MMA Retro-Rants: PRIDE 7
Posted by Michael Huckaby on 05.09.2007
Wanderlei Silva debuts, Sakuraba puts on an entertainment clinic, and Kerr/Vovchanchyn decide the best heavyweight in the world….kinda.
September 12th, 1999 at the Yokohama Arena. Your announcers are Stephen Quadros and Bas Rutten. Enson Inoue, Sakuraba, and Mark Kerr come out for the intro and pose in the ring.
- Match 1: Daijiro Matsui vs Bob Schrijber
Matsui comes in 0-1-2 in PRIDE, last fighting in a match of the night loss to Carlos Newton at PRIDE 6. Dirty Bob, a well known on the early European circuit, is a street fighter with a strong standup game. He also did not get the nickname Dirty for rarely bathing.
Round 1: Schrijber sports a solid 40lb weight advantage coming in. Schrijber obviously takes the center of the ring and goes on the offensive but Matsui immediately shoots and gets the takedown. Bas: "With Bob you can always expect something like a headbutt or a kick in the groin…." Dirty Bob tries to fight out as Matsui stands in the guard looking for a leg. A kick to the head by Matsui, who spins around and attempts to take his back. Schrijber stands back up and tosses him off so we're restarted in the center. After some circling with Dirty Bob cautious of another takedown, Matsui does just that and quite easily for the second time. Bob lands shots from the bottom while Matsui goes back and forth peppering from the ribs to the head. Matsui sits up and falls back looking for a heel hook while Dirty Bob tries to unload some shots to the face while holding the rope. The ref turns Schrijber around and restarts them but he's then able to spin out and get it back to the feet where surprisingly Matsui unloads some shots to get Bob against the ropes. Beautiful knee by Schrijber to the body and when Matsui shoots he catches another one in the head. Dirty Bob just stands back up and when Matsui joins him he unloads but misses a high kick in the corner. Matsui with a desperation shoot that fails so Dirty Bob stands up and unloads a kick to his downed opponent, which is not yet legal in PRIDE. The referee briefly stops the action to give Dirty Bob a yellow card which he accepts without complaint. Upon the restart, Matsui gets another immediate takedown in the center of the ring. Matsui passes to the half guard and when Dirty Bob turns he looks to have an armbar opportunity but Schrijber slips out and winds up on top. Matsui immediately pushes him off and we're back to standing. Matsui with another easy takedown as Bob nearly crucifixes himself by using his arms against the ropes. Matsui again to half guard and for the second time as he goes for an armbar he can't sink it in and winds up on his back only to be let back up by Schrijber. Matsui calls a brief timeout as he's having a glove problem…. as soon as the ref gets it adjusted Bob approaches and punches him in the face before the ref re-started them. Obviously this angers Matsui as Dirty Bob apologizes but is given his second yellow card none the less. On the restart, Matsui decides to bang a little and after getting tagged once or twice lands a nice shot of his own. This was only momentary as Matsui then shoots in unsuccessfully only to eat a 12-6 elbow to the spine by Schrijber. Classy. Bas says Schrijber has been in atleast "a couple hundred" street fights and has worked 15 years as the bouncer at a bar in Amsterdam. I google searched the name and came up empty, I wanted to mark it off of my tourism checksheet. Anyway, Schrijber stands over Matsui again landing several hard punches to the head before Matsui again looks for a single leg, this time twisting it so hard that Bob flies outside of the ring next to his girlfriend:
Stand back boys, she's taken. Schrijber lands a strong jab but is again completely unable to stop Matsui's takedowns. In what looks to be a smart strategy by Matsui, he again sits up in Schrijber's guard and looks for a leg but as soon as Dirty Bob sits up Matsui unloads a knee which just misses and falls back into top position. Matsui stands up and delivers a nice double stomp attempt to Bob's head before Schrijber gives his back and Matsui drives him into the corner. Eight or nine foot stomps by Matsui and Dirty Bob looks exhausted, this lack of action causes the referee to restart them. Matsui tries a horribly weak single leg takedown so Schrijber just lays his big weight advantage on his back and takes it down to the mat. Schrijber stands back up and lands an axe kick to the body of Matsui. Schrijber comes in too close to follow and Matsui grabs his leg, again looking for a heel hook. Schrijber lands several shots from the top as Matsui rolls trying to look for the lock. Schrijber looks to be in little danger from the hold when the bell rings and he unloads a sick axe kick to the back of Matsui's head. The ref slaps him and shoves him (I wouldn't recommend that) and then pulls out a third yellow card, disqualifying Schrijber. Winner: Daijiro Matsui, DQ (three yellow cards), end of Round 1.
After Matsui recovers he charges toward Schrijber and has some "choice words" as he's restrained by several officials. Dirty Bob's corner is filled with men that look exactly like Brock Lesnar, giant light haired, blue-eyed fellows that look like Hitler's wet dream. When Matsui is declared the winner he screams in victory and raises his arms, no doubt happy to show up the man that continued to cheap shot him.
- Match 2: Carl Malenko vs Wanderlei Silva
Wanderlei Silva makes his PRIDE debut fresh off of a win at UFC 20. Due to his previous Vale Tudo fights in Brazil he has long already been considered a great striker. Carl Malenko is fighting in his second MMA match after a successful debut at the last PRIDE event, getting a close (but deserved) decision win over Egan Inoue.
Round 1: Malenko actually starts as the aggressor and actually puts Silva back on his heels enough for a quick takedown. This is of course different than the Babalu/Liddell grappler aggression handbook where you run forward and flail your arms like you're in a straight jacket. Silva is landing hard punches from his back and almost immediately sweeps Malenko to get top position in Malenko's full guard. Little action on the ground outside of a seemingly drunk man screaming, "GO MALENKO" over the dead silent crowd. Malenko makes a move and slips out the side only to be stalked in the corner by Wandy before going into full protection mode on his hands and knees covering up. Again, kicks to a downed opponent are not legal for another several events. Malenko back up to his feet and he's met with multiple sick knees to the face before getting a double leg and taking Wandy back down into his half guard. Wanderlei switches to full guard while Malenko peppers in a single punch every 5 or 6 seconds. Malenko still on top now just covering his head with his hands to avoid the punches from the bottom. Halfway through round one and still in the same position with Wanderlei now landing even more punches from the bottom while Malenko more or less stalls. Wanderlei kicks him off but Malenko is right back on him like a pitbull, grabbing a single leg and taking him back down. Wanderlei back his feet much more quickly this time, spinning and attempting to take side control eventually leading to Carl's back. Wanderlei looks to sink in the hooks but Malenko again is just on his stomach in a tiny ball and isn't giving much room for any offense. Wanderlei with multiple knees to the side before simply standing back up to strike once again in the center. Wandy more aggressive this time around, stalking him with a kick before Malenko attempts another takedown. This time Wanderlei throws several knees that are blocked by the crossed arms of the charging Malenko, who is trying to get him into a corner. Once in the corner Malenko does shoot very low and grabs a knee and we're stalling in the corner with two minutes left in the round. We're still in the corner with Malenko holding onto Wandy's leg while Silva peppers some occasional shots to the head and body while leaning over him. Silva, rather bored, looks to his corner and they apparently tell him to punch Malenko in the back of the head five or six times until the ref reminds him they're illegal. After the ref fills him in, Wandy gives a thumbs up while Malenko, in his ball on the mat, seems to shake his head from left to right. With thirty seconds left in the round Wanderlei finally slips out and takes Malenko's back, sinking in the hooks. Malenko tries desperately to keep his chin down while Wandy is literally pulling his forehead up with his palms. This is how we end round one. Carl Malenko did have top position for most of the round but landed maybe 12 shots and didn't come anywhere close to finishing the fight as Wanderlei did. Round one to Silva.
Round 2: Surprisingly, Wanderlei is still going for kicks and the second he gets close enough Malenko again takes him into the corner and looks for the takedown. Silva initially pushes him off so Malenko again shoots very low to the foot. Malenko has the foot but Wanderlei pushes the rest of his entire body over to the side and again looks to take his back. Wandy now just laying over Malenko's body to the side peppering some shots to the side of the head as his foot is still being held hostage. Malenko eventually works his foot grab all the way up to the knee and this is enough to flip Silva back down to the mat and again take top position to the cheering happiness of his team. They're restarted near the center with Carl on top laying in Silva's full guard. Malenko has thrown maybe two shots from this position, both responded to with screams from his corner, while Wanderlei closes his guard and continues to land shots from the bottom. Malenko is warned by the referee to get active and he…. tucks his head again and throws one body punch. Technically that's more active than he was being. Wanderlei is showing excellent jiu-jitsu as Malenko seems to be making attempts to improve his position but Silva has a very active guard and cuts off all of the moves before Carl makes them. Malenko actually falls back into a leglock attempt but this proves to be a very bad idea as Silva simply transitions right into the full mount. After some stall, Malenko finally tries to bridge his arms but this only gives Wanderlei his distance to land some strikes. With less than two minutes left, Malenko briefly tries to buck out but Silva only unloads several punches which lead Malenko to turn and give up his back. Silva flattens him out and again looks for a RNC with one minute left in the fight. Silva, holding his back, lands a knee to the body and an uppercut below his arm that gets through. Just as the bell rings Malenko flips and gets top position but there is no way that will be enough. Winner: Wanderlei Silva, Decision, 20 minutes. Unanimous.
Wanderlei dances after the bell and Bas assures us he's seen Saturday Night Fever.
- Match 3: Branco Cikatic vs Maurice Smith
Former kickboxing superstar Branco Cikatic makes his second and final PRIDE and MMA appearance. His first was an embarassing DQ against Mark Kerr where he broke nearly every rule in the book. Fellow kickboxer Maurice Smith is coming off of a win over Marco Ruas at UFC 21 and is making the only PRIDE appearance of his career.
Round 1: They feel each other out and exchange missed leg kicks. They exchange jabs and Maurice rushes forward for a bodylock and gets double underhooks. He tries to get him near the ropes but Branco surprisingly reverses it with a nice judo throw into top position where he gets a headlock. Shockingly the headlock submission doesn't work and Maurice quickly flips him over and gets side mount. Knees to the body by Smith but Branco gets him back into half-guard. A couple of bodyshots and Smith back into side mount where he looks to isolate an arm. Branco slides out but Maurice holds his back. Back to the feet and Smith is aware he can't keep the position and shoves Branco away from him for a restart in the center. Both miss on an exchange and Branco actually clinches Smith into the corner where the position is reversed with Smith looking for a takedown. Knee to the thigh by Smith as Branco quickly complains of an incidental headbutt. Smith continues to work him down the ropes where Cikatic grabs the ropes and the referee separates them to give Branco a yellow card and deduct one point. Nice front kick by Smith but Branco again moves forward and they clinch up on the ropes. Smith again going for a takedown when Branco must have put his hand on the rope again so the referee stops it to give him another yellow card, his second of the fight. This is more of a Rasheed Wallace/Ron Artest yellow carding here, the violations themselves are no worse than you see in any other fight but Branco is obviously on a short leash. Again Branco moves forward and Smith takes him into the ropes, where Brancos arm for half of a second touches the ropes and the entire crowd oohs and aahs. Maurice moves to his back for the takedown but Branco is now clearly holding the ropes with his left hand while throwing back elbows with his right. That was easily worse than the other two infractions. After dragging him around the ring for a bit, Smith finally tosses Branco to the ground and he's back into the side mount. Smith simply puts his forearm on Branco's throat and he begins to scream and tap wildly…. that's unique. Winner: Maurice Smith, submission (forearm choke), 7:33 of Rd1. Bas openly questions Branco's heart while Stephen is nice enough to call it a lack of preparation. Bas: "The escape for that is to look to the side. To move your head to the side."
After the fight, Maurice Smith presents his winner's trophy to K-1 President Kazuyoshi Ishii.
- Match 4: Akira Shoji vs Larry Parker
Akira Shoji makes his 7th appearance in 7 PRIDE events, previously going 3-1-2 but coming off of a very boring win over Guy Mezger at PRIDE 6. Larry Parker makes his lone PRIDE appearance, he's a BJJ guy who Bas Rutten says he's "never seen fight" despite having fought in a "Bas Rutten Invitational" tournament. I'm not saying he had to watch his own tournament, I just wouldn't admit I didn't.
Round 1: Shoji comes out on the offensive, landing a strong low kick, but Parker shoots in beautifully for a quick takedown. Parker passes to half guard to throws some solid shots to Shoji's head. Shoji is showing some strong defense but Parker is not losing his position and continues to maintain top control. Some more right hands attempted by Parker, some of which are landing clean. Parker explodes with a several punch combo but this gives Shoji the opportunity to attempt a leglock. Parker goes to the ground to counter and Shoji pops back up standing over him. Shoji is throwing the occasional leg kick but nothing damaging as Parker remains on his back before the referee stands it back up. Shoji with a snap legkick and Parker again with an incredibly fast takedown as Shoji attempts the guillotine on the way down. Parker works his way out but Shoji pushes him off and we're grappling against the ropes. Parker pulls a closed guard and we're halfway through the round in that position. Parker moves for an arm but Shoji hops back up over him once again, throwing some legkicks. Nice upkick by Parker keeps Shoji honest and the ref is there again to stand them back up. A couple missed high kicks by Parker miss and this time his shoot was slower and painfully obvious so Shoji just tosses him aside into the corner and stands over him. After no action the ref stands them up a third time with two minutes left in the round. Parker misses multiple strikes and gets a nice Shoji legkick for his efforts. Flurried exchange in the corner causes no damage to either fighter as Shoji closes the distance and gets a trip takedown by the ropes. Shoji moves back for a leglock but Parker kicks him the face to quickly dismiss the threat and the bell rings to end the round. Pretty action packed round, Parker won the first five minutes but Shoji the last five. I'd say Shoji did more overall damage so I give him round one on the old meaningless scorecard.
Round 2: Parker misses with more punches, his shots are very short and rarely connect. Shoji charges in and gets another patented Shoji trip takedown. Not much action on the ground as Parker is holding a very tight closed guard and Shoji is struggling to get some distance. Shoji keeps working very strongly, using all of his energy to pull an arm out of Parker's grip, but as soon as he does so Parker hops up and pulls him right back down. Frustrated, Shoji picks up the holding Parker and slams him back down in the same position as we're halfway through the round. Quadros asks Bas who the US counterpart to Shoji is and he responds Jens Pulver when it comes to energy. Parker finally does something and makes a strong attempt for an armbar but Shoji moves out of the way and transitions to Parker's back. Parker rolls and goes for a leg but Shoji again pops out and stands back over him. This time, instead of leg kicking, Shoji just charges right back into Parker's guard. Parker pushes him off and gets back to his feet and we're restarted in the center. Shoji with another charge and easy takedown by the ropes with three minutes remaining. Again after no action Shoji is back up, as is Parker, and we're on our feet again. Nice left hand by Shoji and after a light exchange Shoji blasts him with a big right that sends Parker running away to the other corner. Shoji hops right on him into the guard and throws some more strikes. Seeing the big advantage he now has in the standup, Shoji backs out and orders Parker up to his feet. Wanting none of his striking, Parker basically tosses Shoji into the ropes and then grabs him and pulls guard…. this is where round two ends.
The judges rule it a draw which comes as a surprise but I wouldn't call it a bad call the way they judged these cards. Parker won the first five minutes and was very impressive but the last fifteen minutes belonged to Shoji. If it were a straight decision he'd take it but that's not what this is about. I also did not remember this fight going so long.
Round 3: Beautiful leg kick by Shoji causes Parker to do a spin. When the spin is finished he eats a HARD right hand to the jaw and goes into survival mode. He misses his shoot and Shoji throws a couple of punches before allowing Parker back to his feet. Another charge is met with a CroCop/Herring-like toss into the corner and Shoji just goes right into Parker's guard to everyone's surprise. Three minutes remain in the OT round with little action in the corner. Shoji unloads some shots and yells/chants as he throws each punch down. Finally, Shoji stands back up and allows Parker the same privilege and we're in the center again. After some missed punches, Shoji goes for a flurry but Parker again pulls guard. Bas Rutten advises against pulling guard on concrete in a street fight… good to know. On a restart, Parker again goes to his back as Shoji tries to finish it with strikes but is unsuccessful as the bell rings. Winner: Akira Shoji, Decision, 25 minutes. Again, Parker had the first five minutes of the fight but the last twenty were owned by Shoji.
- Match 5: Kazushi Sakuraba vs Anthony Macias
Sakuraba is coming into his 6th consecutive PRIDE appearance with a record of 4-0-1 and is widely being considered one of if not the best middleweight in the world. Anthony Macias, a talented all-around fighter and UFC veteran, is coming off of back-to-back losses to Vlady Matyushenko in the IFC.
Round 1: Macias begins with a couple very quick high kick attempts. He lands a nice punch to Sakuraba's head so Saku shoots in for the takedown but immediately gets swept and we're up on our feet in the clinch. After some leverage issues, Sakuraba is obviously going to get him down so Macias just gives it up and goes down softly. Sakuraba is working in Macias's half guard but Saku quickly moves over to the side mount. Macias makes a couple of nice attempts to get back to his feet but Sakuraba is able to maintain his top position, though eating a couple of Macias punches from the bottom. Sakuraba stands back up, looking for better position, and then tosses Macias's legs to the side and gets back in side mount. Sakuraba looks for an arm but Macias defends nicely and Saku never commits fully. Saku puts his knee on the stomach of Macias and looks for another arm but again Macias does a very nice job defending. Saku looks to isolate the arm a third time but Macias takes this opportunity to spin out and get back to his feet. Sakuraba with a punch combination as Macias delivers a leg kick. BIG right hand by Saku lands hard and the flurry afterward sends Macias into a corner. Sakuraba moves in and gets underhooks and then delivers a nice new suplex that the announcers were talking about before the fight. We're in the side mount once again but Macias is again able to fight himself out briefly before Sakuraba regains control and gets back in his guard. Once in the guard he throws the Mongolian chops and a couple of punches, trying to set up a leg lock but not getting it. Sakuraba unloading punches while standing in Macias's guard before falling back to his knees. Sakuraba again up looking for position, Macias with a nice upkick but he only gets a sharp leg kick for his efforts. Two minutes left in the round and Sakuraba backs up about 5 paces to get momentum for a huge run-up to what looks like a jump stomp but is actually a baseball slide right into the chest/chin. That was fantastic! Sakuraba is back on his knees in the guard of Macias, unloading some occasional punches including a couple of very nice body shots. Macias seems to be enjoying this comical beatdown he's getting as he's laughing at Sakuraba's antics as much as anyone. Macias moves his hips for an armbar but Saku works out and stands back up over him. Sakuraba grabs one of Macias' feet and runs a full 360 around him, spinning his opponent. The crowd is greatly enjoying all of this. Sakuraba with a jumping stomp attempt but it's defended nicely by Macias as the first round ends. It wasn't really competitive but it was ridiculously entertaining.
Round 2: Spinning back kick by Saku begins the round but Macias grabs his back. Saku goes for his traditional kimura when in that position so Macias jumps on Saku's back looking for a choke. Saku flips him over on his back and works for armbar but Macias is out punching him in the head. This all happened in 15 seconds. Sakuraba is now on top in side mount, looking to size up a body part to isolate. Saku is setting up another armbar and flips over to his back where Macias tries valiantly to break it up but he just can't slip out so he taps.. Winner: Kazushi Sakuraba, submission (armbar), 2:30 of Rd2. Both men bow heavily to one another showing respect.
- Match 6: Mark Kerr vs Igor Vovchanchyn
In a battle of two of the greatest heavyweights in the world, Mark Kerr comes in still undefeated and 4-0 in PRIDE while Igor Vovchanchyn comes in at 2-0 in PRIDE with an absolutely ridiculous career resume. This fight was certainly to determine the best heavyweight fighter in PRIDE.
Round 1: They feel each other out to start the fight. Kerr throws a legkick and when Igor throws a big right to respond Kerr just bodylocks him and tries to drag him to the ground. Igor fights out and lands a right hand but Kerr immediately goes for the takedown again. Igor tosses him off a second time but this time Kerr responds with a knee to the face before Igor rocks him hard with a big right hand that sends Kerr to the canvas. Not two minutes into this fight and both men appear to be cut. Kerr gets back up from the big right hand and just charges through with a big takedown against the ropes. Igor has the guard and Kerr does very little at all to improve position or throw strikes. Every two minutes or so Kerr will unload a few strikes, this second time he stands up over Igor after his flurry. A nice axe kick by Kerr to the stomach of Igor but Igor hops back to his feet and unloads a punch. When Kerr follows him Igor lands a second clean punch. Kerr is rocked to a decent degree but falls forward and takes Igor down once again. Kerr has to keep this on the ground because Igor is absolutely killing him when standing as we're halfway through the first round. Igor landing some peppered shots from the bottom while Kerr is doing nothing on the top in Igor's guard. An "action" warning by the ref seems to do nothing for Kerr, who continues to just lay in the guard. Kerr throws two punches and tucks back up. Bas admits, "I'm not sure how [PRIDE] put the fights together." That's what the kids call unintentional comedy. Kerr throws another couple of punches and then stands looking for better position as you hear Mark Coleman, in Kerr's corner, screaming for Mark to "keep him down". Kerr back into Igor's guard with one minute left in the round. Igor is just hammering small shots to Kerr's head, annoying him, while Kerr lays on his chest. This is how the round ends. Kerr had the dominate position for a great deal of the round but really did no damage other than the accidental headbutt; meanwhile Igor landed several solid shots. I'll call this round even.
Igor's manager Eugenia is an old blonde woman with glasses who is giving him his water bottle in the corner. I believe she can also be seen in Kerr's DVD biography "Smashing Machine," asking questions about the rules for this very card.
Round 2: "As boring as it may be for him to just lay on him," Quadros says, "it may be his only option." Kerr shoots for the takedown and despite Igor's sprawl he ends up on his back. For once, Bas is actually questioning Mark Kerr's entertainment value. Igor pushes Kerr off of him but Kerr charges forward and takes him right back down into his guard. Igor landing weak shots to the head from the bottom so Mark Kerr stands up before going right back into that same guard. "KEEP HIM DOWN THERE BABY," yells Mark Coleman from Kerr's corner. I'm glad Coleman never accepted a programming job from a major television network. Poorly peppered shots by Igor lead Kerr to throw three or four punches from the top that miss. Kerr stands up in the guard and Igor lands a couple of heel kicks so Kerr dives right back in. Ref calls action yet again while neither man is landing anything on the ground or improving their position. Igor pushes him off with his feet and goes on the attack, landing two hard punches and then a knee (to his downed opponent) while holding him in north-south position. Igor lands two more knees to the head which seem to KO Kerr, problem being those are illegal. Igor jumps up and celebrates wildly, doing his spin kicks and jumping on the turnbuckles. While this happens, Kerr is complaining to the referee (while for some reason Coleman looks on behind him just listening to the conversation) as Igor Vovchanchyn's name is announced as the winner over the loud speakers. Igor raises his trophy in the center and gets his hand raised by the referee. Winner: Igor Vovchanchyn, KO (knees), later overturned as a no-contest.
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FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Kazushi Sakuraba vs Anthony Macias
NON-FIGHT OF THE NIGHT: Carl Malenko vs Wanderlei Silva
The 411: 7/10. Pretty entertaining card outside of Silva dominating Carl Malenko. Nothing groundbreaking but Matsui/Schrijber and Cikatic/Smith were both entertaining for similar reasons. Igor/Kerr for historical purposes and a decent fight, Shoji/Parker was interesting at a few points, and Saku put on an entertainment clinic against Macias. Solid card.
