411’s PRIDE on FSN Report 07.17.08
Posted by Jonathan Solomon on 07.17.2008
Shogun vs. Nogueira, Gracie vs. Takada, Cro Cop vs. Hunt and more PRIDE fun.
411's PRIDE on FSN Report 07.17.08
PRIDE Fighting Championship may be physically sleeping with the fishes but its memory lives on with highlights thanks to Fox Sports Net (or MSG Plus in New York). Hosted by Best Damn's Chris Rose, we get to watch several fights from PRIDE's history, some clipped, some complete. Here's a rundown of the card:
Alexandru Lungu vs. James Thompson - PRIDE 30, October 2005
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Mauricio Shogun Rua - PRIDE Critical Countdown, June 2005
Rickson Gracie vs. Nobuhiko Takada - PRIDE 1, October 1997
Mirko Cro Cop vs. Mark Hunt - PRIDE Shockwave, December 2005
Dennis Kang vs. Mark Weir - PRIDE Bushido 10, April 2006
Dan Henderson vs. Shungo Oyama - PRIDE 25, March 2003
Alexandru Lungu vs. James Thompson - PRIDE 30, October 2005
Alex Lungu made his MMA debut at this show after competing in European, World and his native-Romanian Judo competitions for several years. Lungu is tipping the scales at about 385-pounds (over 120-pounds weight advantage). James Thompson was 1-1 in PRIDE heading into this fight.
There is no running start for Thompson as Lungu lands a big right. Lungu takes him down and gets side control. You would think the big man would be content with the fight on the ground, but apparently he is not. Lungo gets up and prefers a stand-up battle. Both men swing wildly and Thompson is able to get close and land a few knees. Thompson lands some shots as Lungu turns his back in the corner and the ref jumps in to stop the fight. Those must have been some damaging punches or knees from Thompson. Otherwise, Lungu probably should not have been there to begin with.
James Thompson def. Alexandru Lungu, TKO (strikes) in round one.
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Mauricio Shogun Rua - PRIDE Critical Countdown, June 2005
This was a fight in the second round of the Middleweight Grand Prix tournament held over several shows. Shogun defeated Quinton Rampage Jackson two months earlier to advance. Minotoro Nogueira defeated Dan Henderson in the first round. Both men were undefeated in PRIDE with only one loss overall (each).
The fight turned into a great battle between "Little Nog" and Shogun as far as different strategies went. Nogueira seemed willing to stay on the ground after all of Shogun's takedowns but the ref would quickly stand them up. Shogun must have had at least five or six takedowns in the first round. After failing to do some damage with kicks or punches, the ref would stand them up. When they were standing, Nogueira landed several big shots that stunned Shogun but he would quickly regain his composure.
The second and third rounds were more of the same. Shogun took Nogueira down, attempt kicks and when the action stopped, the ref stood them up. Nogueira would do some damage standing or defend well on the mat. Twice during the later rounds, Nogueira nearly had kimura's locked in but Shogun maneuvered out of both. This fight went to a decision where Mauricio Shogun Rua won via unanimous decision.
If PRIDE used the UFC/U.S. Athletic Commission style of scoring by judges, this fight could have gone to Nogueira. However, with PRIDE, you judge based on the fight as a whole and not individual rounds.
Shogun Rua def. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira by unanimous decision.
Rickson Gracie vs. Nobuhiko Takada - PRIDE 1, October 1997
This is the famous main event of the original PRIDE event. This was built as the unstoppable street fighter and Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioner against the famous Japanese pro wrestler. In the PRIDE Decade documentary, former PRIDE President Nobuyuki Sakakibara said if Gracie lost, PRIDE never would have grown. I assume every non-Japanese person believed Gracie would win at the time. On commentary, Bas Rutten and Stephen Quadros certainly hinted at that fact.
Gracie starts by leading with his right leg. Takada doesn't want any of it and circles around the ring. Gracie shoots for a takedown and Takada's defense fails. Gracie mounts Takada and pulls an arm bar as Takada is forced to tap.
Mirko Cro Cop vs. Mark Hunt - PRIDE Shockwave, December 2005
One of the top fights at the then-annual New Year's Eve show, this heavyweight action was filled with kicks. Mark Hunt was coming off a decision win against Wanderlei Silva a year earlier. For Cro Cop, he lost a decision to Fedor Emelianenko in a PRIDE Heavyweight Championship fight in August. Two months before this fight, Cro Cop defeated Josh Barnett by decision and was likely on his way to another title shot.
Both men were active kick boxers and you would have thought this was a kickboxing fight. It seemed like instead of jabs or crosses, each man used their feet. Cro Cop landed some sick kicks including a left high kick that nailed Hunt in the head. Hunt landed several leg kicks but the punch combo's picked up in the later rounds. Hunt was definitely pushing the pace throughout the fight. Cro Cop had an annoying tendency to walk up to Hunt, push him away and try to connect with a strike afterwards.
In the second round, Cro Cop landed a great looking ax-kick. Cro Cop was backpedaling a lot, as Hunt would land combos with his feet and hands. In the final round, Cro Cop did connect on several kicks but Hunt nearly finished the fight with a nice right, left combo. Cro Cop appeared to bounce off the ropes after one shot; if he were in the center of the ring, the fight may have been over. The fight did conclude with Cro Cop in dominant position on the mat.
The judges ruled that Mark Hunt won via split decision.
Dennis Kang vs. Mark Weir - PRIDE Bushido 10, April 2006
Kang was a veteran with about 30 pro fights on his record at this point and most of them, victories. A year before this fight, he beat Takahiro Oba and Andrei Semenov at Bushdio 6 and 8, respectively. This was Mark Weir's PRIDE debut after fighting for Cage Rage, WEC, UFC and other organizations.
Both men seemed fine with swinging wildly and hoping one or two shots would land. Mark Weir take's Kang down and moved to side control. He can't do much on the ground and the fight returned to their feet. A second slugfest began and Weir is rocked. Dennis Kang nailed him with knees in the Muay Thai clinch (Weir could not escape). Kang gets the takedown and is on top. Kang drops some hammer fists and Weir is bleeding from the eye. A big bump emerges on his forehead and he taps out from the constant shots.
Dennis Kang def. Mark Weir, submission (strikes) in round one.
Dan Henderson vs. Shungo Oyama - PRIDE 25, March 2003
Dan Henderson is, of course, the U.S. Olympic wrestler turned MMA fighter. Before this fight, Henderson lost to Ricardo Arona and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. He had wins over Ninja Rua, Renzo Gracie, Babalu, Rodrigo Nogueira and others as well. On the other hand, Shungo Oyama did not have much success as a pro. His record entering the fight was 2-4 with one win coming by way of decision against Renzo Gracie. Fast-forward to 2004 and Oyama would lose to both Cro Cop and pro wrestler Sean O'Haire. Imagine that.
Almost immediately, Henderson rocks Oyama with a pair of rights but Oyama stays on his feet. It turns into a slugfest before Oyama flips Henderson down to the mat. Henderson reverses and takes side control before landing a big right. The ground and pound begins and the referee stops the fight.
Dan Henderson def. Shungo Oyama, TKO (strikes) in round one.
That's the end of the show. The only way this could have been better is if Cro Cop joined Chris Rose in studio and showed him one of those patented high kicks. Looking back, it is pretty astonishing to see how many guys on this show have gone on to lose some pretty big fights. Of course, James Thompson will forever be known as the man whose ear blew up on national television in a loss to Kimbo Slice. After making MMA history by holding two championships in different weight classes, Dan Henderson returned to the UFC and lost both to Quinton Jackson and Anderson Silva. Shogun Rua made his UFC debut and tapped out to TUF-Alumnus (and now, the UFC Light Heavyweight Champion) Forrest Griffin. The Mirko Cro Cop experiment completely failed in the UFC. He went 1-2 in the top promotion before exiting and returning to Japan.
I'm not sure how often these PRIDE highlight shows air on FSN, but keep checking back for recaps of WEC, PRIDE and other MMA-based shows. Plus, don't forget that this weekend is stacked with big shows. UFC, Affliction and DREAM will present big events and remember to check out our picks at the 411 Roundtable for each show.
