never beaten any top fighter by submission, and only beats the people he can outwrestle. Randleman is too powerful, much better standing, and too good a wrestler for Nakamura. However, you can never underestimate Randleman's power to lose. Therefore, when the odds are with him athletically, he's always ripe for getting submitted. Still, I'm picking Randleman, probably via decision. I don't see him stopping Nakamura as better men than Randleman have only decisioned him.

*Dean Lister vs. Ricardo Arona. Arona should win by decision. He's just the stronger grappler and this will come down to a grappling match. Arona's style is such that he has a solid chance of beating anyone in the tournament.

*Igor Vovchanchyn vs. Yuki Kondo. Vovchanchyn should win via knockout. If Kondo can get him down, he is better on the ground so it isn't like he has no chance.

*Vitor Belfort vs. Alistair Overeem. This comes down to who gasses first. I'm picking Belfort to gas first, but hang on until the end and lose a decision.

*Dan Henderson vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. This is a pick-em if ever there was one. Standing, Henderson has the harder punch, but Nogueira is the better puncher. On the ground, Nogueira is more skilled and physically stronger, but Henderson himself is a world class wrestler. Although they'll weigh-in within a few pounds of each other, Nogueira is physically bigger. I see a close decision, and maybe a controversial one, but my pick is Nogueira.

*Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Yoon Dong Sik. I hate picking a match with a newcomer. If Sakuraba was healthy, he would win by battering the guy standing up and versatility on the ground. But he's not healthy. Yoon has never done MMA, but he's very strong in judo. He's past his prime and inexperienced, but Sakuraba has no knees. Most are picking Sakuraba just based on experience. I really can see him getting hurt and losing, but can't bring myself to pick someone who has never had a real fight over him.

*Quinton Jackson vs. Mauricio Shogun Rua. This could be a war. One thing for sure is Jackson has the wrestling edge. If the Jackson who showed up last time is in this match, he could lose, because realistically, he probably did lose to Rua's brother Ninja. If the Jackson who fought Silva last year shows up, I'd make him the favorite. The one thing about this match is we'll find out which Jackson is the real Jackson going forward. I'm hoping last time was an aberration based on lack of training, since he's had plenty of time to get ready for this one. Picking Jackson, but knowing this, like most of the fights, can go either way.

*Wanderlei Silva vs. Hidehiko Yoshida. Yoshida gave Silva his toughest battle at 205 pounds in years back in 2003. This was that year's match of the year, Silva winning by decision, but Yoshida won the first round. Since that time, both men have suffered numerous injuries. The age and injuries are going to hurt Yoshida far more, particularly since he's coming off a broken foot on New Year's Eve which put him behind in training here. Plus, Yoshida usually wilts in a long match. I'm pretty confident Silva will win, possibly by a second or third round KO, if not a strong decision while being dominant at the end.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

For the next round, based on my picks:

 

Shogun vs. Vovchanchyn

Sakuraba vs. Henderson

Silva vs. Belfort

Arona vs. Randleman (might as well pair em together).

[Your Paragon of Virtue 0]

*Quinton Jackson vs. Mauricio Shogun Rua

 

This is Shoguns coming out party. No more Japanese filler fights, it's time for him to step up and knock Jacksons head off. I think this guy is the dark horse of the tournament. He's a wilder version of Silva, and Jacksons problem in his 2 fights with Wanderlei was trying to contain the madness. Shogun by Murderizing. RD 1

You're crazy.

 

I picked Jackson, Silva, Saku, Randleman, Igor, Hendo, Arona and Belfort.

 

I see Randleman as a sleeper to get into the final four, given that he wins this one, since I think he will be matched up with someone he matches up well against (which is pretty much anyone) but especially good, like Igor or Belfort.

 

I almost didn't think Baroni's preview was written by him because it seemed semi-intelligent.

[Your Paragon of Virtue 0]

I also don't see Hendo-Nog being as close as you'd think. While Nog might normally be the more technical standup fighter, Hendo's wrestling ability should pretty much neutralize all of that and he could pull off some dirty boxing, or something similar. I just don't see him allowing Noguiera to pick him apart from the outside, especially when Noguiera isn't close to being as good as Kondo.

 

Randleman, if he shows up, can win the whole thing. He sounds like he's talking as much shit as ever so I doubt it.

 

I still see Silva taking the whole thing, but if I had to pick another fighter to do it, I'd go with Arona. His standup is steadily improving and he's probably the best submission grappler in the GP.

[AboveAverage484 0]

Hey RRR, wanna make an avatar bet on Rampage/Shogun?

 

I love my avatar, so I don't plan on losing it!

 

Rampage wins, you get an avatar of my choice, Shogun wins, you pick me an avatar. Loser sports the avatar for two weeks.

 

BTW, you are 0-2 against me,

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

BRING IT OOOOON!!

 

You (and Rampage) are gonna git...

 

$HPWNGUN3D~!

[Your Paragon of Virtue 0]

I think that match is happening soon. RRR is about to go 0-3 if EVERYONE AND THEIR MOTHER THAT PICKED RAMPAGE is correct.

[Styles 0]

One last preview to get everyone ready for the show tonight. From wrestlingobserver.com

 

Mike Coughlin previews the Pride tournament

 

“The Half Guarded Truth”

By: Mike Coughlin

[email protected]

 

“April Madness”

 

 

In 2003 PRIDE put on the greatest tournament in MMA history. It seemed

that almost every match was fantastic, and the tournament provided two

legitimate fight of the year candidates. This year, PRIDE is back, and

the tournament is not only bigger, but somehow better. With a few

exceptions, PRIDE has found every top 205 lb fighter in the world sans

Couture, Liddell, and Ortiz. 16 fighters and 8 amazing fights are on

the docket for Saturday, April 23rd.

 

The odds are up in time, so along with my picks I’ll provide some

insight into what I think are good bets. As always, gambling is

serious and I urge everyone to only bet what they can afford to lose.

If you’d feel comfortable buying a video game with the money, then bet

it. If not, then don’t. Don’t expect to make a down payment on a

house or anything. Now then, onto the illicit fun!

 

Wanderlei Silva (-360) v. Hidehiko Yoshida (+280)

 

It was one of the best fights of 2003, scoring FOTY honors in many

polls, and put Yoshida on the mat as a legitimate force in the 205 lb

division. This time around it’s being billed as the guy who beat Mark

Hunt (Yoshida) v. the guy who Mark Hunt beat (Silva). Their first

fight saw Yoshida give Silva a great deal of difficulty in the first 10

minutes, even having a semi-near submission (I don’t think it was all

that dangerous to be honest). He took Silva down with some great

throws and probably shocked the champion. During the 2nd round, Silva

established dominance and battered the Judo champion with some wicked

strikes. In a moment that shocked the world, and even the

participants, Yoshida actually stood toe-to-toe with Wanderlei and

traded strikes. It was almost an act of suicide, but the Japanese star

did well enough, and even landed a few blows. It was an incredible

contest and if Yoshida had been given the nod by the judges it would

not have been a robbery.

 

Standing the edge is obviously Silva’s, that’s no question. On the

ground, Silva is no slouch, but he doesn’t want to be there. Yoshida

is freakishly strong for a 205 lb guy and hi gi adds a dimension that

many MMArtists aren’t prepared for.

 

Yet despite Yoshida giving Silva one of his toughest challenges, he

comes into the fight a notable underdog. +280 is far too steep and if

Yoshida is healthy and in top shape, he could be a threat to the man

who has never lost to someone his own size while in PRIDE. While I

expect Silva to win, the odds are such that money should be put on

Yoshida.

 

Winner: Silva

Best bet: Yoshida

 

***

 

Nogueira (-115) v. Henderson (-115)

 

Lil Nog is the twin brother of the HW phenom (who is rumored to be

heading to the UFC) and a very well rounded fighter. He has good

striking, good jiu-jitsu, and a solid chin. His only weakness would

probably be his wrestling base. Dan Henderson has a tremendous

wrestling base, as he’s world class on the mat. He has good striking

and a great chin. His submissions are probably his weakest area, and

if he’s on his back he could be in trouble (as most guys from Team

Quest seem to be).

 

At PRIDE 24 Henderson lost to Lil Nog’s brother, and while the two

Nog’s fight similarly, this one isn’t as talented – yet. Dan is one of

the best fighters on the planet, pound for pound. Unfortunately for

him he’s giving up a bit of weight. Nog should come into the fight

anywhere from 10-20 lbs heavier, and that could mean the difference.

 

With odds like this, I like Nogueira. However, Dan Henderson has a

reputation for winning damn near every decision he’s ever involved in,

so keep that in mind.

 

Winner: Nogueira

Best bet: Nogueira

 

***

 

Yuki Kondo (+250) v. Igor Vovchanchyn (-330)

 

Kondo is around 190 lbs, super talented standing, very talented on the

ground, and he’s going to get his head knocked off. Igor is a guy who

was formerly the number one fighter in the world – at heavyweight.

Kondo should be fighting in the 185 division and will be in a world of

trouble against the heavy handed Russian. Igor has a great ability to

sprawl and has shut down some of the best takedowns in the business.

The fight will be all on the feet and Igor will knock Kondo out in the

first round.

 

Winner: Igor

Best bet: Igor (though I never recommend betting on anyone with odds

like this, because anything can happen in a fight)

 

***

 

Quinton RAMPAGE Jackson (-160) v. Mauricio SHOGUN Rua (+130)

 

This could easily be the fight of the night. Jackson looked poor in

his last fight, a bout against Rua’s brother, Ninja. However, Rampage

took that fight on short notice and it showed with his cardio failing

him. Shogun is very talented and hyper aggressive. He’s also never

fought at this level before (though, in fairness, few have). Jackson

is very well rounded, but so is Rua. The difference will probably be

that Quinton can dictate where the fight takes place. If he feels

uncomfortable striking, he can slam (and probably will anyways, just

for the hell of it) Shogun through the mat. If Jackson finds that Rua

is trouble on the ground, he’ll keep it standing. Jackson will

probably be motivated to reprove himself here and I’d expect him to

win. But, a coming out party for Shogun wouldn’t be a surprise either.

 

Winner: Jackson

Best bet: neither.

 

***

 

Kevin Randleman (+125) v. Kazuhiro Nakamura (-155)

 

This is practically a joke. Randleman should be favored to win not

only this tournament, but damn near any fight he’s in. But, he’s a

mental flake and as Bryan Alvarez said, “Kevin Randleman finds a way to

lose.” With the exception of maybe (MAYBE) Vitor Belfort, there hasn’t

been a bigger waste of natural talent than The Monster.

 

Nakamura’s good and a decent submission threat. But I don’t see him

outstriking Big Kev, and I think Kevin’s wrestling and freakish

strength will neutralize his Judo takedowns. I’ll “pick” Randleman,

but that’s basically sealing my fate and guaranteeing that he loses.

 

Winner: Randleman

Best bet: Nakamura because Kevin is too risky

 

***

 

Vitor Belfort (-140) v. Alistair Overeem (+110)

 

And speaking of Vitor Belfort. Vitor has some of the most amazing

skills in MMA. He’s a great wrestler (totally underrated – Couture

said he was the toughest to take down), his hands are awesome, and his

submissions are very tight. On paper, Vitor Belfort should be

impossible to beat. But he loses because his head isn’t always there.

 

Alistair is good. He loves to throw flying knees and is a great

striker. On the ground he’s improving and will even be heading to the

presitigious Abu Dhabi Submission Grappling Tournament later this year

(held in LA) as a European representative. But he has cardio problems.

And while Vitor can gas at times, I’ll still pick him to be more

physically prepapred.

 

Winner: Vitor Belfort

Best bet: Neither. The odds are too close, as is the fight.

 

***

 

Ricardo Arona (-300) v. Dean Lister (+240)

 

PRIDE was nice to all the submission grappling fans out there as this

is a preview of the ADCC’s main event for this year. Arona was the

former absolute (open weight) division champion and Lister is the most

recent king. But, poor Lister could be in for a long night as

everything he does, Arona does as well, if not better (we’ll find out

soon). Ricardo is also a bit larger, with Lister being able to fight

around 185 (if he really wanted to). Arona also has a great deal more

MMA experience and trains with the best in the world. Lister is slick

and probably won’t get submitted, but expect Arona to constantly take

him down and GnP a victory.

 

Winner: Arona

Best bet: Lister, because Arona is too heavy a favorite.

 

***

 

Kazushi Sakuraba (-650) v. Yoon Don Sik (+450

 

I swear I thought this was a typo when I first read it. Saku has

infinitely more experience in MMA (no one can really compare though, as

he’s fought at the highest level for about as long as humanly possible

– and then some). His whole career he made a habit out of embaressing

foes who were anywhere from 20-40 lbs heavier than him, and holds

victories over 3 fighters in the tournament (Randleman, Belfort,

Jackson). He basically reinvented MMA at times and his ground skills

are still probably years ahead of anyone. He wears shirts that say

WATER and that is him. Yoon Don Sik is a world class Judoka and will

outweigh Saku. He should also be healthy. That’s pretty much all he

has on Sakuraba. Weight and health. If healthy, Sakuraba can probably

beat anyone, in any weight class (not saying he’d be a favorite, but he

COULD do it).

 

That all said, I have no idea why the odds are this steep. Sakuraba is

my hero. I idolize him more than any other fighter, but he’s old and

beaten down. I doubt he’s healthy and this is after having not fought

for a long period of time. He is the very definition of “ravaged

body.” While Sik has no MMA experience, and Saku should be able to

beat him standing and on the ground, Yoon Son Sik is healthy and that

could mean all the difference. There have been times when Sakuraba

fought with essentially only one leg (Giles Aresne at PRIDE 23). He

may be in even rougher shape now. I hope Saku taps him out and moves

on in the tournament fully healthy, shocks the world, and retires as

champion. Realistically I see him getting a victory here and then

being crushed in the next round. Boxing had Ali, MMA has Sakuraba.

 

Winner: Sakuraba

Best bet: Yoon Don Sik

 

 

So there you have it. Again, my winners are:

 

Silva

Rampage

Nog

Saku

Belfort

Randleman (God help me)

Igor

Jackson

 

My sleeper pick to win the tournament is Nogueira. And if Igor meets

Silva, I expect the Russian to knock Silva out. I also predict that

Randleman will do something newsworthy, be it shocking everyone and

winning it all, or knocking himself out while walking around backstage

(which he did one at a UFC event prior to a title fight against Pedro

Rizzo – I swear that’s true).

[cameron chaos 0]

I made the mistake of wandering into the Sherdog forums shortly after UFC 52.  I won't be doing that again.  Looks like this is the only place with reasonable MMA fans.

 

Trigg is already running his mouth and making excuses for his loss.  What an ass.  Maybe he'll reinvent himself again so he can get beat by the exact same moves by Hughes.

I actually tried to shuffle through all seven pages of arguing over the best light-heavies. My head hurt. And I only made it half way through page 2.

The main problem is a lot of ignorant newbs, trolls. three word posters and assholes. The quality posters there are few and far between. I'd like to think I'm one of them but even I just stick to OT, Grappling and Gear discussion forums now due to the influx of morons over the last 8 months or so.

[Styles 0]

God that was awful. To everyone I convinced to order the show, I'm truthfully sorry. I don't know how a show stacked with so much talent could be so boring. To those who saved their 30 bucks, I wish I had did the same. Was there something in the air in Osaka or something?

 

First hour was brutal, the first 3 fights were coma inducing. Silva/Yoshida has it's fun moments and is probably FOTN, and Shogun's squash was entertaining (though not satisfying when it comes to Rampage's complete lack of effort). And Sakuraba knocked out the judo guy in less then a minute. Otherwise everyone else just held back and lied around on the ground. You know the show's bad when the announcers are openly trashing it and calling it boring.

 

Randleman, Belfort and Jackson. My goodness. What is up with these guys? Even Igor didn't deliver like he should have.

 

Trying to make the matchups with the elite 8, I'm really struggling to come up with an entertaining card. I assume they're hoping to save Vovchanchyn vs. Silva for the finals or semis so that's probably not an option. I'd assume since they wanted to do Silva/Sakuraba 4 anyway they'll just get that out of their system.

 

Silva vs. Sakuraba

Shogun vs. Nakamura

Vovchanchyn vs. Arona

Rogerio vs. Overheem

 

Meh.

[Guest Salacious Crumb]

Rampage got a rib busted by Shogun pretty early on.

[Guest Brian]

Goddamn Vitor. How did you get choked my man?

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

It's kinda hard to defend the choke when you've just got your jaw jacked with a knee.

 

I didn't buy the show, so I'm not speaking as someone who paid $30 for it, but I enjoyed it a lot.

 

Hendo/Nog and Igor/Kondo were both very good fights. ***1/2 each, maybe ***3/4. Igor was amazing. I feel like it's 1999/2000, because Igor was absolutely dangerous in this fight. He beat the will out of Kondo, and that's what fighting is. The kimura sweep was awesome and Kondo's 69 guard was swank and erotic. Henderson getting caught with the armbar in a similar way he got caught by big Nog, a nice touch. Nog totally outstruck him with pin-point, downward, punches that impressed me a ton. It's about damn time they put him in contention for a title, because he is dangerous against everybody. Igor/Nog would tooootally be a poor mans Fedor/Nog, and that ain't bad.

 

THE NAK! I am so happy he won, two Japanese fighters in the quarter-finals now and I say have em fight each other to guarantee one in the finals. Pass the torch to Nakamura.

 

I didn't see the Arona fight.

 

Fuck, I feel so bad for Vitor. The look on his face after tapping was like he lost his dog. Good for Overeem, let's hope they pair him against someone willing to bang (which, incidently, is just about everyone in this tournament. They wanted to get Overeem/Arona for a while, and that's the worst possible match they could make.).

 

You're crazy.

 

I think that match is happening soon. RRR is about to go 0-3 if EVERYONE AND THEIR MOTHER THAT PICKED RAMPAGE is correct.

 

The reason why they call it trash talk is because it's nothin but garbage, BITCH!

 

Shogun by Murderizing. RD 1

 

Shogun by Murderizing. RD 1

 

Shogun by Murderizing. RD 1

 

You can doubt who I pick to win or lose, but don't doubt my predictions on the future.

 

RRR: Workin on an avatar.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

[Styles 0]

RRR, I'm assuming you watched the show online, but how was it up so quickly?

 

Anyway, as someone who saw it live it was just a boring show. Usually when I watch Pride shows I feel a real excitment and there's a lot of action. There wasn't much on this show.

 

The first match was just a lot of stalling and Randleman's insisitence on not doing anything ruined it. It wasn't like Nak dominated or anything, Randleman just sucked and he snuck by.

 

Then, when we desperately needed some excitment after 25 minutes of boredom, Lister and Arona do absolutely nothing interesting for another 25 minutes. It's not that it was a ground fight that made it boring. Even the announcers were saying the same thing and mentioned a fight from Bushido that was all ground and very exciting.

 

Then it was time for Igor and I wasnted to see him rip poor Yuki Kondo's head off. Instead he decided to go to the ground and prove he could control there. Now on any other night it would have been an impressive win for Igor, but after 2 long, ground based decisions, we didn't need to see another. And even Bas was pointing out how Igor seemed to be gassed at times and didn't have much on his G&P.

 

Overheem and Belfort FINALLY seemed to be bringing the action and then Vitor just gets caught in that choke which was really anticlimatic.

 

Nog/Henderson was good, but unmemorable and too short.

 

Sak knocking out the judo guy was fun. No complaints there.

 

Shogun's demolishing of Rampage was fun too but it would have been a billion times better if Rampage could have fought back and made it competitive.

 

Silva vs. Yoshida was a good match but there seemed to be a lot of stalling and holding back by Silva, especially the second round and most of the third.

 

The excuse the announcers kept giving was all the fighters had too much respect for their opponents and were trying too hard not to make a mistake and not to lose, rather then trying to win, and that Shogun and Yoshida in a losing effort were the only ones really trying to win.

 

There was just so much buildup and anticipation and it fell way short, especially when compared to the 03 Total Elimination. The first half of the show was just brutal and coma inducing (and in fact, my Uncle who's visiting and is a boxing fan wanted to watch the show with me, literally fell asleep and was snoring during Lister/Arona and decided to leave after Belfort/Overheem. I tried to tell him it's usually much better then this, but he was thouroughly unimpressed). It was just not the show Pride needed to have, especially if they were trying to gain new fans from UFC's momentum.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

The matches were up by around 2 or 3 today (maybe earlier, but that's when I got online) It was the Japanese version, so luckily I didn't have to listen to the announcers bitch, and if they were, I couldn't understand em. I also had the luxury of pacing myself and picking which fight I wanted to watch. Plus I knew when a fight was going to a decision by the size of the file. I think I watched Rampage/Shogun first (maybe Nakamura/Randleman) and it was such a great feeling, like Bonnar/Griffin kind of excitement. I love watching a shitkicking and it was so gratifying to see someone that you said "look out for this guy" succeed on such a massive level. I didn't come down from that till about 2 hours later. I was laughin, jumping up and down, throwing shadow-knees. Just an awesome feeling.

 

I fast forwarded through some of Nakamura/Randleman, but I still enjoyed it on one level. I like watching Nakamuras no gi judo.

 

Igor/Kondo was really good, watch it on mute or something It may have become one-sided for the last 2 rounds, but it was a nice education in ground control and they were constantly moving.

 

Silva/Yoshida was basically the last 10 seconds. I thought it was the worst fight of the night (didn't see Arona/Lister), but that last 10 seconds had me holding my breath.

 

I wasn't hyped for this show, so it wasn't a let down for me. When you get a show like this, it more often than not will disappoint, especially a stacked PRIDE show. Not because the show was bad, but because it could have been better. I think the environment you watched it in contributed to your overall feeling. If your uncle didn't fall asleep on the couch, I don't think you would be so down on it. Plus it had to follow up the UFC's awesome 2 weeks. In terms of delivering, I think the UFC has been beating PRIDE for the past year or so, maybe even more.

 

Oh shit, I can't believe I forgot to talk about the entrance. THAT WAS FUCKING AWESOME! Overeems entrance was amazing, as was Kondos. That's an epic set!

[Guest JebusNassedar]

Damnit, was it, like, Bizzaro Land in Osaka? Saku KOs someone, Randleman fails (not as unusual as it should be), Igor cant KO Kondo, Henderson repeating history, Arona fights clean, Jackson gets murderized, as RRR put it...

 

Man. Just a weird goddamn show.