PRIDE or DIE: The History of PRIDE Fighting Championship - PRIDE 4
Posted by Randy Harrison on 05.06.2008
Nobuhiko Takada and Rickson Gracie square off in a main event rematch at the Tokyo Dome and Igor Vovchanchyn makes his PRIDE debut....
It's October 11, 1998 and PRIDE rolls on with PRIDE 4 from the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. PRIDE is actually coming into this show with a bit of momentum as the third installment was a much better show than the second show was, and they're also back in a familiar climate, with a huge crowd on hand, as opposed to being at Nippon Budokan for PRIDE 3 and having the place be half-empty. There looks to be a bit of a power shift, even this early in PRIDE, as new guys are being brought in from outside Japan to challenge some of the guys who have alraedy fought on previous PRIDE cards. This is a big event because it features the debut of PRIDE veteran and fireplug, Igor Vovchanchyn, as well as another appearance by the most dangerous fighter in the world at this point in time, Mark Kerr. Those are merely appetizers to the Japanese, as the main selling point, and frankly probably the only selling point needed, is the rematch from PRIDE 1 between Japanese pro wrestling star, Nobuhiko Takada, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu legend, Rickson Gracie. A big main event for a huge crowd, Bas and Quadros are at ringside, so let's get things underway!
PRIDE 4
Match One:
Igor Vovchanchyn vs. Gary Goodridge
This would be the PRIDE debut for the Ukranian superstar Vovchanchyn and Bas talks about seeing him fight before and that he's a kickboxer but is also VERY difficult to submit. Goodridge we've seen on every PRIDE card so far, and he looks huge compared to Vovchanchyn.
Round One
Vovchanchyn hits a decent leg kick to start and they end up clinching in the middle of the ring with Goodridge throwing him down to the mat, into the guard. Vovchanchyn is BLEEDING out of the side of his head, I don't know from what, and Goodridge drops backwards for a heel hook, eventually ending up mounted for a second. Goodridge moves out and rolls away, forcing Vovchanchyn back to the mat and doing some more work from the guard. Goodridge tries to posture up and strike, standing and holding onto Vovchanchyn's legs but he just ends up right back in the guard. Goodridge lands a couple of hard rights to the side of the head and they're right back to standing in the clinch against the ropes after Vovchanchyn scrambles to his feet. Goodridge gets the same pivoting throw into the guard that he did to open the fight and Vovchanchyn throws some short shots off of his back. Goodridge moves to half-guard and just kind of lays there, as we can see that Goodridge isn't shaving his head voluntarily, but rather to keep people from noticing how bald he is. Goodridge finally postures up to strike but gets kicked away and Vovchanchyn finally gets back to his feet, firing a couple of shots that just miss. They clinch again and Vovchanchyn shoves Goodridge around a little before slipping out under the clinch. Right and a left land for Vovchanchyn and he hits a HARD LEFT HOOK and Goodridge goes down like a falling tree against the corner and the referee has stopped the fight. It's ALL OVER!!
Winner: Igor Vovchanchyn, TKO at 5:58 of Round One
After the fight Goodridge looks a little unhappy but he's really glassy-eyed leaning against the cornerpad. Vovchanchyn is an absolute bloody mess but is the winner and showed some real power with those few punches to knock out someone like Goodridge.
Match Two:
Akira Shoji vs. Wallid Ismail
Ismail looks like a terrorist, and an angry one at that, not because of his nationality, but because of his crazy eyes. Seriously, those are coke eyes. Ismail is a veteran of the UFC, losing at UFC 12, while Shoji is PRIDE through and through with one win and two draws on the previous three cards. The birth of PRIDE vs. UFC? Perhaps.
Round One
They do a little calisthenic stretching in front of each other before they start to circle the ring, with Shoji landing a good leg kick and a hard right hand before stuffing an Ismail takedown attempt. Shoji somewhat gives up the takedown, but is sitting up in the corner, controlling Ismail's entire body. Quadros talks about Ismail's teammates like Bustamante, Belfort and Sperry as the action has slowed to a crawl in the ring, with Shoji grabbing a half-guillotine and scissoring the body with a full, closed guard. Shoji tries to stand up against the ropes and actually gets up to stand in the corner before Ismail changes levels to try to get things back to the mat. Shoji sprawls away well and lands some short punches as Ismail switches from a single-leg to a double and takes Shoji down to the sitting position again. Ismail looked like he was thinking about a headbutt for a moment and then throws a couple of strikes but Shoji shuts it down and controls with his guard, kicking Ismail away and trying to get back to his feet, but Shoji ends up getting pulled down to the mat again, with Ismail in half-guard now. Bas brings up Ismail's street-fighting past and I'm not surprised by the way he would be giving everyone the crazy eye. A couple of right hands from Ismail and he tries to pass all the way to side control, but Shoji gets things back to half-guard, eating some punches in the process. Ismail gets to the full mount and doesn't do anything with it for a bit, before finally doing some strikes. Shoji escapes out the backdoor and then REALLY lands some punches to Ismail before getting dragged back to the canvas. Great work from Shoji that brought the crowd to their feet. It looks like Shoji is bleeding a little from under his eye and Ismail continues to work from the half-guard, landing some forerarms and short punches to Shoji's face. Ismail takes full mount again and Shoji does well to control it before Ismail postures up to throw some punches, glancing them off of Shoji's face or missing completely until Shoji sweeps him and stands up, landing a SOLID right hand and then sprawling away from another Ismail takedown attempt, almost going through the ropes. Shoji falls back to the full guard, looking winded and Ismail pounds out some decent punches and hammerfists until the round comes to a close.
Quadros and Bas both think that Ismail took over the last half of that round and that while Shoji is a little winded, he could still come back strong. I concur, since Shoji has shown that he has gas in his tank to go all night if he needs to.
Round Two
The referee stops the action to fix one of Ismail's sponsor patches, ripping it off his shorts and they circle before Shoji lands a HARD leg kick. Ismail seems to be really out of it all of a sudden and Shoji puts him down with a HARD right hand and a left lands as well before Ismail gets back to his feet. He looks exhausted and EATS a left hook from Shoji and tries to trade punches but Shoji lands a NASTY right hand and a left and Ismail turns his back, forcing the referee to step in and stop it.
Winner: Akira Shoji, TKO at 1:26 of Round One
Ismail seems upset but Quadros thinks that with how tired he was and turning his back the way he did that it was a good stoppage. I think that the referees are seeming a little quick with them tonight, but that's neither here nor there. At least there isn't that sinking feeling in my gut like when Cecil Peoples referees a fight and I'm not sure if both guys will make it out alive.
Match Three:
Sanae Kikuta vs. Daijiro Matsui
Kikuta lost to Renzo Gracie in the sixth round of PRIDE 2, while Matsui went to a four-round, forty-minute draw on the last PRIDE show. This one should be action personified. Bas says "Hopefully, he's gonna do more than he did in his last fight" and that he's afraid the fight won't be very exciting. He could be talking about either guy here, but it appears that he's talking about Kikuta. Quadros sounds excited talking about how there are time limits to the PRIDE fights now and he expects this to be different than their previous fights.
Round One
Kikuta rushes forward and clinches Matsui against the ropes in the corner, prompting Quadros to note that this already looks a lot like Kikuta's fight against Gracie. Fantastic. Kikuta tries to turn Matsui out into the middle and score a trip takedown but he can't get it and Matsui is back to being pressed into the corner. Kikuta gets the trip takedown on the second attempt and Bas begs them to move on the ground while Quadros talks about the Sakuraba/Newton fight. Kikuta postures up for some punching from the full guard but that gets shut down quickly enough. He postures up again for a couple more strikes and then goes back to his knees for the guard grappling. The action stops to get them back to the center and struggle a little from the guard with Matsui landing heel strikes to the thigh from the bottom. Kikuta postures up again and then tries to pass the guard, but Matsui is just too quick with his defense. Matsui moves to the half-guard and tries for a mount but Matsui bridges out and sweeps, with the fight getting back to their feet in the clinch against the ropes. Kikuta gets the takedown again with the trip, working from side control against the ropes and moving to control Matsui's head. Kikuta puts on a front choke with the mount but moves back to side control and lands some short hammerfists to the side of Matsui's head. Kikuta moves to try and turn Matsui over but they just end up scrambling back to their feet with Kikuta getting the takedown again. Back into the full guard with Mastui landing some punches from the bottom and a HARD up kick to the gut before Kikuta dives back into the guard, allowing Matsui to sweep. Matsui is on top and in side control, landing a knee to Kikuta's head before putting one in to the body. Matsui tries for a mount but Kikuta is able to kick him away and they're back on their feet again, ready for the next clinch and takedown by Kikuta. Matsui lands a good right hand and a solid leg kick before a NICE overhand right smacks off of Kikuta's face. Another low kick lands and they start to circle and feint to end the round. That was lots better than the first rounds of either fighter's last bout, so it's a good start to grow off of for the next round.
Round Two
They touch gloves and the action stops immediately because Kikuta is looking like he just got out of the shower. They touch gloves again and Matsui gets a good side kick to the body and throws a high kick that he misses with and he ends up falling to the mat and on the bottom with Kikuta on top in the half-guard. Kikuta punches the mat and then hits some short punches to the side of Matsui's head. Matsui fires back with a couple pops of his own, but they just kind of hold each other on the mat with Kikuta in side control. Quadros talks about how Matsui should knee to the head from the bottom, prompting Bas to ask if that would be a legal strike. Quadros assumes it would be, but isn't rightly sure. Kikuta is looking for a keylock but there's nothing there and he just throws some left hands to the head. Kikuta gets that front guillotine and moves to the mount and it looks like he might be close to stopping this fight. Matsui bridges and is actually able to get Kikuta off of him and they're back to the side control position. Some weak knees from the bottom by Matsui land to Kikuta's side and Kikuta tries to take a mounted position again but there's no chance of it happening against the ropes in the corner. He keeps trying to hook the head for that front choke into a guillotine but Matsui finally decides he's had enough and tries to get to his feet. Kikuta stuffs him against the corner pad and Matsui gets a little frustrated, yelling from the bottom before he lands some shots to the body. The referees move them to the middle and they just lay there trading some patty-cake shots before Matsui tries to scoot out the backdoor and ends up giving up his back before finally being able to reverse the position to get on top. Matsui throws a couple of body punches and Bas talks about how you can punish someone's liver, with Quadros saying it would be just mean. Bas replies that it's mean, but it's also legal. I loves me some Bas Rutten. Matsui is actually doing a little less on top than Kikuta was and he is stuck in the half-guard, throwing the odd knee before Kikuta reverses to take back top position. Heel strikes from the bottom by Matsui and they just throw soft punches at each other before Matsui gets more heel strikes to Kikuta's kidneys as Bas and Quadros struggle to find things to talk about before the round ends.
Round Three
Between rounds Bas and Quadros talk about how there's no reaction at ALL from the crowd, which isn't a good thing at all. Kikuta charges in and pushes Matsui back to the corner again, just like what has happened about a hundred times in this fight already. Matsui gets a right hand while Bas tries his hand at clairvoyance, thinking that Kikuta's going to turn Matsui to the center and try for a trip. Kikuta hits a knee to the body and turns Matsui, tripping him down to the mat. More heel strikes to the kidneys and ass from Matsui on the bottom and they lay there in the guard, clinging to each other for a bit before Kikuta postures up. I almost think that a strike is coming but it isn't and Matsui's head is stuck on the ropes in an awkward position before he gets pulled back into the middle. Palm strikes from Matsui on the bottom and there's not a whole hell of a lot going on, with even the Japanese commentators at ringside looking bored to tears. Kikuta postures up and crossfaces against Matsui's face before falling back down to the guard and eating more heels to the kidneys. They hand-fight a little on the mat and Kikuta postures up for a couple of strikes and then they're right back to laying on each other in the guard. Well, Kikuta laying on Matsui. As soon as I say that Kikuta gets a few good hard punches in with some shots to the face before the referee makes a move to try to reset them. Kikuta moves to side control to get past and is looking to set up that front choke again for seemingly the tenth time in the fight. Kikuta moves to mount and locks that choke in a little tighter but Matsui sweeps over, popping his head free of the guillotine and short-slamming Kikuta's body to the mat. Right hands to the head and body from Matsui on top as Quadros says that both guys have seemingly decided that there's not a way to win so they're just wanting to ride to a decision. He essentially questions their heart and whether either man has the will to be a champion before talking about the Goodridge/Ruas fight from PRIDE 2 and how even though he lost, Goodridge came out just as popular because of his performance. Matsui from the top with some short hammerfists and the referees come in to turn them back towards the center, with Kikuta clinging and holding on from the bottom. Quadros forecasts no explosion in the last minute of the fight as Matsui punishes Kikuta's body a little more with some strikes and he thinks that the fight should be declared a draw. They trade the short punches and that's it for the fight with Bas noting that no one is cheering and Quadros calling it anticlimactic.
Winner: None (technical draw)
Match Four:
Kazushi Sakuraba vs, Allan Goes
Sakuraba is fresh off of two big wins over quality opponents in great grappling matches, while Goes has a lot of experience in Pancrase and Quadros talks about how Sakuraba beat Goes' teammate to win the UFC's Ultimate Japan tournament and that Goes might be out to avenge that loss. In case you haven't heard of Goes before and are questioning his grappling ability, he's got Carlson Gracie in his corner. I'm just saying.
Round One
Goes looks extremely motivated for this fight while Sakuraba looks like his usual calm self. The bell rings and they hand-fight while standing up and Sakuraba lands a hard front kick before shooting an ankle-pick and taking Goes down. Sakuraba tries to pass the guard while Goes lands some strikes from the bottom and they work to control each other's hands and arms. Goes throws up a high guard and almost attempts a triangle before he transitions that to a guillotine with Sakuraba in the side control position. Sakuraba stands out of the guard and takes a HARD kick to the leg before offering one up of his own to the seated Goes. One of Sakuraba's cauliflower ears has busted itself open and he's bleeding profusely from it. Leg kick from Sakuraba and he has Goes backing up before Goes tries a high kick from the mat and both Bas and Quadros talk about how much more motivated Sakuraba looks tonight. CARTWHEEL GUARD PASS by Sakuraba into some right hands and Goes lands some more kicks from his back before Sakuraba is back to standing over the prone Goes. Goes continues to kick at Sakuraba's legs and is landing them well as Sakuraba tries to figure out a way past the guard, landing HARD low kicks of his own. The pace has slowed quite a bit now and they're feeling each other out for any mistakes and throwing leg kicks back and forth. Sakuraba catches one of Goes' kicks but ends up eating an up-kick for it and he ends up back in Goes guard and they scramble against the ropes. Sakuraba with a couple of solid punches and he's looking at a kneebar or an anklelock but Goes takes Sakuraba's back standing, dragging Sakuraba to the mat. Sakuraba ends up reversing that and getting on top in side control but Goes pulls things back to guard quickly. They do some more hand-fighting in the guard and trade some strikes from the mat, with Goes doing more up-kicking to the face, landing them solidly and repeatedly. Quadros brings up a good point that Sakuraba's fighting style may change because he has been used to fighting the grapplers like White and Newton with little striking. Goes gets a leg takedown and Sakuraba pops right back up to the standing position before Goes gets a single-leg into another takedown, nearly locking in a rear naked choke from the back, but Sakuraba is able to escape and get back to his feet. More leg kicks from Goes and he JUST MISSES a crazy roundhouse kick that would have popped Sakuraba's head off like a Rock'em Sock'em Robot. Sakuraba gets caught on the foot and taken down as Goes tries for another choke but misses it and then grabs a bit of a keylock but can't clinch it in. The bell sounds and what an action round that first round was. Replays of the near choke in the middle of the round, which shows just how close it was to being the end of the fight.
Round Two
They do the standing hand-fighting again and Sakuraba shoots low again, getting the takedown and putting Sakuraba back into the guard. Goes lands some punches from the bottom and they struggle with Sakuraba trying to pass the guard, almost getting it but eating some punches for the effort. Sakuraba tries to pass again but ends up getting swept over and he has to work a high guard as Goes stacks him up from the top. Goes works from the guard as Sakuraba is bleeding badly from the nose and it looks like Goes is going to try to pass to side control, but they just end up struggling back into guard before Goes moves to a north/south position. Goes takes Sakuraba's back as he turtles up and Goes hits an uppercut underneath as they transition on the mat with Sakuraba trying a kimura and Goes almost locking in a rear naked choke from the back again and they end up with Sakuraba on top in the guard. Sakuraba tries to isolate one of Goes' arms but they slow again and catch their breath with Goes throwing some punches and using the butterfly guard to keep Skuraba at bay. Goes sits up and tries for a guillotine but there's nothing there and Sakuraba tries for a standing kimura, transitioning that into an armbar attempt but Goes is able to get free of it and Sakuraba gives up his back again, turtled on the mat. Goes slows the pace and holds Sakuraba down and just like that Sakuraba tries for a kimura, rolling to grab a leg and then he ends up back on top, standing out of the guard with Goes laying prone on the mat. Goes lands a HARD kick to the knee that he was working over earlier and another and Goes is just laying and waiting for Sakuraba to make a move. Goes backs off into a corner and Sakuraba looks to try get past the legs, eating a couple of kicks to the face from the bottom. They spend the last minute of the round with Sakuraba trying to get past the guard with no success and Goes throwing kicks at Sakuraba's legs. Quadros calls it a draw round and we see all of Sakuraba's submission attempts, which I think gives the round to Sakuraba, despite the kicks from Goes on the mat.
Round Three
They touch gloves with Goes doing it somewhat reluctantly and they circle before Sakuraba throws a high kick/low kick combination and shoots in for a single-leg. Goes stuffs it and stacks Sakuraba up in the corner, throwing a couple of punches and trying to pass the guard. Goes almost gets to side control but Sakuraba sucks it right back to guard and they stop the action to move them to the middle of the ring. Again Goes gets past the guard but gets pulled right back into it and Sakuraba is even throwing a high guard up to try for a triangle, but he ends up turtled on his knees, giving his back to Goes. Goes slips a forearm in but he can't close off the choke and they're just back to Goes holding Sakuraba in position, with Bas pleading for some knees to the body from Goes. Sakuraba looks for a kimura again but Goes ends up turning that attempt into a rear naked choke and he was VERY close to ending the fight, as they transition and end up with Goes on his back and Sakuraba with his head laying on Goes' lower stomach and down into the thighs. Sakuraba throws some punches to the thighs and tries to pass the guard but can't get anywhere near close to passing it. Goes throws more kicks as Quadros goes back into the history of what this fight means to Goes and the Gracie family, saying that he's doing it with honor and a unique style that Sakuraba hasn't seen before. They trade kicks with Sakuraba standing above Goes, with Goes landing the best strike, a double-stomp to the gut of Sakuraba. HARD leg kicks from Sakuraba and he just continues circling around Goes, with Goes flipping his legs back and forth to avoid the kicks and to keep Sakuraba from passing. Goes gets back to his feet and Sakuraba gets an ankle-pick, taking Goes right back down, landing some shots to the body before backing out of guard and getting the fight right back to where it's been for the past four or five minutes. Goes lands another HARD heel strike to Sakuraba's stomach and a couple of side kicks to the kneecap. Sakuraba tries a spinning guard pass but it's a half-hearted attempt and both guys seem willing to just go the distance. A minute left and they continue to trade leg kicks, circling around the middle of the ring with Goes on his back and Quadros says that since there are no judges, this match will be a technical draw, but if he had to score, he'd give the fight to Goes, but just slightly. The bell rings and both men hug as it's declared a draw, and neither of them seem very happy with that decision.
Winner: None (technical draw)
Goes would have won this fight had there been judges because he had the stronger first and third rounds, with Sakuraba turning it on in the middle ten minutes. A good fight, but really much slower paced than the last two Sakuraba fights, which just speaks to how much Goes' abstract style baffled him and kept him from getting aggressive.
Match Five:
Yuhi Sano vs. Satoshi Honma
Sano is another Takada dojo fighter, with a big wrestling background, while Honma is a bit more of a striker and is going to try to stuff the takedowns and keep the fight standing so he can bang away. A pretty intense staredown before they start the fight gives me hope that there will be some good action.
Round One
They both come out with that odd-looking "Stop, don't shoot me", both hands above their head approach and do a little faking of jabs before Honma lands with a good low kick/jab combination. Right hand lands and FLOORS Sano, and they clinch a moment with Honma throwing a couple of knees before they separate and Honma gets another combination. Sano has had enough of that and gets a takedown, but Honma still lands a couple strikes from the bottom. Sano is kneeling in Honma's open guard and Honma tries to swing a couple of haymakers from his back but he can't land anything. Honma pushes Sano away and gets the fight back to the feet, landing a couple of good combinations and some NASTY right hands, with Sano finally landing a right of his own. Honma throws another combination and pushes Sano back to the corner, leading to them clinching against the ropes. Knees to the body from Honma and they separate to trade combinations with Sano actually landing some good shots of his own. Honma with an uppercut and a HARD knee that lands and he poppers Sano with another combination of punches, with them working back into a clinch. Sano is bleeding from his forehead and digs in a WICKED uppercut to the body before reaching for a single-leg and trying a takedown. Nothing there and Honma pushes him away, throwing a couple of leg kicks and Sano fires back with one of his own. Pseudo-Superman punch from Honma and it lands before Sano lands another good right hand, but it doesn't phase Honma in the least. Right hand to the head and a low kick from Honma both land and this is like a Honma sparring session. Honma throws a couple of HARD low kicks, following it up with an uppercut and a crazy combination before Sano grabs the clinch. Sano is busted open BADLY across both eyebrows and on the forehead and Honma lands a knee to the body in the clinch. They trade wild punches with both guys landing some good shots, but the referee is going to stop things to let the referee look at the cut. Three or four smaller cuts to the face and forehead of Sano as the doctor checks him out, and he looks alright to continue. They touch gloves and get right back to it, with Honma hitting another leg kick and a jab/low kick combination before Honma starts throwing a ton of knees to the head. Another combination and Honma gets another HARD knee up the middle to Sano's forehead. Five-punch combination lands for Honma and he follows that up with some knees to the head. A VICIOUS low kick lands on the left knee of Sano and he goes down, with Quadros calling for them to stop the fight. The referee doesn't though and Honma just gets on top and pounds the SHIT out of Sano before it's FINALLY stopped.
Winner: Satoshi Honma, TKO at 9:25 of Round One
Bas after the stoppage: "Jesus CHRIST, man. Wow, he was getting a beating" Yeah, that's definitely a way of putting it. Crazy display of striking by Honma and the first guy that primarily focused on striking as a way to win, instead of the grappling-heavy strategies of almost all the other fighters on these early PRIDE shows.
Match Six:
Marco Ruas vs. Alexander Otsuka
Otsuka has Tiger Mask in his corner (not sure if it's THE Tiger Mask, but it's A Tiger Mask), while Ruas has Bas Rutten in his corner, completely no-sold by Bas on the color commentary whenever he appears on camera. I wish they wouldn't just pretend it didn't happen and insult my intelligence like that. Admit that this commentary is done afterwards and have a little fun with it. You don't have to act like it's happening live and make me seem like an idiot. Ruas has a huge experience in advantage with Otsuka only having on previous MMA bout under his belt.
Round One
Otsuka with a fake shot and it doesn't get anything before he eats a jab. Another fake shot and a NASTY leg kick lands from Ruas and they end up scrambling to the mat with Ruas working from the bottom, throwing some short punches. There's Bas shouting instructions from Ruas' corner and the announcers just go silent before Quadros goes back to listing off Ruas' accomplishments. Otsuka holding Ruas down and throwing a couple of knees to the body but the bulk of the striking is coming from Ruas on the bottom, working from the half-guard. Ruas looking for a kimura for a moment but they end up trading punches and Ruas gets it back to full guard. It looks like Marc Laimon is in the corner of Ruas as well from some of these side shots as the action slows down, with Otsuka throwing some short body punches. The pace slows a little bit from the early going and they're just trading short punches from the full guard and not really doing any damage with anything. Ruas is trying to turn his hips for a sweep but he can't get free from underneath Otsuka and it's right back to the punches. Otsuka backs out of the guard and throws some leg kicks as Ruas is in the butt-scoot position on the mat. Otsuka stays busy with kicks and punches and some stomps to the feet, trying to keep Ruas down and under control. Perfect point for a stand-up in my opinion but there's nothing that's going to convince the referee of that, especially in these early fights where the refs liked to have as little as possible to do with the outcome of the fight. I understand it in the sense of the Japanese wanting to see which man was better, but in situations where guys end up stalemated for five minutes at a time, some intervention is necessary and wouldn't do anything to compromise the intergrity of the bout. Ruas tries for a leglock but he can't get a grasp on Otsuka and the fight ends up back in Ruas' guard. Otsuka gets to half-guard and they continue to trade short punches before Ruas gets things back to butterfly guard and sweeps over into the full mount. Beautiful move from Ruas as he sucked Otsuka in and bided his time until the sweep. Otsuka clings to the head of Ruas and Ruas postures up for some rights and lefts, landing a couple of HARD short right hooks as Quadros notes that Otsuka might be panicking a little on the bottom. More posturing up and more hard punches from Ruas as Otsuka turns and give up his back. Ruas has both hooks in is looking for the rear naked choke, throwing some punches to try to loosen Otsuka up for it. Ruas has a neck crank into a rear naked choke attempt, but Otsuka is saved by the bell. Otsuka's nose is bloodied up from those punches that were landed at the end of the round.
Round Two
The referee towels down Ruas before the second round starts and they touch gloves, circling tentatively with Ruas looking absolutely exhausted. Otsuka shoots for a double-leg, but Ruas still has enough energy to sprawl back and avoid it, holding a front facelock in the corner. Bas is thinking that perhaps some medicine that Ruas had taken before the fight is affecting him because he seems to be REALLY winded. They scramble to their feet and exchange combinations before things go to a clinch in the corner. Knee to the body from Otsuka and they lean and rest with Ruas sucking in air like a vacuum hose. Foot stomps from Ruas and a knee to the body but his heart is barely into it and he's just trying to hold on and hope for the best. Short body punches are landing for both guys but there's really nothing happening outside of that and the occasional knee to the body. Otsuka gets the takedown and tries to pass out of half-guard to the full mount. Some chopping punches from Otsuka on the top and Ruas is clinging to him and trying to keep him under control, while Quadros speculates that Ruas might be playing possum. I know I love to play possum by getting punched in the face while I'm gasping for oxygen. More short punches and hammerfists from Otsuka and he's just wearing out Ruas from the top position. Otsuka lays on top and pounds the hell out of Ruas with short, sneaky punches for pretty much the rest of the round, splitting Ruas open on the side of his eye. Ruas tries a punch from the bottom but that just serves to piss Otsuka off and he starts throwing wild, heavy punches, landing a few hard ones while missing most. Ruas can barely peel himself off the mat while Otsuka is yelling and playing to the crowd on the way back to his corner. Bas again blames the anti-inflammatory pills that Ruas had taken leading to the fight and the referees and doctors are checking Ruas out on the stool and he looks like he's going to collapse. The referee motions to stop the fight and it's all over!! Otsuka backflips off the top rope and celebrates, trying to rile the audience up even further.
Winner: Alexander Otsuka, TKO (doctor's stoppage) at 10:00 of Round Two
Match Seven:
Mark Kerr vs. Hugo Duarte
Here's hoping that Kerr gets an opponent that isn't a raging asshole. He's two for two so far in his first two PRIDE fights. Duarte is coming off of a 43-second KO loss to Tank Abbott at UFC 17, but just the fact that he made it to the UFC must mean something. Quadros apparently doesn't know much about Duarte because he has trouble pronouncing his name.
Round One
Kerr starts with a high kick that misses and they're circling around with Kerr cutting off the ring and grabbing a single-leg takedown into Duarte's guard. They struggle a little with Kerr actually turning away from Duarte and talking to his corner before both men flurry with short punches that do no real damage. Bas shown in the corner again to silence from him and Quadros on commentary. Quite a bit of hugging against the ropes and there's some yelling and no one really knows what's going on and poor Kerr must be thinking "Not this shit again". Kerr postures up for a body shot and a head punch while Duarte throws about ten short punches from the bottom in a wild fashion. The action slows up again and Quadros suggests a neck crank that would open up the guard and allow Kerr to pass to side control, but Kerr is apparently happy to just lay and do a little slapping. Duarte tries to struggle out from the bottom but Kerr holds him down before standing and throwing leg kicks at him. Kerr dives back into the guard, and they're jammed right up against the buckle in the corner. Duarte moves almost half of his body outside the ring throug the ropes so the referee calls time and drags them both back to the middle for the restart. Kerr postures up again and then stands above the prone Duarte, throwing some hard leg kicks from that position. Kerr drops back down into the half-guard but Duarte does well to move his hips and get the fight right back to the guard. Kerr lays on him against the ropes and there's not a lot of anything going on at all, which sucks to watch. Kerr tries to posture up again to break the guard, but it's nothing and they're back to snuggling each other on the mat. Duarte throws a couple shots from the bottom and Kerr gets mad, firing back with a combination of his own and he stands out of the guard, holding Duarte's foot. Duarte senses an anklelock coming and launches a HARD up-kick and Kerr is back to standing above Duarte on the mat. Kerr throws a couple of kicks and some punches to the foot and shin of Duarte and that's how the first round ends. For as dominating as he was at the time, Kerr's fights haven't been very good in PRIDE so far, this one being no exception.
Round Two
They touch gloves to start the second round and Kerr shoots right in on a deep double-leg takedown, getting it against the corner buckle, while Bas and Quadros talk about what needs to happen to make this fight a little more interesting. Kerr postures up and throws punches but ends up turning his head away from things, falling back into the guard. Duarte ends up busted open BADLY from that flurry of punches and it's right below the eye, bleeding like a bitch. This looks a lot like the Couture/Belfort situation where possibly the seam of the glove cut across his orbital bone. They restart in the same position in the middle of the ring and Duarte is trying to move a little from the bottom, and Kerr just stands up and drops back into guard. This is a little less than exciting so far, nearly making me pine for another Kikuta fight. Kerr misses a couple of hard punches and Duarte is YELLING at the referee again, and they're trying to figure out what the hell the situation is. It seems to get resolved and Kerr is just laying back on top of him, digging in some body shots with the right hand. Quadros brings up that all of Kerr's fights in PRIDE have had an underlying tone of controversy, this fight included, talking about the Branko Cikatic disaster and how it nearly caused a full-scale rumble in the ring after the fight. Kerr tries to posture up, apparently hitting Duarte in the face with his head, and Duarte SCREAMS like someone's cutting his goddamn leg off. Kerr looks surprised and Duarte is still on the mat, laying there like a Brazilian soccer star after taking a foul and then bellyflopping down. Duarte is barely moving on the mat, and there's no replay yet, so I can't tell what it was that happened. They shake hands and restart on their feet, with Duarte falling back into a guard and reaching for a leg, but there's nothing there and the fight is back into the full guard of Duarte. Kerr is talking and smiling to his corner, I believe about the "headbutt" situation...while in the middle of the fight, on top of Duarte. Talk about not respecting your opponent's abilities. Lots more laying by Kerr, with the odd body shot thrown in. That goes on for three minutes or so, before Kerr stands out of the guard and throws some leg kicks. Kerr tries an axe kick to the stomach and then falls back into the half-guard, with nothing happening until the bell rings to end the round. I guess Kerr is three for three with weird opponents after all.
Round Three
Glove touch and Duarte falls backwards into the guard, just as Kerr throws a front kick and the crowd BOOOOOOS the shit out of him. Kerr backs away to get Duarte back to his feet and they cheer Kerr big time. Kerr wonders what the hell he's supposed to do with this and then walks over to try to axe kick him again and Kerr moves to side control, wailing away on Duarte as Duarte tries to force himself out of the ropes. Quadros and Bas both think that Duarte is trying to worm his way out of the fight, and I'd have to agree with that, since he's been whining and holding for the better part of twenty minutes now. Duarte apparently has some kind of problem and they try to restart the fight on the feet but Duarte won't get up. He finally does and "can't put weight on his foot", collapsing back down to the mat. Duarte flops back down to his back as soon as they restart and Kerr just dives into the guard and pummels him. HARD right hands with a ton of bad intentions on them and Duarte's head is back under the ropes, prompting another restart. Duarte is cut above the other eye and Kerr hits a NASTY right hand before trying to move past the guard, and he does into the full mount. Duarte tries to get out from underneath but gets shoved back down and instead of attempting something else just dives for the ropes, and the referee has seen enough of this shit and calls for the bell.
Winner: Mark Kerr, TKO at 2:32 of Round Three
What the hell is the deal with Kerr getting these shitty opponents. Are the organizers even checking these guys out before signing them to matches? Honestly, that has to be the strangest three-fight stretch in one man's career in MMA history. It's still tough to even get a guage on Kerr's abilities in Japan because he hasn't had a decent test, just lunatic after lunatic.
Match Eight: Main Event
Nobuhiko Takada vs. Rickson Gracie
Takada is looking to avenge his loss from PRIDE 1, coming in off of a submission "win" over Kyle Sturgeon. Gracie is Gracie, all-around badass. In a pre-fight interview, Gracie talks up his strengths, which includes leg kicks, and he says that he expects Takada to have a different gameplan this time around. Yeah, I'm thinking that he's going to want to have a different gameplan after the first one ended up getting his ass kicked.
Round One
The crowd is AMPED for this one, much more so than I am if I'm being honest. Rickson shoots in for a clinch immediately after the bell and they trade knees to the body before Takada throws Gracie against the ropes, nearly taking him down. They continue to clinch as the crowd starts a HUGE "Takada" chant and they continue to trade knees to the body from that inside clinch. This is already WAY better than Takada's first fight with Gracie and his fight with Sturgeon. They separate to exchange and Takada lands a SOLID knee but gets ROCKED by a Gracie right hook. They're back to clinching in the corner with Takada using some foot stomps and knees to the leg while Gracie hits some shots to the ribs and kidneys. Another big "Takada" chant as both men continue to strike in the corner. Gracie keeps digging to the ribs with those body shots and Takada is trying to keep landing the knees to the legs, which he does. Takada has survived the first five minutes and is even thriving a little with those knees, and he stuffs a spinning takedown attempt from Gracie, continuing to work from the clinch in the middle of the ring. Gracie takes a HARD knee to the body and tries to pull guard and they scramble right back up to their feet, which is a great move from Takada to avoid the ground game. Gracie really looks hurt from that knee to the body and Takada throws Gracie down to the mat, ending up in full guard. This is not smart on any level whatsoever. Sakuraba is in Takada's corner and he should be SCREAMING at Takada to get out of that guard. Gracie slows the pace down with some short punches, allowing himself some time to recover from that hard knee and Takada just lays, waiting to throw one punch at a time. Gracie moves to a butterfly guard and Takada looks to maybe try a leglock, but it ends up with Gracie on top of him in the half-guard. Gracie tries for full mount but Takada gets a nice buck-off, putting Gracie back to half-guard. Gracie finally gets the mount and Takada is defending with his arms sticking straight up, gift-wrapping the armbar for Rickson. Gracie works the body with some more punches and he moves to side control, getting away from a Takada leglock attempt. Gracie moves back to mount and decides he's done fucking around, moving straight from mount to an armbar and getting the tapout.
Winner: Rickson Gracie, submission (armbar) at 9:25 of Round One
A much better showing from Takada in this fight compared to the first one, but he still ends up with the same result. Honestly, the best Takada fight I've seen, with an actual gameplan that worked, but in the end he just didn't continue to follow through with it. Quadros gives us the rundown of the night's action as the trophy presentation and the PRIDE NOVELTY CHECK get delievered to Gracie. My bad, it's not a novelty check, it's just an ad for SkyPerfectTV that he gives to one of the Gracie kids to hold. Gracie thanks the people for coming out and says that Takada came with more focus in this fight compared to the first fight. Fortunately, Rickson feels like, Takada lost his way towards the end of the round and that he was able to take advantage of it. Rickson says he's been doing special things every day of his life since he was born. That's not at all cocky. Rickson says that his new goal is going to be geared towards teaching and furthering Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, and that nothing is signed but he's going to be looking for another tough opponent in his next bout. He says he's honored to come to Japan and fight because the people there are very respectful of martial arts and that the fighter has an honorable position in Japan that is like nowhere else. He says that he's there to represent jiu-jitsu and the spirit of Gracie Jiu-Jitsu and he thanks the people of Japan, saying that he loves the food as well. That's it for the interview, and that's it for PRIDE 4 from Tokyo!!
The 411: The Goes/Sakuraba fight was a bit of a letdown, the Kerr/Duarte fight was just plain odd (and way too long for my liking), and the gassing of Marco Ruas made his fight fairly boring to watch. The striking displays put forth by Honma and Vovchanchyn give this event a bit of a saving grace in terms of a final grade, though it was nice to see Takada get a little better in his second fight against Rickson. You knew he'd lose, but at least he gave it a better showing this time out.
