PRIDE or DIE: The History of PRIDE Fighting Championship - PRIDE 2
Posted by Randy Harrison on 04.22.2008
PRIDE 2 hits the Yokohama Arena and there's six more fights on the way. Two Gracies, Gary Goodridge, Marco Ruas and the weirdest fight ever between Branko Cikatic and Mark Kerr are all waiting inside...
Hot on the heels of the inaugural PRIDE show (ok, nearly five months later so not exactly on the heels of the first show), the next edition of PRIDE comes to us from the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan on March 15, 1998. The first PRIDE show was such a success, the organizers deemed it necessary to hold another to attempt to re-create the magic of the first show. It seems as if there are less "big names" on this card, with no Rickson, no Takada, and no Taktarov, but they make up for it with the debuts of guys like Mark Kerr, who was about as hot as he was ever going to be coming in, and some small, non-descript Japanese fighter named Kazushi Sakuraba. Bas Rutten and Stephen Quadros are at "ringside" again, so let's get right to the action everyone!
PRIDE 2
Match One:
Royler Gracie vs. Yuhi Sano
Gracie has won two previous Vale Tudo contests in Japan, while Sano is making his MMA debut. That should give you some indication as to how this fight is going to turn out. Nobuhiko Takada in the corner for Sano and Rickson Gracie in Royler's corner, so this is almost a rematch by proxy. Sano has about fifty pounds on Gracie as well.
Round One
Sano strolls out to the middle of the ring like he's taking his dog outside for a walk and they touch gloves before Gracie starts bouncing around and flashing out his jab with some quickness. This is round two of pro-wrestling vs. jiu-jitsu, with the first round being the easy win by Rickson in the PRIDE 1 main event. Royler pulls guard and Sano tries to break the guard and get free but he can't do it and Gracie pulls a beautiful sweep and gets on top in half-guard. Gracie passes to side control and moves from that to a full mount as Sano struggles and pushes at Gracie, trying to use his size to his advantage. Gracie gets pushed back to guard but ends up taking the mount again quickly after some transitioning on his part. He flattens Sano out and tries to separate himself to do some striking but Sano just holds him down and hopes for the best. Sano sweeps and Gracie tries for a triangle choke but Sano just stands out of it and drops Gracie down to the mat. Back to the feet and Gracie tries for a shoot but pulls guard and gets the butterfly guard, looking to sweep. Royler sits on his rear and Sano kneels in front of him as they grapple and struggle on the mat for the better part of three or four minutes, hugging on the mat as Royler tries the odd triangle attempt or tries to isolate an arm for an armbar but that's about it. YAWN. Royler gets a sweep into side control and moves from that to the mount but nothing happens there. Rutten talks about all the strikes that are available from the position that Royler is in and he throws NONE OF THEM. Awesome. Quadros throws out a Simon and Garfunkel reference to which Bas responds by singing a few bars. Quadros says it's a two-drink minimum, but this fight needs at least three to be entertaining. Gracie lays on top of Sano in the full mount and they just hold each other close, whispering sweet nothings into each other's ears for another three or four minutes. Bas notes that he doesn't want to see a fight like this for another thirty minutes. Too goddamn bad Bas, cause that's where this one is heading. Fifteen minutes in and I haven't seen a single strike thrown, as Quadros asks Bas if the fight is boring. Bas says yes and then Quadros asks if there will be a single punch thrown in the next five minutes before betting Bas a million dollars that the fight won't end in a knockout. Sano finally pushes Gracie off and back into a half-guard situation but Gracie just takes it right back to side control and then to the knee in the belly position before taking full mount back. Gracie taps Sano on the face with some "punches" and then they lay there and hold each other for another three minutes with Bas doing a Tony Montana impression during this interminable disaster of a match. Quadros pulls off an impression but I don't know who it is so I laugh, but only because I can't let myself cry yet. Gracie continues tippy-tapping Sano at the twenty minute mark and he goes to the body for a couple of shots as Sano tries to buck and roll out. Gracie continues to just lay on Sano in the mount and they grapple and struggle on the mat with Bas saying that this isn't a fight, it's just two guys laying on top of each other. Sano wakes from his mid-fight nap and manages to sweep Gracie over to take the top position and he's in business! Well, not so much because he just keeps eating punches from Gracie on the bottom while he holds on to one of Gracie's legs. Quadros gets in a great line about how even if Sano has never hit pads or a bag in the gym, he'd have to at least seen someone throw a punch before in his life. Sano just has his head buried in between Gracie's knees before eating a couple of HARD up-kicks and some right hands off of his back. Up-kick!! Right hand!! Sano is trying for a heel hook or leg lock, eating another couple of punches with Gracie taking the fight over rather quickly. Well, as quick as you can take a fight over that's already gone thirty minutes. More up-kicking and Sano is bleeding pretty badly from his nose and swelling in the face at this point. Roundhouse kick from the bottom and a right hook as Sano tries for the leglock again. Rutten wonders what Sano's gameplan was for this fight and Quadros comes right back saying that Sano's gameplan should be to get a job at Everlast as a heavy bag. OUCH!!!! That's GOTTA HURT!! Speaking of hurt, Gracie keeps striking from the bottom as Quadros works in a reference to the awesome Canadian sketch comedy classic The Kids In The Hall. Heel strikes to the kidneys and Sano stands up out of the guard, eating up-kicks when he does. What in the hell is Sano going to do? He looks exhausted and there's absolutely no way that he can win this fight. Royler sweeps Sano onto his back, takes the mount and throws a couple of punches until he locks up an armbar and ends it. Mercifully.
Winner: Royler Gracie, submission (armbar) at 33:14 of Round One
Good GOD, that was horrible. All the Gracies are hugging and smooching on Gracie as Quadros says that while it was boring, Gracie used a masterful strategy to win the fight. Bas shoots that down, saying that Gracie could have just as easily done the same thing two minutes in. I agree completely since this is half an hour of my life that won't come back.
Match Two:
Juan Mott vs. Akira Shoji
Mott is an unknown commodity here, while Shoji is coming in on the biggest high you could imagine after taking Renzo Gracie to a draw at PRIDE 1. They talk about Mott being a fight finisher while Shoji has had one decision and one draw in his two fights.
Round One
Some circling to start out and they do a little hand-fighting before Shoji eats a leg kick from Mott. Shoji responds with one of his own and it lands HARD on Mott's thigh. More circling around as Mott lands another leg kick and Shoji moves in for a bodylock, taking Mott down with a trip. Shoji takes the full mount off of the takedown and holds himself on top of Mott for a moment. Shoji postures up and lands a couple of hard punches, forcing Mott to roll over on to his belly. Shoji gets the hooks in and lands a few hard right hands to the side of Mott's head, slipping the arm in and sinking the rear naked choke in. Mott taps out and doesn't look happy about it, while Shoji is VERY happy with the win. Bas thinks that this legitimizes Shoji and shows that the fight with Renzo was no fluke. I'd agree on that statement up to this point in Shoji's career.
Winner: Akira Shoji, submission (rear naked choke) at 3:47 of Round One
In between fights there was a kickboxing bout between Ralph White and William Roosmalen, but nothing interesting happens and White doesn't try to sprout another head, so it's not worth covering. Roosmalen wins it in the fourth or fifth round with a knee to the liver.
Match Three:
Vernon White vs. Kazushi Sakuraba
Sakuraba is outweighed by almost twenty pounds against the Lion's Den fighter in White. Sakuraba is fairly new to MMA at this point, with only his UFC experience from late in 1997, while White had been fighting a lot in Pancrase and elsewhere, with over thirty fights in just four years against guys like Frank Shamrock, Bas Rutten and Vladimir Matyushenko.
Round One
The bell rings and Sakuraba throws a hard leg kick right off the bat. Left hands lands SOLID for White and Sakuraba shoots for the takedown, moving to side control and attempting an armbar before moving to side control on the other side. Sakuraba tries to set up for a kimura and has it locked in but White bridges out of it and scrambles to his feet. Sakuraba with another deep takedown attempt and White throws a couple of punches to try to slow Sakuraba down. Sakuraba gets the takedown and begins to work from White's half-guard, trying to isolate an arm before moving to the mount position. White does the sweep and gets to his feet, letting Sakuraba get back to his feet as well. Sakuraba ducks under a jab and gets a good single-leg takedown into side control and he switches over to the other side in the half-guard. White gets it back to guard but Sakuraba takes side control and tries to lock on an armbar when White attempts to roll out to his stomach. White lifts Sakuraba off of the mat, trying to break the armbar and he escapes it, taking Sakuraba's back out of it. Sakuraba shrugs White forward and reverses to take back the top position in a great reversal. Sakuraba stacks up White in the side control and tries for the arm again, isolating it to lock it in an armbar, but there's nothing there and the referees move them back into the middle of the ring, out from under the ropes. No striking to speak of in the match and Bas figures that there's a bit of an unwritten code at the moment between them both and that once someone starts striking, it will be anything goes. White on his back, landing some HARD kicks to the knee of Sakuraba, who is standing over him. Sakuraba tries a swing pass into side control and he gets it, trying for the armbar again but White is able to roll out of it and he gets top position and then takes Sakuraba's back. White throws a right hand to the side of the head and then tries a kick but Sakuraba ducks under it and gets a takedown into White's guard. Quadros speculates that the fighters are getting a little lazy as the action slows down with Sakuraba on top and in side control, looking for the kimura again. Sakuraba gets the mount and throws a right hand and the bell sounds to end the round. Quadros talks about how technical the match has been so far and that people who love grappling can appreciate all the intricacies of the action in this first round.
Round Two
Quadros wants to see a little passion out of these guys in this round and Sakuraba throws a couple of leg kicks before White hits him with a really stiff jab. They circle a little more and White throws another jab that looks like it caught Sakuraba in the eye, but he just shoots in for the takedown and gets it, moving to side control. Sakuraba moves to the mount and postures up a little bit as they hand-fight and Sakuraba looks like he's ready to throw some strikes. Right hand from Sakuraba and he's trying for the armbar again, sinking it in tight and he almost has it locked in. White reverses out of it and takes the back, landing a right hand to the side of the head of Sakuraba. White's trying for the choke and Sakuraba bursts out of it and puts White back down with the takedown. Sakuraba in the full guard and White tries for an escape but Sakuraba goes right back to the single leg, giving up on the takedown attempt to try for a standing kimura with his back to White. They roll and trade reversals through a Sakuraba kimura attempt and Sakuraba gets it again, with a kimura that comes close to landing and he tries to transition from that to a straight armbar. White ends up rolling free of that and taking Sakuraba's back as he turtles in the middle of the ring. He slips the right arm under the chin and comes close to landing the rear naked choke but gives it up and pulls guard, with Sakuraba attacking again and trying for another armbar. White again grapples out of it and takes the back of Sakuraba on the mat with Sakuraba in the turtle position. Sakuraba tries to move forward for a double-leg but White sprawls out of it and double underhooks Sakuraba, almost into a suplex position. Rutten talks about how that can be turned into a neck crank if Sakuraba gets rolled onto his back, but Sakuraba turtles free and White gives up the hold. HARD knee to the ribs by White as Sakuraba turtles on the mat and they scramble to their feet with Sakuraba trying a standing kimura again and White punching his way out of it. Another double-leg takedown from Sakuraba and he tries to pass to side control again. Sakuraba takes the mount again and crossfaces White while trying to look fro some strikes from the top. Right hand to the side of the head lands for Sakuraba and White ends up rolling out the backdoor and taking Sakuraba's back again right at the bell.
Round Three
They touch gloves and circle a little bit with them both faking leg kicks and Sakuraba finally landing one. White tries a high kick but slips off of it and Sakuraba throws a couple of kicks to the body as they try to strike a little more now. More body kicks from Sakuraba and he REALLY loads up on one that White steps away from. Sakuraba gets a lightning shot in and gets the takedown, isolating one of White's legs, possibly trying for a kneebar but he lets it go and moves to the half-guard. Sakuraba crossfaces White and moves over to the side control, while Quadros talks about how the silence from the Japanese crowd shows how much they're appreciating the grappling action. Sakuraba moves to the mount and starts to throw some right hands as White defends against an armbar and Sakuraba lets it go, as they continue going back to hand-fighting with each other. Shots to the body by Sakuraba and he's isolated one of White's arms, but he rolls out and performs a beautiful escape, ending up on top and in side control himself. Sakuraba gives up his back again and goes for another kimura as White struggles free from it and begins to dig his elbow into the middle of Sakuraba's back. Five minutes left in the round and White is trying to slide an arm in for the rear naked choke but he doesn't have hooks in and Sakuraba is able to slip out of it and move to the top position and back to side control. Sakuraba has another armbar attempt in place and White tries to roll out of it but actually ends up rolling further into the clutches of the hold and Sakuraba locks in the straight armbar, forcing White to tap out.
Winner: Kazushi Sakuraba, submission (armbar) at 6:53 of Round Three
A great technical grappling match that took place almost exclusively on the ground, but unlike the Gracie/Sano fight from earlier, actually featured action. Just because a fight is on the ground, it doesn't automatically make it boring, and this fight was far from boring. A great clinic in grappling from both men, and a great win for Sakuraba over a well-respected opponent in White.
Match Four:
Renzo Gracie vs. Sanae Kikuta
Gracie is giving up about fifteen pounts to Kikuta and is the first non-Japanese fighter that Kikuta has faced. Gracie looks a little bigger in this fight despite weighing nearly the same as he did in the Shoji fight at PRIDE 1. I can't explain it other than to say that he looks a little bulkier.
Round One
They move right to a clinch and Gracie throws a knee to the body in the corner before he reverses a takedown attempt and puts Kikuta down to the mat. Gracie from the full guard and the action slows before it even starts, with both of them holding each other and them playing the waiting game on the mat. Kikuta kicks him away and gets back to his feet and they're right back to the clinch in the corner, trading over/underhooks. HARD knee on the inside from Gracie and a good left to the ribs and Kikuta tries a trip takedown, getting it and ending up in half-guard. A pause as the referees move them back to the center and Gracie gets it right back to full guard. They lay for a couple of minutes with no action until Kikuta tries a couple of right hooks to the head. Bas thinks that a stand-up would be good at this point and I agree completely since there's nothing happening on the mat. They continue to lay in Gracie's full guard and Quadros talks about implementing some type of system to allow for a referee to restart a fight if things are slow on the mat. I wonder what ever happened to that idea. The referees move them back to the center of the ring and they're back to laying and doing nothing. Gracie finally lands some good right hands to the ribs of Kikuta from the bottom and there's a minute left in the round. Renzo continues with some HARD right hands to the exact same spot on the ribs over and over and the bell rings to end round one. Gracie takes the round with the striking from the bottom since the rest of the round was even.
Round Two
Kikuta throws a piss-poor right hand to start the round and Quadros thinks that he hasn't trained much in boxing. Agreed. Gracie pops him one with a HARD left hand and they move to a clinch against the ropes in the corner again. Hard knee up the middle from Gracie and Kikuta tries a trip again but it's not happening. More clinching and more knees follow as they continue to struggle in the corner with no real action. They separate and Gracie throws another hard left and a knee to the body and they're back to clinching against the ropes and into the corner. Kikuta reverses a judo throw attempt by Renzo and he's on top in the full guard. They struggle on the mat for a couple of minutes before Kikuta stands out of the guard and throws a couple of leg kicks before diving right back into the guard. Quadros thinks that the only thing Kikuta has going for him is the fifteen pound weight advantage. Rutten thinks that it's a good time to tell a joke or something as the "action" in the ring is at a stand-still. They cling to each other in the guard for another minute with Gracie landing more punches to the ribs from the bottom and the round is over. Another round to Gracie if there was scoring, which there isn't. Twenty minutes down, ten to go. Thank god.
Round Three
Kikuta gets a takedown early in the round and is back in Gracie's guard, eating punches to the body from the bottom as Bas wonders if Kikuta has any gameplan other than just surviving the fight. Renzo continues to throw the strikes to the head and body from the bottom and Quadros asks if Rutten has ever been in the position Gracie is in and tickled his opponent. The sad part is that he's serious because that's how little action there is going in the ring. Gracie tries to use his hips to scoot under and take Kikuta's back, but Kikuta holds on to the head and keeps it from happening. Kikuta moves through and ends up in side control with Gracie trying to buck from the bottom before he kicks Kikuta away. Gracie on his back and Kikuta standing as they trade leg kicks before Kikuta dives back into the guard. Kikuta continues to lay on top of Gracie and cuddle while Gracie strikes from the bottom. This is literally cuddling. Rutten says that he hopes that PRIDE gets more shows and starts making rules to keep things like this fight from happening. Bas thinks that fights like this can kill the sport for the fans because of how uninteresting the fight is. More humping from Kikuta and that's it for round three. Rutten figures the fight is going to be a draw while Quadros says that he sees that Kikuta has no interest in winning the fight.
Round Four
Crap. I was hoping this fight was over, but yet it goes on. Bas asks how many rounds the fight is and Quadros says that he thinks that it is unlimited rounds until someone submits or gets knocked out. Jesus titty-fucking Christ, I could be here until Christmas if Kikuta keeps trying to snuggle his way to victory. They trade punches and end up back in a clinch in the corner as Kikuta finally gets a trip takedown back into Gracie's guard. He actually throws a couple of punches this time, shocking me and everyone else watching the fight. Gracie is in his own corner and we can hear Rickson talking loudly to him. I doubt it's about strategy since Gracie is more than holding his own against Kikuta thus far. What's the Portuguese translation for "Check out the tits on that broad in the third row?" cause maybe that's what Rickson is talking about. They're in the guard with Renzo trying to slip out the side and get the back again but that's about it. Already five minutes in the round and there's been literally no action. At all. Gracie works from the guard, sitting up and cleaning something off of his face like he was just sitting and watching television and brushing off some crumbs. Bas talks about how he's been a veteran of long fights like this, mainly with his wife. Oh Bas, if it wasn't for you this fight would be unwatchable. They debate the unlimited round system and how it doesn't work and that there will need to be changes in the rules. Gracie complains about Kikuta landing some strikes to the back of his head and the fight gets stopped and they're restarted on their feet. This is after Gracie has been landing strikes to the back of the head for the first three rounds. Renzo lands another good left hand and Kikuta gets a leg kick to land. Thye keep throwing and missing strikes and that's it for round four. This, coupled with the first Gracie fight is like some sort of MMA torture. George Bush should consider running this tape on a loop, Clockwork Orange-style at Gitmo. He'd find out where Bin Laden was before the end of next week.
Round Five
Surprisingly the round starts with a clinch in the corner. Did I say surprisingly? I mean VERY predictably. Renzo gets a front facelock and starts firing up some HARD knees to the face, trying to lock in a guillotine choke standing up. Gracie pulls guard and tries for the win, but Kikuta pops his head free of it and ends up on top in the full guard. Gracie continues the open dialogue with his corner and they cuddlefuck for another solid four minutes. Gracie pulls his guard up really high and looks to maybe be trying for a shoulderlock but his guard goes right back down and they're right back to doing nothing. Renzo's almost out the side door and ready to take Kikuta's back, but that goes away quickly and we're right back to inaction. Short heel strikes from Gracie to the back of Kikuta and Bas talks about how unexciting this fight is and whether people will want to come back to see another show with a fight like this. Quadros asks what the point is in this fight and Bas replies "nothing" before calling it anti-fighting.
Round Six
Leg kick misses from Kikuta and they stop the fight to clean some loose tape off of Kikuta's glove. Kikuta charges forward and ends up in trouble with Renzo throwing on a half-guillotine and dropping down to the guard. He cranks hard on it and forces Kikuta to tap out, holding the choke a couple of seconds after the bell rings as Bas and Quadros thank god that the fight is over. I concur gentlemen, I concur. They both note the lack of response from the crowd, speculating that they may have fallen asleep. They also decide that it's not Renzo's fault since Kikuta came in and didn't want to fight at all.
Winner: Renzo Gracie, submission (guillotine choke) at 0:43 of Round Six
Just horrible. God-FUCKING-awful. At least Kimo/Severn was only half an hour. This excruciating bout went nearly fifty-five minutes including the between round rest periods. If people ever wonder what it was like to watch softcore gay porn, I'd imagine this is pretty close to it.
Match Five:
Marco Ruas vs. Gary Goodridge
Both guys are UFC veterans and both have had success in the Ocatgon before coming over to Japan. Goodridge is coming off of his obliteration of Oleg Taktarov at PRIDE 1, while Ruas has been inactive for almost an entire year before this fight, finishing Pat Smith with a heel hook in 39 seconds in his last bout. Goodridge has the size advantage of almost twenty pounds on Ruas and will be wanting to use that against the dangerous "King of the Streets".
Round One
They circle a little to start and Goodridge cuts the ring off with a good jab. Ruas shoots in for a takedown but Goodridge stuffs it and lands a knee before Ruas throws a spinning kick and spinning back fist, with neither connecting. Thirty seconds in and this is already more action than either of the Gracie fights earlier. Goodridge cuts Ruas off in the corner and Ruas lands a hard leg kick before they separate. Another hard leg kick lands for Ruas and they both throw some wild strikes that miss everything. Goodridge throws some HAMMERING punches in the corner and Ruas tries to take him down, but Goodridge reverses it and actually ends up on top and in side control. Goodridge gets a HARD right hand as he's back in half-guard and Ruas looks like he got cut by that punch. Lots of blood running down the side of Ruas' face as Goodridge postures up to land a few more nasty punches to the face. Ruas gets the fight back to full guard but eats a few more power punches from Goodridge for his effort. Some neck crank action from Goodridge to try and open the guard on a couple of occasions before Ruas takes his life into his own hands and open-handed slaps Goodridge in the face. If Gary was a bull, steam would be shooting out of his nose right now. He throws another couple of punishing right hands before seemingly going for one of Ruas' legs. Goodridge lets that go and Ruas gets a kimura for a moment on the bottom but there's nothing there. Ruas is looking worse for wear from those right hands, swelling and bleeding as Goodridge stands up out of the guard and lets Ruas back to his feet to a roar from the crowd. Ruas circles on the outside and continues to swell in the face before Goodridge comes in and throws a combination, slipping in the process and tweaking something. Goodridge comes to a nearly dead-stop and Ruas pounces him, working him over in the corner a little bit and Goodridge just throws Ruas down to the mat. Ruas grabs a leg and works the heel hook, forcing Goodridge to tap out, though Gary looks more pissed off than hurt at this point.
Winner: Marco Ruas, submission (heel hook) at 9:09 of Round One
The two fighters embrace in the center of the ring and Goodridge looks hurt, limping around the ring while Ruas celebrates with his team.
Match Six: Main Event
Branko Cikatic vs. Mark Kerr
Cikatic figures to try his hand at MMA this time, after being disqualified at PRIDE 1 for turning Ralph White into a sideshow act with an illegal kick to the head during a kickboxing match. I wonder what he'll have up his sleeve tonight. Kerr is fresh off of dominating UFC 14 and is one of the rising young stars in the sport, looking like a brick shithouse and using wrestling, ground and pound, and submissions to take the MMA world by storm. He's got forty pounds on Cikatic, so Branko could be in some trouble here.
Round One
Bas Rutten in Kerr's corner for this fight, leaning against the ropes as Kerr is introduced, so that means no Bas on commentary for this fight. The bell sounds and they circle for a moment as we hear Bas on commentary anyways. CONTINUITY GAP!!! Kerr smiles at Cikatic as they circle and then he shoots in for a takedown with Cikatic throwing elbows to the back of the head near the base of Kerr's neck. That's some shady shit right there. Kerr responds by nearly throwing Cikatic over the top rope, Royal Rumble-style. Cikatic has his arm tangled and grabbing at the ropes and he throws more illegal punches to the back of Kerr's head. Pure class. The referee separates them and they restart on their feet. Kerr's corner yells about the elbows and Kerr shoots in for another takedown, eating MORE elbows to the back of the head. Kerr's corner is LIVID now, as is Kerr, who tries to put Cikatic's face into the third row with right hands. Three referees hit the ring and pull Kerr off of him and Kerr is yelling at Cikatic. The bell rings and there's some confusion as to what's happened, and the crowd is booing the piss out of both guys. Cikatic is in the corner chilling out while Kerr talks to Cikatic's trainer and tries to figure out what the fuck is wrong with him. The fight is over and Cikatic gets disqualified again, as Bas talks about how dangerous the elbow strikes that Branko was throwing are. Branko looks pissed again at the disqualification and he heads over to shake hands and apologize to Kerr.
Winner: Mark Kerr, disqualification (MORE general Cikatic jackassery) at 2:14 of Round One
The audience boos that decision loudly and Kerr is asking for a microphone. He gets on the stick and thanks everyone for coming and then apologizes for the fight. Wow, that is a ton of class for Kerr, apologizing for the other guy's shitty tactics. He apologizes again and says that he appreciates everyone coming out for the fight. The crowd loves Kerr after that and they give him a nice cheer for his classy attitude to nearly getting paralyzed. Cikatic grabs the microphone and gets booed out of the building as he says that he wants to fight. Branko Cikatic: No Apologies Necessary. What an asshole. Seriously, I mean there are dick moves, but to make a dick move like that and then to not do anything to apologize for it at all is about as no-class as it gets. Choke on a dick and go to hell Branko.
That's it for PRIDE 2 as we go straight to the closing credits from the production companies and we're out!!
The 411: If you had thought they wouldn't be able to put on a card worse than PRIDE 1 in terms of sheer, mind-numbing boredom, you'd have thought wrong. The two Gracie fights were intolerable, even more so than the Kimo/Severn debacle from last show. Interesting to see for the historical perspective of Sakuraba's first fight, and for the main event trainwreck, but unless you're a total masochist, don't try too hard to seek out the entire show. Grade goes a little higher than the first show because of Saku and Cikatic being crazy, but not by much.
