411's PRIDE on FSN Report 07.24.08
Posted by Jonathan Solomon on 07.24.2008
A loaded card featuring Shamrock vs. Fujita, Rampage vs. Randleman, Frye vs. Takayama, Minowa vs. Kimo and much more.
PRIDE on FSN Report
I am back with another edition of PRIDE Fighting Championship on Fox Sports Net (MSG Plus). This episode is hosted by Chris Rose as we take a step back to yesteryear and some great PRIDE action. The fights on tap today are...
James Thompson vs. Henry "Sentoryu" Miller - PRIDE Bushido 8, July 17th, 2005
Yves Edwards vs. Mishima - PRIDE Bushido 7, May 22nd, 2005
Joachim Hansen vs. Masakazu Imanari - PRIDE Bushido 8, July 17th, 2005
Alistair Overeem vs. Igor Vovchanchyn - PRIDE Critical Countdown 2005, June 26th, 2005
Ikuhisa Minowa vs. Kimo Leopoldo - PRIDE Bushido 8, July 17th, 2005
Tank Abbott vs. Hidehiko Yoshida - PRIDE Final Conflict 2005, August 28th, 2005
Kevin Randleman vs. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson - PRIDE 25 Body Blow, March 16th, 2003
Don Frye vs. Yoshihiro Takayama - PRIDE 21 Demolition, June 23rd, 2002
Ken Shamrock vs. Kazuyuki Fajita - PRIDE 10, August 27th, 2000
James Thompson vs. Henry Miller - PRIDE Bushido 8, July 15th, 2005
Henry Miller is a former sumo wrestler and is coming into the fight at 37-years old. He's listed at 5'9" and 267 pounds. He's just 1-2 in his PRIDE MMA career going against The Colossus. Thompson has the big height advantage (nine inches) and his aggressive style may be too much for Miller. Thompson made his PRIDE debut in 2004 with a knockout loss to Aleksander Emelinenko.
Thompson begins the fight with his famous bull rush and they clinch. Thompson hits Miller with some punches and a big knee. Miller shoots for a take down but Thompson sprawls and ends up on top in half guard. Thompson mounts and attempts an arm bar but Miller gets out and is on top. Miller, in side control, can do nothing to hurt Thompson. Back on his feet, Thompson swings and nails Miller with a right and a left and knocks out Sentoryu Miller.
Your winner by KNOCKOUT is James Thompson at 1:21 in the first round. This was his first win in PRIDE.
Yves Edwards vs. Mishima - PRIDE Bushido 7, May 22nd, 2005
Heading into this fight, Edwards was riding a six-fight consecutive win streak (including two wins versus Hermes Franca) while Mishima had a three-fight consecutive win streak.
Early in the fight, it's obvious that Mishima is the favorite as his native people loudly chant his name. Both men are cautious with the first strike coming from Mishima, a leg kick about thirty seconds after the bell. Edwards hurts Mishima with a right but the Japanese fighter shoots for a take down, and gets it. Back on their feet, Edwards continuously must defend the takedown attempts from Mishima. Mishima gets the take down but Edwards reverses the position and goes for a arm lock, changes it up and finishes Mishima with a beautiful arm bar submission. Awesome "THUG-jitsu" showing from the creator.
Yves Edwards def. Mishima by SUBMISSION (arm bar) at 4:36 of the first round.
Joachim Hansen vs. Masakazu Imanari - PRIDE Bushido 8, July 17th, 2005
Both men made their PRIDE debut's in this fight. Hansen, fighting for K-1 and SHOOTO had wins over Caol Uno and Gesias Calvancanti. Imanari came over from the DEEP promotion.
Imanari must have read James Thompson's playbook because as soon as the bell rang, Imanari charged at Hansen, but did not do anything. The great Bas Rutten explains that Imanari is trying for a jumping leg lock, and he does just that but fails to reach Hansen. Hansen looks to be tired of Imanari's antics and goes for a sick knee (misses) and a stomp but neither does much damage. Imanari pulls Hansen into his guard. Hansen stands up and throws a stomp but Imanari grabs hold of his leg as Hansen tries to defend. Finally, he runs out of room and falls to the mat as Imanari goes to work. Hansen's defense turns out to be superb as he stands back up and walks out of the hold. On their feet, Imanari once again shoots in for a take down but Hansen times it perfectly and NAILS Imanari with a big knee. Imanari falls to the mat and is OUT! Hansen celebrates as the fan's boo. Replays show after the knee hit, Hansen calmly turns his back and walks away. This man is dangerous!
Joachim Hansen def. Masakazu Imanari by KNOCKOUT at 2:34 of the first round.
Alistair Overeem vs. Igor Vovchanchyn - PRIDE Critical Countdown 2005, June 26th, 2005
Overeem's last fight was a submission victory over Vitor Belfort. Vovchanchyn had a five-fight consecutive win streak in PRIDE going into this fight. This was part of the Middleweight Tournament quarterfinals.
Overeem tries a jumping knee but instead it looks like he is dancing. In the clinch, both men try to throw one another along with throwing some knees but Overeem is finally able to get the take down. Vovchanchyn gets off the mat but Overeem sinks in a guillotine choke and Igor TAPS OUT! A repeat of the first round of the tournament when Overeem used a guillotine choke to make Vitor Belfort to tap out.
Alistair Overeem def. Igor Vovchanchyn by SUBMISSION (guillotine choke) at 1:20 of the first round.
Ikuhisa Minowa vs. Kimo Leopoldo - PRIDE Bushido 8, July 17th, 2005
Kimo was 42-years old at this point and Minowa had the height disadvantage as well as giving up about forty pounds.
Minowa lands a combo to start the fight. Kimo gets the take down but Minowa has a guillotine that doesn't last. Kimo in half guard, gets swept by Minowa who is now in Kimo's guard. Minowa pulls a leg lock and Kimo taps to end the fight. Minowa made his fans quite happy with the win (he previously lost to Phil Baroni). Meanwhile, on commentary Bas Rutten tries to explain that the leg lock performed, "doesn't really do anything."
Ikuhisa Minowa def. Kimo Leopoldo via SUBMISSION (leg lock) at 3:11 of the first round.
Tank Abbott vs. Hidehiko Yoshida - PRIDE Final Conflict 2005, August 28th, 2005
Tank made his PRIDE debut here while Yoshida came off a loss to Wanderlei Silva.
A head kick from Yoshida connects and stuns Abbott who immediately shoots in and gets a take down. The referee stands them up (after doing nothing for about 10 seconds) and issues them a yellow-card which deducts 10% from their purse. UFC must institute that rule today. PLEASE! Yoshida nails Tank with punches and once again, stuns the American. Abbott tries for the take down but Yoshida defends well. Yoshida takes the back and gets the hook in. Yoshida uses his gi and gets a choke and Tank Abbott taps out.
Hidehiko Yoshida def. Tank Abbott via SUBMISSION (choke) at 7:40 of the first round.
Kevin Randleman vs. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson - PRIDE 25 Body Blow, March 16th, 2003
Both men were riding win streaks into this fight. Rampage had just defeated Igor Vovchanchyn and Randleman had defeated Ninja Rua.
Anticipation is at a fever pitch for this match-up as the fighters shake hands at center ring. Randleman starts the fight by charging Rampage, but slows down once Rampage looks to be ready to swing. Rampage takes Randleman down but he gets back up and they clinch. Rampage throws knees to the body and the head before the ref separates them. In the middle of the ring, Randleman lands a left and Rampage simply smiles and laughs it off. Randleman lands a combo and Rampage shoots for a take down but can't get it. Once again, the ref separates them and places them in the middle of the ring. In the clinch, Rampage lands several knees to Randleman's body. Randleman connects with a left to Rampage's head (may of hit the back) and he stumbles a bit. Randleman tries for the take down but Rampage just will not fall. One more time, the ref separates the two from the corner. This happens another time and the ref FINALLY issues a yellow card. Rampage takes issue with that before the fight continues. Both men land a punch at the same time. Rampage uses a muay-thai clinch to NAIL Randleman with a big knee, followed by a punch and the Ohio State University wrestler is hurt. Randleman falls to the mat and the fight is over.
Quinton "Rampage" Jackson def. Kevin Randleman by TKO (strikes) at 6:58 of the first round.
Don Frye vs. Yoshihiro Takayama - PRIDE 21 Demolition, June 23rd, 2002
Well, this is a famous fight for a reason. There are so many punches that I can't list them all. At the start of the fight the two warriors clinch and just unload for minutes, then don't stop for several more minutes. Takayama's face ends up looking like bad meat, it's so nasty. The Japanese crowd came unglued during the war. Eventually, the referee finally stops the fight after Takayama's face looks like hell.
Check it out for yourself
Don Frye def. Yoshihiro Takayama by TKO (many, many strikes) at 6:10 of the first round.
Ken Shamrock vs. Kazuyuki Fujita - PRIDE 10, August 27th, 2000
Fujita shoots but Shamrock defends and sends a leg kick his way. Fujita continues his attempts to take down Shamrock but fails. Ken lands a big left and rocks Fujita by he doesn't capitalize on this. Fujita clinches Shamrock and lands knees. In the corner, Shamrock gets a yellow card as one of his corner guys taps the ref. Fujita is bleeding from the nose from that earlier punch. Shamrock lands a barrage of punches but Fujita won't quit. Shamrock has a guilllotine choke locked in and Fujita's face is turning colors. Fujita somehow works his way out of the choke and survives as the crowd cheers him on. They show a quick camera shot of Antonio Inoki watching from ringside, that amuses me. Both men exchange punches and knees but they are clearly tiring. Ken Shamrock is beyond tired as he calls for his corner to throw in the towel.
Eddie Bravo remarks that Fujita is so tough he could take a baseball bat to the side of the head. You know what, I don't know that he's wrong.
Kazuyuji Fujita def. Ken Shamrock via TKO (towel) at 6:42 of the first round.
