MMA Retro-Rants: PRIDE 5
Posted by Michael Huckaby on 04.25.2007
In their PRIDE debuts, Vitor Belfort’s leg gets sore while Mark Coleman fights in a match we all agree to pretend never happened.
April 29th, 1999 at the Nagoya Rainbow Hall. Your announcers are Stephen Quadros and Bas Rutten.
- Match 1: Minoru Toyonaga vs Egan Inoue
FUN FACT: Before fighting competitive mixed martial arts, Egan Inoue was a two-time world racquetball champion. Both men are making their PRIDE debut.
Round 1: The two lightly feel each other out until Minoru fails at a shoot and Egan sprawls, eventually getting his back. Minoru rolls but Egan falls right into full mount before another roll gives Egan a RNC attempt. He lets it go and peppers some shots to the side of Minoru's head. Egan hits some more shots before getting both hooks and going again for the rear naked. He looks to have it sunk but Minoru fights out and gets it back to the feet against the ropes. Right high kick by Egan is partially blocked and he follows up with a couple of clean yet unsuccessful punches. Egan is certainly the better striker in this pairing. Minoru with another failed shoot and he falls into guard but Egan just gets better position and again takes his back. Minoru fights up to his feet where Egan lands a nice right high kick in the corner. A couple more shots by Egan cause Minoru to again fail at a shoot before Egan brings them back up to a clinch against the ropes. Egan with a couple more shots as Minoru just turns his back and runs away before throwing a wild back kick and falling to the ground again. Egan is completely dominating as he falls down on top of Minoru in side mount. He slides to north-south as Toyonaga's nose is bleeding. Toyonaga gives his back once again and looks for an arm but Egan pulls out and lands a couple shots to the head. Egan is completely riding his back looking for both strikes and a choke but Minoru hops back to his feet again and we're standing. Minoru again shoots and grabs an ankle but Egan spins his way out of it and gets on his back again. Egan lands a couple of strikes and Toyonaga looks to just run away on his hands and knees so the referee hops in and stops the fight. Winner: Egan Inoue, TKO (punches), 5:53 of Rd1. Toyonaga was no challenge whatsoever in this fight.
- Match 2: Satoshi Honma vs Francisco Bueno
Bueno makes his PRIDE debut while Honma is coming off a dominating victory over Yuhi Sano at the last PRIDE event.
Round 1: They circle several times to start, feeling each other out. A minute or two in and still no strikes have landed, both men are faking forward and judging their timing. Honma waves him forward and slaps a strong leg kick. They exchange a couple of leg kicks as Bueno continues to circle Honma. Quadros calls it a "dance contest" as still no punches have connected or really even been thrown. Bueno, out of nowhere, finally charges forward with a flurry of some punches, backing Honma up and causing him to circle to his left. This gives Bueno some confidence as he charges forward and has a big exchange, landing several strong punches to the face of Honma. Honma tries to clinch but only eats a couple more shots before retreating to another corner. Bueno comes forward yet again and this time lands a huge straight right which immediately drops Honma as the referee charges in to break it up. Winner: Francisco Bueno, KO (punch), 4:59 of Rd1. After three or four minutes of being very timid, Bueno got some confidence and just began to tee off for an easy win.
A closeup during his victory celebration shows what looks to be a massive about of back acne on Bueno. I'm not suggesting anything, just saying.
- Match 3: Akira Shoji vs Igor Vovchanchyn
Igor comes off of his successful PRIDE debut against Gary Goodridge while Akira Shoji makes his fifth appearance in five PRIDE events, coming in at 2-0-2. Bas says pre-fight that Shoji is like a smaller Vovchanchyn, I beg to differ but to each his own.
Round 1: Caol Uno is jumping up and down in Shoji's corner as we meet up in the center of the ring for rules. We're underway and start with Igor in the center and Shoji going side to side. Bas mentions Igor's lone loss to date against Mikhail Illoukhine (chin to eye), who coincidentally just a month ago (real time) came off of a win against Randy Couture in RINGS and in his next fight will win over Justin McCully who as of this review just beat Antoni Hardonk in the last UFC: Ultimate Fight Night card. Off point? Yes. Noteworthy? To me. We keep circling and Shoji throws a legkick which is caught and responded to with an overhand right, dropping Shoji but only in a grazing way. We're back on the feet and feeling each other out. Leg kick by Vovchanchyn leads to a clinch in the corner but it's broken up and we're in the center again. Shoji fails at a shot and Igor just backs away and allows him back up. Igor is stalking Shoji with little result for the next couple of minutes before throwing a strike combination which misses. Quadros believes Shoji should throw solid jabs and this would make Igor throw wild punches that would leave him open…. I disagree. Shoji with a nice legkick and Igor misses the counterpunch as the bell rings to end round one. Rather uneventful round but Igor was easily the aggressor.
Round 2: Replays show Igor has some sick bruises on his legs from Shoji's kicks. Shoji continues to circle and stays out of the range of Igor while throwing the occasional leg kick. Shoji is avoiding to the max, getting cornered from time to time and then running out of it. He's keeping a great deal of distance from fear of Igor's strikes. Igor finally tracks him down to clinch in the corner and just tosses Shoji like a sack down to his back. Igor doesn't follow so Shoji buttscoots, kicking at the knees of Vovchanchyn. Igor continues to circle the butt-scooting Shoji, occasionally looking to come in and land a punch only to move back out. The referee finally breaks it up and orders Shoji back to the feet. Igor again stalks him into the corner where Shoji again slips out and runs to his right. Igor finally throws a crazy strike, which Shoji ducks, and in the clinch Igor tosses him down to the ground and gets sidemount. Igor gets too high and Shoji slips out the back and we're back to the feet with nothing done on the ground. Igor again unloads with a sick overhand right which misses. Still circling with Igor as the aggressor and we have five minutes left in the round. Igor is letting loose some real strikes now but inadvertently hits a left kick to the groin of Shoji forcing a brief ref stoppage. Shoji is okay and eventually we're restarted standing. Igor is still stalking and throwing fight-ending style punches but missing. On one said attempt Shoji charges in for the takedown but Igor regains his balance and pushes him off. Igor looks to catch Shoji off balance with a punch, sending him to the ground. Igor follows up with a soccer kick to the chest but Shoji recovers to the butt-scoot and begins stalking Igor from there. Igor finally plays that game and dives on top looking for position but Shoji shoots back up to his feet and Igor has his back. Shoji grabs the ropes and is able to turn to face Vovchanchyn against the ropes and then switches position to get double underhooks in the corner. We stall for awhile and the ref restarts them in the center once again. Quadros: "Say no to stalling." Bas: "Just like in the restrooms." I don't even know what that means and I'm not going to touch it. HUGE exchange in the center of the ring with Shoji throwing several punches but it is ended abruptly when Igor throws a baseball bat of a right hand and clubs Shoji in the head, sending him to the ground in more of a push punch. The bell rings and the second round is over.
Winner: Igor Vovchanchyn, Decision, 20 minutes. This is the first judges decision in PRIDE history. Good decision, not an exciting fight by any means but Vovchanchyn was the aggressor and delivered almost all of the punishment in the fight.
- Match 4: Enson Inoue vs Soichi Nishida
Nishida is making his MMA debut and comes in with over a 100lb weight advantage in the fight. Enson is making his PRIDE debut and is coming off of a quick submission victory over Randy Couture in Vale Tudo Japan. This isn't going to end well.
Round 1: Enson lands maybe one or two punches to Nishida and he goes down like a lump, covering up. Enson then jumps in full mount and lands several punches while Nishida looks like an old lady getting her purse stolen. Nishida gives up his/her back and Enson immediately puts on the RNC for a quick, forgettable tap. Winner: Enson Inoue, submission (RNC), 0:24 of Rd1. Nishida had absolutely no idea what the hell he was doing. Bas: "He had no business in the ring here I guess." On the replay you see Enson's couple of punches didn't even land and Nishida just fell to his knees and quit.
- BJJ Exhibition: Royler Gracie vs Rickson Gracie
Both men are presented with flowers by Japanese pro wrestling mainstay, Olympic Judo silver medalist, and future PRIDE fighter Naoya Ogawa before the demonstration.
Rickson takes the microphone stating the first part of the exhibition will be street fighting and self-defense BJJ while the second part will focus on competitive BJJ competitions.
Part One consists of how to overcome someone grabbing you on the arm or shoulder. Hint: Putting someone in a headlock is a very bad idea outside of elementary school. For future reference just look at five months earlier when Travis Fulton killed Jeremy Bullock. Not a good thing. They also show attacks from behind and turned them into RNCs and armbars. This is all well and good but now they're showcasing how to thwart a front leg kick and turn it into a heel hook, something I've never really seen in a bar fight. Then again I never see much in a bar fight as I get hit in the face that is about that. They then demonstrate how to thwart an attack with a baseball bat and a knife if you're looking for such advice.
Part Two begins as they'll spar using competitive BJJ techniques. They go back and forth using techniques where they pull guard and immediately lock a submission. They do a nice sequence of sparring where they continuously flip positions as the camera pans to Otsuka and Ogawa who seem to be looking on intently. Rickson proceeds to lock in two quick subs over Royler to end the demonstration. They conclude by speaking in English about their exhibition saying they were showing pure Gracie JJ and were very happy to do so for the audience.
- Match 5: Kazushi Sakuraba vs Vitor Belfort
Sakuraba is fresh off of a ground clinic submission win over Carlos Newton (PRIDE 3) and a nice back and forth draw with Allan Goes (PRIDE 4) while Belfort makes his PRIDE debut after going 5-1 in his previous UFC outings. Most recently, Belfort scored a fresh quick KO win over Wanderlei Silva at UFC Brazil where he landed roughly 800 punches in 5 seconds.
Round 1: Saku is already taping up his ears for fights while Vitor looks very confident of a KO coming in. Leg kick by Saku as they just feel each other out in the center. High kick by Saku is blocked by Belfort as they continue to circle one another. Both men are showing respect for the other's skills as Saku throws another high kick which catches Belfort off guard blocking it so Saku shoots in for the takedown. Belfort sprawls very well and ends up taking Saku down, grabbing his back, but Saku immediately goes for an arm and Belfort stands up and throws big punches. They're briefly back up to the feet as Belfort throws bombs but Saku ducks back inside and goes to the ground before hopping back up and running to the side, again down on his knees while Belfort tries to throw shots. Belfort continues to stay in north-south, throwing bombs to the head of Saku which are mainly avoided or blocked. Saku eventually works that single leg over to a takedown and takes top position. He tries to work up and get better position but Belfort throws shots from his back and gets Saku back into his guard. Saku lands a nice straight shot to the stomach and then stands back up and eats a partial upkick by Belfort. Saku is standing again over Belfort and throws a couple of leg kicks while holding Vitor's ankles. Saku attempts a cartwheel pass and fails…. I hope no one from the California State Athletic Commission saw that (Brian Ebersole joke!). We're halfway into the first round with Saku still circling the downed Belfort looking to pass. Saku looks to pass the legs of Belfort once again and continuously fails, leading him to throw multiple hard leg kicks over his downed opponent. Saku holds Belfort's left leg and nails a couple of hard kicks. Saku still isn't making any headroom as he continues to kick at the legs of Belfort, who's left leg is beginning to show signs of great discomfort. Multiple leg kicks by Saku as Belfort is still on his back throwing unsuccessful upkicks. Saku avoids another upkick and delivers a brutal legkick and a right hand to the body of Vitor. More than half of this round has been spent with Vitor on his back taking punishment. Finally, Saku passes Vitor's guard and lands 5 or 6 punches to the head before Vitor stands back up and gets the clinch against the ropes as the round ends. Sakuraba easily gets the nod in round one.
Round 2: The camera zooms in on Belfort's incredibly bruised left leg in the corner. They touch gloves to start the round as the two lightly exchange punches in the center. A huge spinning backick by Saku sends Belfort down on his back and with his legs in the air once again, no one would have predicted this to happen at the time. Saku stands over Belfort for a couple of seconds before the referee stands him back up and we're in the middle of the ring once again. Once restarted, Belfort immediately drops to guard again. I stress again, Belfort is the man with the amazing strikes coming off of the KO win on Wanderlei Silva…. now he's dropping to his back against Kazushi Sakuraba. Saku continues with some leg kicks, hitting them over and over again on the downed Belfort. Saku lands many more leg kicks and eventually the referee jumps in and stands them back up. Another spinning back kick by Saku sends Belfort against the ropes before he attempts another one that is blocked. Belfort is standing FAR back from Saku, genuinely scared of his striking. Saku's hands are at his waist but Belfort won't come forward at all. More leg kicks by Saku as Belfort continues to do absolutely nothing to win the fight. Belfort's corner seems to be yelling at him but he's still backing up to Saku's strikes and doing nothing offensively. Belfort throws a one-two which misses and then drops down to guard as Bas suggests that Vitor's legs are too tired to take any more punishment. Saku lands another strong punch to the gut from his feet as you can see Vitor's left leg is a thick purple color. As Saku gets closer, Vitor hopes back up to his feet and clinches Saku, looking for a takedown of his own. Saku looks for a kimura in the corner as Vitor, purple leg and all, doesn't seem to be working for anything in particular with three minutes left in the round. The ref separates them as Bas states he loves this new rule. Saku fakes a leg kick and Belfort drops down to his back again, he's looking awfully pathetic in this fight. Saku throws an axe kick and then a strong left leg kick to the downed Belfort. Saku goofs around, waving his arms from side to side, and then he throws a punch to the thigh. Saku throws a couple more punches to the thigh of Belfort who is now being embarrassed as the ref finally stands them back up. One minute left in the fight and Belfort is backing up from all of the Saku strikes before falling back into the guard for no reason once again. Belfort is just looking absolutely pathetic. Saku does a running, jump stomp kick which only partially connects, and quickly tries to pass the guard but can't. Saku with another huge stomp attempt as the bell rings. Winner: Kazushi Sakuraba, Decision, 20 minutes Kazushi Sakuraba absolutely decimated Belfort in every sense of the term.
- Match 6: Nobuhiko Takada vs Mark Coleman
Takada comes in with a 1-2 mark in PRIDE, losing twice to Rickson. Mark Coleman makes his PRIDE debut after spending the last few years in the UFC, where he was that organization's first heavyweight champion. Coincidentally, this also marks Mark Coleman's pro wrestling debut….
Round 1: Coleman stalks Takada down and goes for a takedown in the corner. Takada wraps his left arm in the ropes to stop from hitting the mat and after a few attempts to get him off the fighters are separated and Takada is given a yellow card. Restarted in the center, Coleman shoots and gets a double leg slam down by the ropes. Coleman works in Takada's open guard, trying to get his arms free for strikes. Coleman lands two or three shots to the ribs followed by a couple of missed punches to the head. Coleman attempts a neck crank and then lets go, leading Bas and Stephen to wonder why because he was in such a good position. Still no head strikes landed by Coleman from the top, though as per usual due to the activity Mark Coleman is turning a very bright red like a crimson version of The Hulk. With both arms tied up, Coleman delivers a headbutt to the stomach, which is illegal. Coleman passes guard into the side mount, where he delivers some soft knees to Takada's hips. Camera cuts to Mark Kerr in a nice suit on the outside of the ring, if this were legit pro wrestling he'd call for the bell and go hand a title to Takada before running away. Coleman attempts an elbow to the body and is again told that it's illegal, that's just silly. Coleman works to full mount and after a couple of punch attempts Takada gives up his back and then gets back on his feet. Takada pulls guard on his feet and Coleman slams him back down on the mat. Coleman now in the open guard and is again missing his punch attempts to Takada's head. Coleman again fights into side mount and attempts an arm triangle before looking to switch to an armbar but Takada fights out briefly back to his feet but is pounced on again by Coleman into side mount. Coleman attempts a keylock but the bell rings before he can get it in.
Round 2: To start the second round, Takada is inexplicably stalking Coleman now, throwing some occasional leg kicks. Takada throws another, but Coleman grabs it and slams him down yet again to the mat. Coleman doesn't pass the guard as Takada's feet are on his thighs, meanwhile Bas even mutters "Jesus" when Quadros asks why isn't passing. Coleman punches to the thighs and then drapes his left leg over Takada's thigh, allowing him to grab it for a heel hook. Coleman turns over twice and then holds his hand in the air like a pro wrestler deciding whether he's going to tap or not. Quadros: "What?" Coleman taps out and we have a winner. Winner: Nobuhiko Takada, submission (heel hook), 1:44 of Rd2. Quadros: "How the hell did that happen? Oh my god. This absolutely defies reality."
The 411: 6/10. Solid show for both the card and in the historical front. Nothing really special, Sakuraba solidies himself as a force both standing and on the ground while the main event is still talked about to this day.
