MMA Retro-Rants: PRIDE 3
Posted by Michael Huckaby on 04.12.2007
Sakuraba and Newton put on a classic.
June 24th, 1998 at Nippon Budokan Hall. Your announcers are Stephen Quadros and Bas Rutten.
- Match 1: Akira Shoji vs Daijiro Matsui
This is Matsui's MMA debut and apparently Bas has heard some good things about him.
Round 1: The two men circle to feel each other out but neither looks to even be entertaining the thought of throwing a punch. After a failed shoot by Matsui, Shoji lands a nice one-two combo and jumps on Matsui's back, getting north-south position before he lets him back up. A mini exchange on the feet leads to Matsui making his third failed takedown attempt in the first couple of minutes and allows Shoji to get his back. Matsui stands back up and leans outside the ring as the two exchange some punches before the ref finally pulls him back in and we restart. Matsui again fails with a shoot as Shoji sprawls, switches to his back, and after a Matsui flip winds up in side mount. After some maneuvering, Shoji gets full mount but Matsui immediately bucks out and after a scramble we're back on the feet. Another failed shoot and another sprawl lead to Shoji delivering a headbutt with his chin (chinbutt?) to Matsui's back, that was interesting. They stand and Shoji gets an immediate trip and winds up in Matsui's half-guard. Shoji again works to full mount and again Matsui bucks but this time Shoji gets his back before Matsui slides right out of it. Shoji with a slam, landing in full guard. Quadros notes the two men match up almost identically and in fact they did then, they did five years later, and they do now as they travel the world on fumes in random organizations with losing records. The round ends with about the 10th failed shoot by Matsui. Shoji looks tired at this point while Matsui still looks fresh. First round was good and in my opinion it obviously goes to Shoji.
Round 2: They touch gloves and circle once again before Shoji gets a clinch and another nice trip takedown into full guard and are restarted in the center in the same position. Shoji fights out of the guard and stands up over Matsui, it looks as though Shoji would prefer to bang. Another failed shoot by Matsui again ends with Shoji gaining his back. Matsui sweeps and lands right in Shoji's guard before Shoji pushes him off and they hop back to the feet where Matsui lands a good right hand. They circle and exchange some weaker legkicks before, you guessed it, Matsui's shoot fails and Shoji gains his back. Matsui looks to be working to trap the left arm but Shoji holds on tight and begins unloading right hands on Matsui's head. Matsui flips over to his back and the two exchange strikes in the corner before the officials spin them around to the middle. A lot of acrobatics on the ground here as every time Matsui switches position so does Shoji to retain dominance. In north-south, Shoji lands a couple of knee strikes to the shoulders (head strikes on the ground aren't legal for another 10 events or so) and that is how the round ends. A round pretty easily dominated by Shoji and I have him up 2-0, not that this matters since I believe this is an auto-draw should it go the distance. To be honest the announcers could do a much better job of giving the specific match rules and details before the fight, then again I give it an 80% chance that they don't even know themselves.
Round 3: They touch gloves and Quadros gives them respect for their constant action, which is a real breath of fresh air after some of the lay-and-pray specials the last couple shows have given us (and several more will in the next few cards thanks Mark Kerr). After much circling there is a brief exchange with ends in Shoji gaining another trip takedown into Matsui's guard. After gaining no advantage, Shoji stands up yet again and allows Matsui the same privilege. Shoji wants to strike and throws a nice combo including a good right hand but this gives Matsui his first successful shoot and he's in Shoji's full guard. With little ground action, Quadros reminds us that this isn't a street fight or a deathmatch. You'd think this was obvious but with no information about round times (this is 10 minutes per) or fight length they might well have a deathmatch on the card I'm unaware of. Shoji finally pops his way up as Matsui immediately goes for another shoot but fails and we're back in north-south. Shoji lets go of the position to throw a strike and we're back on the feet. Failed Matsui shoot, gets his back, rinse and repeat. Matsui tries to reach down and get an ankle of Shoji but that won't go anywhere and we're at the end of round three. Again, I give it to Shoji who is up 3-0 on my meaningless scorecard.
Round 4: Bas says we're going to have one more bonus round but honestly says he doesn't know if it's a 5 or 10-minute round. There is something just ridiculously chaotic about not even telling announcers bout specifics. Failed shoot starts the round and shockingly Shoji again has north-south but isn't doing anything with it. Finally a couple of knee strikes to the left shoulder of Matsui before Shoji lets him back up. Quadros says this fight is like a cat chasing it's shadow, it's impossible. Bas asks if he means it's tail. This is their way of stating neither guy can possibly finish the other. Matsui finally decides to throw a punch or two but Shoji gets the better of the exchange and guess what happens next? A Matsui failed shoot with Shoji getting north-south? Correct. Shoji starts unloading, they go back to the feet where Shoji lands even more and again Matsui fails at a shoot and we're back where we started. Shoji moves to the side and throws a couple of knees, one of which lands perfectly on his own arm. Backfists and hammerfists fly from Shoji but they're doing no damage as Matsui has only laid on his stomach with his hands tucked this entire round. Three minutes left in the round as Shoji throws some punches and gets a nice slam, landing in a failed guillotine attempt from Matsui. Shoji is now laying in Matsui's full guard, eating some heel shots to the kidney. A couple of acrobatic rolls and the ref restarts them on their feet in the center. You may be shocked to know that the next series of events involves Matsui failing at a takedown, Shoji getting his back, and then standing back up. This has happened atleast 600 times in the fight. The next tangle leads to both going out of the ring but everyone is okay and we're restarted in the center just as the bell rings to end the fight. Result: Draw.
It looks as though it was an automatic draw but Rutten and Quadros contend they feel it should be a draw and I couldn't disagree more. I think Shoji won every round, pretty clearly in three of them. For a forty minute draw it wasn't that bad, some solid action just a bit repetitive.
Match 2: Daiju Takase vs Emmanuel Yarborough
This is the 170lb Takase's MMA debut going up against the 6'8, 600+lb American sumo wrestler, Yarborough. Yarborough was previously known due to his UFC 3 loss to Keith Hackney who then became "The Giant Killer". Yarborough was also once classified by Guinness as the world's largest athlete (eat it Big Show).
Round 1: Yarborough is wearing really baggy red shorts that are probably big enough to sleep in. From the opening bell, Takase runs away from side to side. Not even a little sparring or feeling out but straight turning his back and semi jogging away. That kind of takes the fun out of the David/Goliath matches when it makes you feel sorry for Goliath. Any time Takase even gets within some kind of range Yarborough swats at him angrily as a 600lb woman would if you stole her purse and then ran past her again. Manny finally gets close enough and lands a right hand which obviously stuns Daiju but he shakes it off by jogging all the way around the ring smiling. Takase's attitude almost makes them seem like a kind city cop chasing down an obnoxious teenager for tagging buildings. I don't even know why Manny is following him around the ring as Takase isn't engaging and he's just wasting energy. Takase again runs all around Yarborough and then does a somersault in the middle of the ring as if he's putting on a show. Genki Sudo and Punk Minowa he's not, more like a sugar-fueled child wanting attention. Manny eventually just stands in a corner and waits for Takase to come to him, which he doesn't. Takase has now been circling for five minutes with pretty much no action, so long as you don't count the sweat's all over Emmanuel's body traveling down as action. Manny is sweating all over the place and looks downright spent just from walking around the ring for a few minutes. After seven minutes of Takase running I finally notice that you can't see Yarborough's nipples as they must be tucked up underneath his pancake-like breasts. I'm now nauseas. Manny makes a real effort to reach out and grab Takase but he runs to the side and Manny is almost completely out of energy. "This is actually a really silly matchup," states Quadros. Well, I'm sure PRIDE will right this and it will never happen again. Round one ends with really no action whatsoever in the first round. The difference being Takase just jogged around and is completely fine while Yarborough looks like he's caked in baby oil due to all of the sweat from just walking back and forth chasing him.
Round 2: Round two starts with Yarborough refusing his mouthpiece from the corner, both because it slows his breathing and because he knows he won't be getting hit hard. Manny rushes Takase and almost grabs him but his sneaks his way out. On his next attempt he simply reaches one arm out as if he were looking for a WWE-style chokeslam and Takase almost goes over the top rope before squeaking out of that as well. Quadros: "Takase is now fearing for his life." I feared for my life once when I was drowning, I didn't find the time to do somersaults. After a couple more minutes the referee finally stops the action and gives the first yellow card in PRIDE history to Daiju Takase. How historic. Finally, after getting the yellow card, Takase goes for what was obviously his plan the entire time and shoots for a single leg and goes to the ground, temporarily on the bottom. Manny holds on like mad trying to keep him down as Takase lands some shots to the head. Manny's nose is bleeding and he's literally just laying on Takase's legs as Daiju punches him in the legs. Takase finally scoots his leg out and begins giving head shots, Fedor/Zulu style, and gets Manny to tap out. Winner: Daiju Takase, submission (punches), 3:22 of Rd2.
This wasn't your normal big vs little freak match, Takase's strategy truly seemed to be just to run around for 12 minutes before doing absolutely anything. Don't get me wrong, it worked, but it made you feel sorry for Yarborough instead of cheering the smaller fighter.
Match 3: Kazushi Sakuraba vs Carlos Newton
Carlos Newton is fresh off of his UFC 17 appearance where he was middleweight tourney runner-up. That event also marked the last UFC one-night tournament as well as being Chuck Liddell's MMA debut, winning a dark match. Bas Rutten is in the ring and gives flowers to both of the competitors before grabbing the mic. Bas says he's fighting in the UFC for the title against Randy Couture. This never happened as Couture couldn't come to financial terms with the UFC and the title was vacated (and later won by Rutten anyway). Rutten says after his UFC contract runs out he'd like to come back to PRIDE and fight Rickson Gracie.
Round 1: Saku starts immediately with a couple of left leg kicks before Carlos shoots and gets into a body lock in the corner. Newton looks to have the takedown but Sakuraba reverses it and flips right into Newton's guard. Saku stands and spins and looks to have a beautiful armbar sunk but Newton fights his way out with great technical ability. Newton is now on top with side mount but Saku easily flips him and winds up on top, holding the foot and suddenly going for a toe hold which is unsuccessful. Newton winds up on top, in side mount, as Saku turns and gives his back before sweeping and winding back up in Newton's guard. Saku postures up on his knees for a few seconds looking for the right route to take and eventually circles Carlos and looks again for an armbar but Newton is too skilled for it and slides out. The crowd applauds as the ground techniques in this fight are beautiful. Saku is back to posturing up as the PA guy announces we're five minutes into the round and Saku lets Newton up and we're back on the feet. Newton charges in at Saku with strikes but Saku simply ducks his head, gets a single leg, and drops him on his back. In guard, Newton's head rises up and Sakuraba just shoves it back down to the mat. Sakuraba immediately goes for another toe hold and looks to have it in but Newton escapes and grabs his back with three minutes left in the round. Newton goes for the choke but that obviously isn't going to work on Saku, who slides out the back and right into Newton's guard. Quadros notes this seems like an old-school battle of technique where both agreed not to commit any strikes. They're back up to their feet as Saku throws another high left kick and gets a quick takedown and the bell immediately rings to end round one. I give that one to Sakuraba, great round.
Round 2: Newton starts by going for the takedown, grabs Saku's back, and they go to the ground. Sakuraba looks for an arm immediately but Carlos fights out of the problem as both men are on their knees. Some incredible, acrobatic grappling leads them to the same place they were in with Newton holding Saku's back. Sakuraba grabs one of Newton's legs to try and get dominant position but Newton traps the arm, Matt Hughes-style, and looks to go for the other one. Sakuraba will have none of it and fights forward and then flips back to the original position of Newton behind him. Quadros calls it "grappling mastery". Newton finally lets go with some punches, clubbing Saku several times in the head from behind before Saku turns into the guard and gets top position. From the top Sakuraba goes for the armbar but Newton does an incredible job fighting out of it and regains Saku's back in a great sequence. Newton, realizing he won't get the choke on Saku, looks a little clueless as to what to attack from Saku's back. Sakuraba begins rolling around and traps Newton's left knee in a beautiful kneebar and Carlos has no choice but to tap. That was a beautiful match and a beautiful submission. Winner: Kazushi Sakuraba, submission (kneebar), 5:19 of Rd2.
Both men give deep bows to one another after easily the most technical match of the first three PRIDE events. "Mixed martial arts hit a new high, new standards," says Rutten. Great fight.
Match 4: Gary Goodridge vs Amir Rahnavardi
This was Rahnavardi's MMA debut and the biggest stage he ever had. After this it was a submission loss to Keith Jardine and a 4 second KO loss to bank robber (ALLEGEDLY!) Lee Murray. Bas notes that Rahnavardi took this fight on one day's notice as Goodridge was originally scheduled to fight Kimo.
Round 1: A leg kick and punch attempt by Amir seem to really piss Goodridge off as Gary begins to absolutely tee-off on him in a clinch. This is a recurring them in early Goodridge matches, almost like a mouse in a snake enclosure if the mouse gets close enough to play around he better cover up fast. Gary powers him into the corner and delivers several uppercuts. Amir attempts a Judo throw but Gary is far too powerful and flips him over, beginning to throw big punches from the top. Gary is now working in Amir's very open guard and Rahnavardi is holding on to Goodridge's body for dear life. Gary moves it to half-guard and unloads a blow to the head. "Amir has lasted longer than a lot of people thought he would," remarks Quadros. I wonder if Stephen has a degree in backhanded compliments. Gary is still working in Amir's half guard, trying to get an arm free to throw some strikes. Gary finally gets off a couple of blows but Amir immediately goes for a kneebar and looks to have it sunk it but Gary doesn't panic. Gary remains calm and begins pushing Amir's leg down his own before escaping and getting top position. Now Amir attempts a triangle which Gary again powers out of and gains his back. Amir flips over and begins to punch Goodridge from the bottom, to which Gary responds, "WOOO, CHILD'S PLAY, AGAIN!" very audibly. Amir lands another 3 or 4 uncontested shots from the bottom, each responded to with a happy, "WOOO" from Goodridge. Goodridge is in Amir's guard and suddenly throws a couple of big rights that land beautifully. Suddenly it becomes aware to everyone that Amir is out as Goodridge slaps him with one more for good measure before the ref jumps in to stop it. Winner: Gary Goodridge, KO (punch), 7:22 of Rd1. The replay showed it was the 3rd and 4th shots that absolutely KO'd him. None the less, nice performance from Amir on one day's notice.
Match 5: Mark Kerr vs Pedro Otavio
Kerr comes in off of his dominating DQ win over "Human Trash" Branco Cikatic (my nickname, not his) while Otavio is a world known 13-3 Brazilian submission fighter who would later lose to Babalu Sobral, Assuerio Silva, and Amar Suloev before retiring in 2001 or 2002.
Round 1: It looks as though Otavio came in for a fist touch but Kerr threw a leg kick. I can't imagine Kerr knew that Otavio was looking to touch gloves or he wouldn't have thrown said kick. High kick from Kerr leads to a takedown and he's into Otavio's half-guard. Otavio tries to sprawl up but with an athlete like Kerr that isn't going to work. Kerr lands some huge shots to the side of Otavio and then moves in for a kimura. He pulls on the arm and Otavio begins to scream very loudly leading to the referee stopping the fight. Winner: Mark Kerr, submission (kimura), 2:13 of Rd1.
Otavio begins to scream "NO" at the referee and at the crowd as if he wasn't beat all the while waving his finger at everyone. To his credit I guess screaming like a girl isn't exactly tapping out but the fight should have been stopped none the less. Poor Kerr can't seem to fight a respectful opponent as Otavio begins throwing pads into the crowd and ranting while Kerr bows to him and waves to the fans. Kerr raises his trophy in the ring while Otavio is still being a poor sport and waving his hands no all the way back up the ramp.
Match 6: Nobuhiko Takada vs Kyle Sturgeon
Takada's "fight" here is between his two losses to Rickson Gracie. Meanwhile my Google search for Kyle Sturgeon out of curiosity only resulted in a picture of a guy named Kyle holding up a sturgeon. Damn you Google with your literal searches.
Round 1: Takada starts in the middle with Sturgeon circling. A high kick from Sturgeon drops Takada in a pro wrestling sense, where he looks at the crowd, shakes it off and stands back up. I feel dirty reviewing this. Takada with a couple of low kick attempts as Sturgeon takes Takada down but is immediately fought off by Takada in a really awkward exchange. Did I mention I feel dirty reviewing this? Quadros remarks that Sturgeon has a really awkward style for a kickboxer…. for a kickboxer with no immediate Google results and no K-1 fight history I must agree. Takada takes Kyle down, Sturgeon then begins to slap Takada's back with his palm in the most pathetic attempt I can remember in recent memory to hurt someone. You know the first time I watched this I just assumed maybe Takada fought a guy who didn't know what he was doing but now I'm realizing I'm naïve. Takada pulls back in Sturgeon's guard and gets a heel hook, causing Kyle to immediately tap out. For the third time, I feel dirty reviewing this. Winner: "Nobuhiko Takada", "submission" ("heel hook"), 2:18 of Rd1.
Don't mind the quotes. Really. This might well have been on the up and up given the competition but that would require me to give someone credit.
The 411: 5/10. No draws over 40 minutes might just make me appreciate something I haven't been used to in the last couple cards. View these one after another and your standards change. Sakuraba/Newton was the easy standout, an instant classic and outstanding fight. Goodridge is always good for an entertaining time and Manny/Takase is just strange but you're almost happy you saw it. Average card, though by todays standards it would probably be more of a 3/10.
