MMA Retro-Rants: PRIDE 4
Posted by Michael Huckaby on 04.18.2007
A solid card with no real standout but we do have a Vovchanchyn sighting.
October 11th, 1998 at the Tokyo Dome. Your announcers are Stephen Quadros and Bas Rutten.
- Match 1: Igor Vovchanchyn vs Gary Goodridge
The great Vovchanchyn's PRIDE debut. His last recorded fight was a tournament victory over former Ohio State wrestler Nick Nutter, who all in all seemed like he'd be a decent fighter if it weren't for his two beatings at the hands of Igor which led him down a different career path. No one can blame him.
Round 1: Goodridge comes out as the aggressor, throwing a couple of strikes before moving in and getting underhooks. Igor tries to use his body weight to his advantage but the stronger Goodridge plows forward and gets the takedown, showing a lot of respect for Igor's striking ability. Igor puts Goodridge in his full guard and suddenly Vovchanchyn is bleeding a great deal down the right side of his face. A subsequent rewind finds no reason for it, perhaps an accidental headbutt on the way down by Goodridge. Gary suddenly sits up and falls back looking for a heel hook but Igor just charges forward, breaking out of it and mounting Gary. Not seconds later, Goodridge bucks him right back off and gets top position again. Igor lands a few minor shots from the bottom so Gary sits back up looking for better position but can't seem to find it. Gary finally lands a couple of shots but his momentum carries him out of position on the second one and Igor hops back to his feet. Gary has underhooks again against the ropes as Igor's cut seems to be getting worse. Gary swings Igor to the side and gets another takedown back into Igor's guard. Gary fights and gets half guard, working to get his other leg free. Gary looks to land from the top but he's reluctant as when he throws Igor seems to be able to escape. Gary stands back up over Igor and actually asks the referee, "Can I kick face?" Especially funny because if the referee weren't Japanese he would have phrased it differently. Finally Igor is able to slide back up to his feet as Gary stalks toward him looking for a takedown but this time Igor is letting his fists go as he tosses him into a corner. Gary gets an underhook but Igor throws him off multiple times before landing a nice left hook on Goodridge's chin. A second big left hook knocks Goodridge out on his feet, bouncing him off of the ropes, as the referee dives in to make the stoppage. Winner: Igor Vovchanchyn, TKO (punches), 5:58 of Rd1.
It looked like an early stoppage at first but Gary continued to wobble around in the corner wondering where he was at. After 20 seconds or so in the corner Gary lightly protests the call but the referee did the right thing.
- Match 2: Akira Shoji vs Wallid Ismail
Wallid Ismail, who on the surface is the walking definition of having a little man's complex, might be a villain to some but always admitted it was just an act to intimidate his opponent and put people in the seats. If anything his vocal disdain for Ryan Gracie should be met with flowers and applause. This is Wallid's PRIDE debut against Shoji, coming off of his 40-minute draw with Matsui at PRIDE 3. Quadros notes that Wallid is coming off of a loss to Takahashi at UFC 12, "hey, I fought that guy," replies Rutten surprisingly. Maybe you had to hear it. Anyway….
Round 1: They circle, hesitant to throw, but Ismail is willing to move forward and eat a couple of nice punches to shoot for the takedown. Shoji sprawls in the corner, briefly getting back to his feet to throw a knee to the head, before Ismail is able to contain him on the ground. Shoji looking for a guillotine but Ismail is in no trouble as he turns him back toward the middle of the ring, looking to pass guard. Shoji is able to get back to his feet but a rabid Ismail follows him back into a corner looking for a takedown. After a minute of working Ismail is again able to contain him as Shoji has him in full guard. Ismail lands a couple of punches but this just lets Shoji escape before being taken down again. This looks to be a recurring event in the fight. While discussing Wallid's streetfights Quadros remarks that it's like the Wild Wild West down there. "What a great place to live," responds Bas. Not if you're me. I picture a lot of sand being kicked in my face. After throwing some shots, Wallid is able to attain mount but can't do any damage as the slightest movement would allow the tricky Shoji to get out. Almost on cue, Wallid throws a big right but Shoji hops right to his feet with Wallid diving at him. Shoji now on a pace of punch, punch, sprawl, punch, punch, sprawl as Wallid desperately tries to get it back on the ground. Shoji then lands a nice shot but Wallid grabs ahold and ends up on top again. Wallid slides into side mount and begins throwing multiple punches, giving Shoji some bruises and a mouse under his eye. Wallid spins into full mount again and lands another nice right hand. Shoji then institutes a beautiful spin, temporarily giving Wallid his back but then completing the other 180 degrees, flipping him off and getting back to his feet. That was nice. With Wallid trying to get back to his feet, Shoji lands another nice right hand. There is one minute left in the round with Ismail holding Shoji against the ropes looking for a takedown when Shoji falls back and puts Wallid in his guard. End of round one. Very hard round to score if judges were doing so, both men did some damage but I'd be hard pressed to even suggest one guy got the better of the other. Interesting round as the two ground fighters didn't really look for any submissions, rather Shoji a KO on the feet and Ismail a KO from ground-and-pound.
Round 2: Interesting exchange to start the second as Shoji looked to be the more tired man after one but starting the second Wallid looks dizzy on his feet and seems to be very fatigued. Shoji takes advantage by unloading a right hand and then another when Wallid falls to the ground on his own accord. Shoji tells Wallid to stand back up and lands a left hook. Wallid looks as if he can barely stand as Shoji begins to tee off on his head with lefts and rights until the referee judges that Ismail can no longer protect himself. Winner: Akira Shoji, TKO (punches), 1:26 of Rd2.
Wallid looks to be lightly waving no to the crowd with his arm but it was a nice stoppage, Wallid wasn't doing anything to fight back.
- Match 3: Sanae Kikuta vs Daijiro Matsui
Kikuta was last seen at PRIDE 2, losing via submission after over 50 minutes against Renzo Gracie, while Matsui is coming off of his MMA and PRIDE debut, a 40-minute draw with Akira Shoji. I SMELL FIREWORKS! Don't go get a snack during this one folks, especially if it takes you an hour to get a snack.
Round 1: Bas starts off the fight by saying he's afraid this won't be very exciting. While Bas is being a company man, Quadros says PRIDE has time limits now. Not good enough Stephen, not good enough. Kikuta charges and gets an underhook into the corner. After some struggling Quadros basically calls Kikuta the most predictable MMA fighter out there. More struggling and Kikuta gets the trip takedown. Still in Matsui's guard and throwing a couple of punches, Quadros calls Sakuraba (Matsui's teammate) an "up and coming fighter". After a couple more minutes holding Kikuta in his guard, Matsui finds a way to fight back up to his feet before Kikuta again gets underhooks and trip takedowns Matsui again. This is a direct mirror of Kikuta's fight with Renzo but he's being a little more aggressive and actually working for position. Kikuta works over to side mount, locking the head (front choke), and gets full mount. Matsui fights out but Kikuta retains sidemount and lands weak hammerfists to the side of the head. Kikuta looks to be working a side choke but Matsui turns him and gets top position before bringing it back up to the feet. For the third time, Kikuta gets the hooks and trip takedowns. Matsui lands a couple of nice right hands from the bottom and when Kikuta sits up Matsui lands two nice kicks to the stomach before Kikuta recovers back into side mount. Matsui again rolls him to get top position and side mount himself. After a couple of weak knees to the side, Matsui thinks better of it and we're back to the feet in the center. Matsui lands a right hand and a low kick, both responded to with a "bring it on" gesture by Kikuta, who wants none of the standup. Beautiful Chuck Liddellian overhand right by Matsui, except lacking absolutely all of the power. Round one ends with both guys faking punches on the feet. Kikuta won the first half the round but Matsui won the second half. Very equal round which at gunpoint I'd have to give slightly to Kikuta but I could see it either way.
I should note the ring girls look to be wearing white t-shirts and blue jackets. Poor show.
Round 2: The referee stops them immediately to start the second as Kikuta is too sweaty and wasn't toweled off. Kikuta has absolutely nothing in standup and when Matsui misses a kick and falls backward, Kikuta dives on top of him into side mount. Kikuta is doing nothing but hold on and Quadros suggests that Matsui knee him to the head from the bottom. "Are knees to the head allowed," questions Bas. "As far as I know," responds Quadros. *sigh* Kikuta has Matsui pushed into the corner and looks to be working for an arm in a failed effort. Kikuta scoots into full mount and looks for another front choke as Matsui is actually in trouble but keeps his cool and pushes himself out. Kikuta is back in side mount as Bas and Stephen basically call Sanae boring and say he should stick to submission fighting. Kikuta continues to hold Matsui down as Matsui lands some weaker knees to the ribs from bottom. Matsui screams out in frustration in the corner of the ring with Kikuta laying on him before the officials reverse their position toward the center. Matsui finally bucks and tries to escape but Kikuta gets his back briefly before Matsui tires again and gets on top. Matsui lands some body shots but can't seem to fight out of Kikuta's half guard. Now Kikuta reverses and we're back into Matsui's guard with little happening. Matsui landing palm shots and heel kicks from the bottom on Kikuta, who is doing nothing to either improve position or win the fight. A little flurry by Matsui to change positions and we end round two with no reaction from the crowd. Nothing happened in the round whatsoever.
Round 3: Glove touch to begin round three as Kikuta charges in, Matsui lands a right, but Bas predicts a trip by Kikuta with him in top position. A few seconds later Bas is correct with Matsui landing more heel kicks to the kidneys and no movement on the ground. Quadros makes a comparison and asks Bas if he remembers UFC 8, but as Bas mentioned on PRIDE 1 he doesn't have access to any UFC events accept 1 and 2. I <3 continuity. For the record Kikuta is still on top and there is no real action except Matsui landing more heel kicks. The announcers discuss Royce Gracie being able to "close the show" in the early UFCs while most of the submission fighters in the early PRIDE's have trouble doing so. Amen. Matsui still active from the guard, landing some punches and heel kicks from the bottom. Yet again, Kikuta finally passes into full mount looking for a front choke but he can't get it and Matsui flips him over. Now Matsui is being held down by Kikuta with little action in the corner of the ring. Quadros opines that both men are resigned to the fact this will go the distance as Bas says they probably decided it in round one. In a bit of unknown hilarity, Bas and Stephen discuss how Marco Ruas fought so hard against Gary Goodridge, despite a loss, at PRIDE 2 that it didn't diminish his drawing power. Yet as we know today, Kikuta and Matsui are still active while Ruas basically retired before the millennium. I guess laying on each other takes less away from you than KO or submission losses, who would have thought? Still no action on the ground with Matsui remaining on top laying some hammerfists. One minute left and there is so little action I must say the referee's blue tennis shoes are awesome. Quadros says he thinks this fight was so close that it has to be a draw. REALLY!? The fact there hasn't been a decision in PRIDE history yet doesn't shape your thought? Is it even possible? Would some rules announcements kill everyone? The bell rings with Matsui on top of Kikuta. Result: Draw.
Absolutely nothing to see here, Kikuta won early on but after awhile nothing at all happened. Neither man did anything to win the fight at all. "No one is cheering," notes Bas.
- Match 4: Kazushi Sakuraba vs Allan Goes
Saku is coming off of back-to-back, action-packed, wins over Vernon White and Carlos Newton at the last two PRIDE events. Meanwhile ground specialist Allan Goes is coming off a decision loss to Dan Henderson at UFC 17, again, the same card as Chuck Liddell's MMA debut.
Round 1: Front kick by Saku to kick things off, so to speak, as he shoots in with a single leg and takes Goes to the ground. Quadros notes these are two of the greatest ground specialists in the world as Goes goes (?) for a triangle but Saku pulls himself out. Saku stands up but Goes lands a great heel to the knee from his back but butt scoots to follow. Saku is bleeding from his right ear (not the first time, not the last) and stalking the downed Goes. Saku cartwheels into a guard but Goes with a big up-kick to take Saku back. We're back to a standing and downed position with Saku throwing the occasional legkick. Goes, from his back, is still throwing some leg kicks of his own but Sakuraba is returning in kind. HUGE up kicks by Goes but Sakuraba charges in trying to get position but it is more or less a stalemate until Goes looks for multiple leglocks before standing up, getting Saku's back, and dragging him down to the mat. Saku flips immediately into sidemount, great transition by both men. Goes tries a triangle, then throws an upkick, another upkick, Goes is certainly more active in the first round. Saku is his normal casual self standing in an odd position to the side. Sakuraba tries to spin into position but Goes guard is great, to the point of tripping Saku from his back and bringing him down. Incredible move but Saku recovers quickly before Goes gets back to his knees and grabs Saku's back. He nearly has a choke but Saku works his way out and back to his feet. Excellent action in the first round. Another huge upkick attempt by Goes as these guys are so calm they make all of the other boring ground fighters from the first few events look ridiculous. Goes grabs Saku's ankle and pushes on his knee with his foot, taking him down. Incredible. Goes now has top position while Saku immediately works for a triangle but Goes moves into side mount. Goes goes (again?) for a choke but Saku flips him back over and the round ends. BEAUTIFUL round, ground mastery. Round one goes to Goes who was much more active but both guys put out a great performance.
Round 2: Neither man wants to throw a strike and Saku gets a takedown. Goes turns to butterfly and lands a couple of strikes before Saku cartwheels unsuccessfully and ends up back in the same place. Goes flips the position to get on top and looks for position but can't find anything better than Saku's guard. Goes rests his head on Saku's chest as Saku's nose bleeds. Goes passes the guard and gets north-south position as Saku struggles quickly up onto his knees but Goes temporarily grabs his back before Saku flips him and gets back on top. Goes goes (x3) for a guillotine on the bottom but Saku fights out, goes for a Kimura, and then lands on his back and looks for an armbar. Goes fights out of it and again flips Saku to get his back. A couple of flips back and forth and Saku gets out and is now standing with Goes on his back. We're seven minutes into the second round and both men are exchanging kicks with Saku standing and Goes on his back. We've spent a minute or two in the same position as there is one minute left in the round with no action. Goes with back to back kicks to Saku's knee, nearly buckling it, but Saku continues trying to get something done only eat another kick from Goes. A couple of booing shouts from the crowd just as the second round ends. VERY close second round, draw or slightly going to Goes.
Round 3: Saku shoots and Goes sprawls, getting dominate position. In the corner, Allan in top position. Allan looks for better position in the corner but the officials move them and start them again toward the center. Saku goes for an armbar but Goes keeps dominate position and gets Saku's back. Goes throws some shots on Saku's back but Kazushii is obviously in no position to be RNC'd. Goes looks to have a perfect choke a couple of time but Sakuraba does a great job of fighting his way out of it, 90% of fighters would have been done on that attempt. Goes is winning the fight at this point, not that there is a decision to be made. Sakuraba is on top of Goes, looking to find better position, but he can't break the butterfly. Sakuraba is back on his feet over the standing Goes, taking some leg shots, and delivering some of his own. Goes continues to deliver leg and body shots from his back while Saku gives them back in kind. "This is one of the best grappling matches I've seen in mixed martial arts," states Quadros. Everyone seems to agree that Goes is winning the fight, not that one will be named, with three minutes left in the fight. Goes, on his back, hops back up and the two warriors are back on their feet. Saku dives in with a single leg to get the takedown. He immediately stands up over Goes and lgives a couple of legkicks before circling. Goes keeps trying to kick at the knees of Saku but Kazushi is just circling Goes and throwing some weak legkicks. One minute left in the fight. Quadros says that since no judges are working tonight it would be a draw…. how bold. Saku is still standing over Goes, throwing leg kicks as the bell rings. Decent fight, not that bad at all compared to a lot of early PRIDE decisions/draws. Result: Draw.
If one must judge the fight it has to go slightly to Allan Goes…. Except one does not have to judge the fight so it's a draw.
- Match 5: Yuhi Sano vs Satoshi Honma
Sano is coming off of his 30+ minute submission loss to Royler Gracie at PRIDE 2 while Honma, a longtime Shooto vet, is making his PRIDE debut.
Round 1: Some slapping punches to start the fight before Honma throws a great right hand, knocking Sano to the surface. Honma puts him in the clinch and throws a knee before they separate and we restart in the center. Honma with another left-right but Sano immediately takes him down and sits up in the guard, wanting none of Honma's striking. Honma kicks him off and gets back to his feet, landing a leg kick and a punch combination. Sano looks to grab him but Honma lands a couple more strikes to get the break. Sano misses with a strike as Honma lands another big one and grabs underhooks before being backed into the corner and exchanging some knees to the thigh. They break and restart standing in the center with some wild but rather weak shots exchanged by both. Honma lands more punches and then a knee to the gut, Sano is now bleeding over his left eye. Sano goes for the takedown but Honma pushes him off and we're back to the center of the ring. Honma lands multiple leg kicks as they circle while throwing occasional punches, he's absolutely exploiting Sano on the feet. Honma with another left-right combination as Sano continues to bleed down the left side of his face. Honma with a couple of legkicks leading to a 9 or 10 punch combination before clinching Sano, who is now bleeding badly, in the corner. They break from the corner where they exchange several blows but the referee makes a stoppage due to Sano badly bleeding over both of his eyes. Quadros states that Sano looks like he went through the windshield of a car and he's not incorrect. We restart in the center Honma landing two leg shots before clinching and hitting a couple of knees to the head of Sano. "Sano is totally getting his ass kicked here," Quadros brilliantly states. More leg kicks, more punches, and more knees from Honma as he stalks down Sano around the ring throwing more punches. Honma with more knees and then as he back away a couple of leg kicks, dropping Sano to the mat, rolling around in pain. Honma jumps on top of him, throwing punches to the head, as both Quadros and Rutten yell at the referee to stop the fight. Finally the ref weakly does so and it's over, "Jesus Christ, man," is all Bas has to say. Winner: Satoshi Honma, TKO (punches), 9:25 of Rd1.
This was absolute destruction in every sense of the term. "It was a very, very hard beating." Indeed it was.
- Match 6: Marco Ruas vs Alexander Otsuka
Ruas is coming off of his slick submission victory over Big Daddy Goodridge at PRIDE 2 while Otsuka makes his PRIDE debut. It would be interesting to see if one of the participants in this bout had lost instead of won and how that would have affected his showing up on so many cards down the line.
Round 1: Bas Rutten is cornering Marco Ruas so Quadros is alone doing commentary (atleast for a few minutes until we're supposed to forget he's there and then he'll show up commentating out of nowhere). They touch gloves and circle with Otsuka faking a couple of takedowns before eating a leg kick but securing the fight to the ground. This is also the debut of the "Diet Butcher" trunks, coming from one of his sponsors. If you're looking for some Diet Butcher Slim Skin feel free to purchase it right here but don't ask me to translate. Otsuka is all over Ruas, constantly moving and holding him to the ground with pure strength while Ruas looks in vain for a guillotine. No action on the ground with Otsuka throwing punches sparingly but basically lay-and-praying in Ruas' guard. Suddenly Bas Rutten appears on the commentary, I guess I'll just follow their kayfabe and assume he abandoned Ruas to fight by himself. Ruas is turning his hips and looking to sweep but finding no success as Otsuka is maintaining solid top control and throwing the occasional punch. Marco is able to kick him off but Otsuka stands over him throwing leg kicks and some stomps. Marco feigns standing up but Otsuka won't let him as he closes the distance and attempts some punches. Ruas goes for another leg lock, like he used in his victory over Goodridge, but Otsuka falls back on top in half guard. Now in the butterfly guard there is little action as Ruas slowly hooks both of Otsuka's arms and then makes a beautiful transition to get top position and the mount. Ruas lands some punches from mount and tries to gain some distance with a crossface but Otsuka hangs in there. A couple of strong punches by Ruas cause Otsuka to panic as he begins to buck wildly before turning and giving his back. Ruas looking for the RNC but Otsuka is protecting his head and holding Ruas' other arm preventing it. He finally looks like he might have it synched in but he's still more around the jawline than the neck. The bell rings and this is how round one will end in that same position. Otsuka won the first part of the round just from top position but Ruas countered by landing more punches and getting a couple of submission attempts in the later part. Round one was pretty much a tossup but since the last few seconds stick in your mind I'll give it slightly to Ruas.
Round 2: Bas is seen toweling off Ruas in the corner while also on commentary. Again, I don't mind if he's in the corner and Quadros is alone or if Rutten is there broadcasting with him the entire time, I just ask them they pick one. Ruas looks very tired and sluggish to start the round, walking around the ring with his arms at his sides. Bas tells us he was injured in training a couple days prior to the fight and took medication. Otsuka is stalking Ruas around the ring and eventually shoots but Ruas sprawls and has north-south position. Again, knees not allowed to the head at this point in PRIDE. Otsuka works the lower position into the corner where he looks to grab Ruas' leg and get him on his back. Both men back to a standing position in the corner and we separate back to the center. Otsuka feigns some punches and lunges into the corner looking for another takedown and we're at a stalemate again. Otsuka with some foot stomps and Ruas responds with some knees to the thighs and they continue to struggle for position in the corner. Each man still with one underhook in the corner as absolutely nothing is happening. Otsuka throws two punches and that is enough to trip Ruas and get the takedown by the ropes. Marco looks absolutely gassed as Otsuka throws some hammerfists looking to improve his position. Otsuka, in half mount, begins to open up a little by landing more and more short punches and hammerfists. Three minutes left in the round and Ruas doesn't seem to have enough to even work for an escape or submission attempt. After more punches by Otsuka, Ruas is opened up on the right eye and bridge of the nose and it looks to be running into his eye. More left hands by Otsuka with one minute left as he tries to finish with small flurries of punches. Otsuka, feeling total confidence and wanting a stoppage, begins to go higher and land bigger blows, connecting with a couple of strong left hands. The bell rings and Otsuka absolutely dominated that round as Ruas is very slow to even stand up and get to his corner. Ruas seems to be telling his corner he has nothing left and the corner stops the fight…. Otsuka backflips in celebration of the news. Winner: Alexander Otsuka, TKO (corner stoppage), end of Rd2. Quadros calls it "one of the hugest upsets" he's seen and we'll be paying for it for awhile.
- Match 7: Mark Kerr vs Hugo Duarte
Kerr is currently 2-0 in PRIDE in a combined 4+ minutes, still undefeated, and considered one of the best fighters in the world. On the other side of the ring Duarte makes his PRIDE debut coming off of a quick TKO loss to Tank Abbott at UFC 17.
Round 1: Kerr starts out with a wild missing highkick, one would assume to loosen Duarte to a quick takedown. Immediately after this Kerr charges in, grabs a leg, and takes it down to the mat. Duarte begins to actively punch Kerr from the bottom, landing some shots before Kerr wraps him back up. Kerr is still in Duarte's guard but isn't throwing any punches or improving his position. He briefly attempts a neck crank as Duarte again lands a flurry of strikes from his back. Kerr tries to pass the guard and when he fails he gets back to his feet and throws multiple leg kicks. Duarte looks a little beat up and Kerr charges back down into his guard in the corner. Bas, being Kerr's teammate, and Quadros, following his lead, seem to be very unfair to Duarte in the early going. They keep stating he's doing nothing while he's more active and now Bas is making fun of his voice. This isn't exactly non-partisan commentary and it's getting a little rude. Kerr moves Duarte through the ropes so they reposition them toward the center. Kerr lands some ridiculously hard shots to the body and the head of Duarte before standing back up over him and landing some leg kicks. Duarte buttscoots and kicks at the knees of Kerr, causing Kerr to go back to the mat and back into Duarte's guard. Quadros says he wants it back on the feet because it looked as though Kerr had "vastly improved his standup skill." I suppose got that from the one wild high kick Kerr through before he took Duarte down. I love Kerr more than almost anyone as a sportsman and a competitor but the fellating in this match is almost embarrassing. Kerr throws a couple more strikes from Duarte's guard and then stands, looking for a heel hook, but eats a heel kick from Duarte and gives it up. Kerr in the dominate position with one minute left in the round, stomping to Duarte's legs and leg kicking. Kerr with a punch to the foot as he throws 3 or 4 more looking for better position. The round ends in that position as the announcers are trashing Duarte and telling Kerr to kickbox him. Despite the announcers and their obvious bias it is obvious that Kerr won that round handily.
Round 2: They touch gloves to start the round and Bas "returns to commentary" somewhat out of breathe as though he'd just rushed back from Kerr's corner. This is ridiculous, Bas is telling us what he just told Kerr between rounds as the camera goes to Bas in Kerr's corner. They're treating the audience like they're five-years-old. It's not live commentary, THAT IS OKAY. Kerr with two solid shots on the ground and Duarte is busted open very baldy on the right side of his face. The blood is streaming from his ear all the way to his nose so the corner is checking it out. Upon closer inspection the cut looks to be right on the right eye of Duarte and it's pretty bad. Duarte seems to be complaining he can't see out of his right eye as the two announcers trash Duarte for not having a strategy. I haven't seen them this upset more than 30 minutes into other fights, Duarte is doing more than a lot of previous competitors in the ring but he's just up against a much better fighter. We restart with Kerr on the top as he continues to press his head into Duarte's. As Kerr continues to lay on the top, doing nothing, the announcers continue to trash Duarte who seems to be trying to change position but simply unable due to Kerr's size and conditioning. Duarte complains about something to the referee from the 3rd or 4th time, though the referee is Japanese, Duarte is Brazilian, and Kerr is an American. Bas points out the referee doesn't speak Portuguese and I briefly wish Phil Baroni were in the booth to tell us what language people from Brazil speak. We're still on the ground with Kerr not doing much and Duarte is doing little to escape. As Kerr moves forward Duarte begins to scream like a girl about an apparent headbutt which I certainly didn't see happen. Kerr just can't catch a respectful opponent. "There is nothing" replies Bas, who has lost all credibility on being an honest announcer for this fight whether he is right or wrong in this circumstance. Duarte slowly works his way back up and we are restarted in the center of the ring. Kerr charges in and Duarte moves immediately into the guard and Kerr, standing, follows him into it. The announcers continue to insult Duarte but I normally expect more action from the man on top than the man on the bottom and frankly Kerr is doing little to nothing. Kerr misses a couple of punches as Hugo tries to turn his hips from side to side but he's unable to change any position. Kerr stands back up and throws some more legkicks with one more minute left in the round. Kerr goes back into Duarte's half guard in the corner and while working to pass only moves into Duarte's full guard. Both men then huge their way to the end of round two. Kerr dominated the round but outside of opening up Duarte's right eye he didn't do much either.
Round 3: The corner is taking a close look at Duarte's cut but he's cleared to go to round three. Kerr misses with a front kick but Duarte almost fakes being hit by hit and falls back into his guard, that was pretty sad. From the announcers to the crowd, everyone is telling Kerr to back up and that's just what he does. Kerr raises his arm to tell him to stand, as does the referee, but Duarte is happy on his back hoping for a draw since there are no judges. "Jesus Christ man," responds Bas and the minds of everyone watching. Duarte is currently in a pathetic attempt to get a draw just by laying on his back and refusing to get up. Kerr finally stalks him, getting pissed off, and dives on him into half guard nearly getting his back before Duarte dives between the ring ropes. The referee tries to restart them but Duarte takes his sweet time and once he almost stands in his corner he falls back to his guard like a bitch. The referee finally gets him to stand and Duarte again falls on his butt only to have Kerr follow, finally upset enough to try to kill him. The crowd is chanting "Mark Kerr", tired of Duarte's antics. "This is worthy of the X-Files", says Quadros, as Bas does the theme music. Kerr is now manhandling him as Duarte dives between the ropes once again but this time the referee simply stops the fight and gives it to Mark Kerr. Good call. Winner: Mark Kerr, TKO (ref stoppage), 2:32 of Rd3.
I defended Duarte in the first couple of rounds because the announcers were being unfair but the last few minutes made Duarte look like a child hoping for a draw and begging the referee to help him stall. Excellent stoppage.
- Match 8: Rickson Gracie vs Nobuhiko Takada
A rematch of PRIDE 1 and I still feel dirty reviewing a Takada fight, I still don't know how I'll handle his next fight against Coleman.
Round 1: Rickson shoots immediately but Takada gets the double underhook. A knee by Rickson leads to Takada throwing him against the ropes and into the clinch. Still in the clinch walking around the ring, Takada throws a couple of strikes but Rickson grabs on and we're in the corner with Takada on the outside. They exchange some punches to the side with no real movement in the corner. Takada is throwing knees to Rickson's legs while Gracie is throwing constant punches to Takada's ribs. Takada is moving Rickson around the ropes attempting knees, including a couple that land to the midsection. We're in the middle of the ring, still in the clinch, and both men have one underhook. Rickson tries to fall back into the guard but Takada stands back up and we're still in the clinch on the ropes. Rickson has now slowly worked for double underhooks and falls into a butterlfy guard with Takada in tow. Rickson with heel shots to the kidneys from his back and some shots to the head. Takada is in complete stall mode on the top while Rickson peppers shots to the head from the bottom. Takada actually stands up and looks for an ankle but the incredibly experienced Rickson just holds on to Takada's legs himself, dropping him on his back so Rickson can get top position and side guard. Rickson slides his leg over the stomach for full mount but Takada bucks him off back into his half guard. Rickson moves right into full mount and begins landing strikes to the head and stomach of Takada. Rickson gets a crossface and goes for an arm but Takada is having none of it and fights him off only to have Rickson pop right back into the full mount and go for the exact move yet again, securing the armbar for an immediate tapout. Winner: Rickson Gracie, submission (armbar), 9:30 of Rd1.
The 411: 7/10. A solid card with a good amount of finishes. Igor and Shoji came to fight and Goes/Sakuraba was a solid ground war. Nothing too special to see here but if you ordered this card on PPV you wouldn't be disappointed.
