Japan's Finest: The Pride FC Review - Pride 4
Posted by John Wilson on 11.03.2008
After a solid if inconsistent last outing at Pride 3, we look to improve even further now with a stacked card of eight fights and a rematch of its biggest main event to date.
Pride 4 Review
Less than four months on from the previous show and its October 11 1998. The Tokyo Dome is once again playing the host for the evening’s fights. Commentary is the same with Quadros on play-by-play and Rutten on colour. Some big names on show for this event, including Rickson Gracie, Mark Kerr, Marco Ruas as well as the exciting youngster Kazushi Sakuraba, who is quickly gaining in popularity. We kick off with potentially the most exciting fight on the card though…
Opening Match: Igor Vovchanchyn (Kickboxing, 23-1-1) vs. Gary Goodridge (Kuk Soo Won, 8-6)
Both of these guys are heavy hitting heavyweights although at this point in time people are likely to know much more about Goodridge than Vovchanchyn. Gary is back for his fourth consecutive Pride appearance, having fought at every show so far. He is also back in the winners circle following a KO win last time out. Vovchanchyn on the other hand is undefeated in 24 straight fights, which while it is hardly a who’s who list in MMA, is still impressive. Some recognisable names in there include John Dixon (Pride 1) and Paul Varelans (Early UFC’s). He has also only gone to a decision on two occasions; all other fights have been finished, primarily by strikes. This could be a barn-burner.
Round 1: The height and weight advantage goes to Goodridge by about 5 inches and 20lbs, although Igor has his look of not exactly carrying a six pack. We start off with a clinch and Gary spins to twist to the mat and is in the guard of Vovchanchyn. The two must have butted heads together on the way down, as Igor has a cut on the right side of his head, although it shouldn’t impact him too much with it being away from the eyes. Goodridge doesn’t strike, instead he leans back looking for a potential heel hook which Igor pulls out of and climbs straight into the mount to little resistance. Before any damage can be done though Goodridge flips over, momentarily giving his back, before standing up and taking Vovchanchyn back down into his guard. Not a lot from the guard for the next minute or two, as Goodridge actually takes more damage due to strikes from the top than Igor does from the bottom. Two enormous rights then follow from Gary, although they only graze as Igor pushes him away and they go to a clinch on their feet against the ropes. Another spin from Goodridge gets another takedown to guard, although he isn’t being too active while Vovchanchyn seems the busier fighter, despite his cut getting worse over time. Big Daddy backs out of the guard while keeping Igor on his back, stopping only to ask the referee in English-Japanese, “Can I kick face?” The answer as far as I am aware is that up until Pride 13, no he cannot kick face. As Gary contemplates his next move Igor quickly gets back to his feet and fires off a flurry as Goodridge comes in after him. Some nice work from the Ukrainian, one or two punches definitely landed.
We start to get the stand-up fight that most people predicted now as Goodridge lands a few knees from the clinch, only for Vovchanchyn to push him away and hit a good left hook. Another quick flurry of strikes follows and a seemingly unconscious Goodridge drops back into the corner as his legs give way, only the ropes keep him up. Igor comes in to get the KO but is dragged away by the referee who stops the fight. Winner: Igor Vovchanchyn by TKO in 5:58 of Round 1. Vovchanchyn shows off some skills in the ring after the fight while Goodridge has made a quick exit, not happy particularly happy with the stoppage. Replays show that he was stunned by a left hand and then turned his back in a way not deemed to be of a fighter who can defend himself. It’s a worthy stoppage in my eyes although Goodridge could definitely push for a rematch if nothing else.
Ismail is on a winning streak at this point, his only loss coming on the big stage of the UFC, to Yoshiki ‘Let go of the fence!’ Takahashi. Shoji is undefeated in four fights, although three of those were draws, including one against Renzo Gracie and an exciting duel with Daijiro Matsui, both taking place in Pride.
Round 1: They start with the stare down to which Quadros says that Wallid has one of the most intense stares in all of sports. Whereas to me it kind of looks like he’s wearing eye mascara. A flurry from both guys starts us off and a nice sprawl from Shoji avoids the takedown. Ismail continues to drive for the double leg though and gets it, despite eating a knee. Not a lot going on for large periods of time, as they work to the feet then back down again over and over. Wallid at last gets guard and throws some strikes, but leans back too far on one and they get back to feet only for Shoji to get taken down again into half-guard. Wallid has wasted a lot of energy on takedowns and getting the mount, which means that Shoji can power out back to his feet and starts to work the stand-up game with some thumping rights and lefts. Wallid wants no part of that though and gets another takedown where he lands some good shots from side before getting mount. Just like before Shoji quickly escapes it, this time with a textbook sweep, then backs out and hits a leg kick. The first round comes to a close as they exchange a couple of strikes from the floor and standing. It was a fairly entertaining opening round, which Ismail probably took on points due to ground control, takedowns and his striking from the floor. That said, he used lots of energy to do so.
Round 2: Conditioning looks like it’s going to be a big factor here, as Shoji is still bouncing around with his hands up, while Wallid is very tired. Akira comes out with a leg kick and Ismail responds with a lethargic right hand that leaves him so open that Shoji hits a couple of big left hooks that drop the Brazilian. Shoji as expected wants his opponent back on the feet, from where lands some more unanswered punches to a defenceless Wallid Ismail and the referee jumps in to end the contest. Winner: Akira Shoji by TKO in 1:26 of Round 2. Bas calls it a good, exciting fight, which it was, especially in the second. I have my doubts that the next one will be however…
You might remember Kikuta from his loss to Renzo Gracie at Pride 2, which is why I don’t think this makes for an exciting fight. Basically he fought to keep control of Renzo on the floor and doing nothing else. Thanks to Renzo and his Jiu-Jitsu ability, he was finally able to catch him in a submission after almost an hour of fighting. However I don’t think Matsui has the ability to finish this fight by submission, and Kikuta will not keep it standing. Matsui has only his draw with Akira Shoji at Pride 3 in terms of experience so far.
Round 1: Kikuta starts off the exact same as against Renzo with his clinch and trip takedown and be inactive from the guard, as the commentary team call him the first predictable fighter. Absolutely nothing going on as they restart them in the middle of the ring, to the point that the first few minutes of the fight are spent talking about Kazushi Sakuraba, who isn’t even fighting. We must be at least half way through the first round (you tend to lose track of time during fights like these) before Matsui is able to get back to his feet, although Kikuta straight away comes in with the trip and the takedown. Some rare movement from Kikuta sees him go to side, then full mount and back to side although he isn’t throwing any strikes to set something like an armbar up. A failed guillotine gets the fighters back to their feet, although trip takedown number three gets them back to the mat. Some more lay and pray from the guard until Matsui is able to sweep him over and hit sporadic knees from the top position. He allows them back to standing and starts to pick for holes in Kikuta’s likely weak stand-up game. A good overhand right and leg kicks land from Matsui as the fight threatens to become interesting, although the ring bell puts a stop to it. Close round goes to Kikuta on takedowns, although it wasn’t a good one by any stretch of the imagination.
Round 2: A so far predictable fight takes an unpredictable turn now though, as Matsui comes out with a dropkick. It’s blocked by Sanae, who drops on top of him straight away and we go to ‘action’ on the guard as the commentators discuss the rules and generally give off a sense of confusion. Big period of inactivity sees nothing much happen barring a decent guillotine choke which Matsui fights out of. The sad thing to see is that Matsui is really trying to work from the bottom, but Kikuta just will not let him. Which is fine, but he isn’t doing anything offensively either to go on top of the good defence. A restart occurs, which Matsui uses to make room to get back into the top position. This time there’s slightly more action, with Daijiro at least trying to use strikes as a set-up, but it isn’t much better as Kikuta is clinging on and keeping the two close together on the mat. With just under two minutes remaining, Kikuta gets a sweep back to the guard and we see out the round from there. Another round that is very tough to watch, especially when you can skip to a Sakuraba fight which is next. I’d possibly give it Matsui, although it’s tight. He didn’t get the takedown, but did manage to swap position, as did Kikuta. However he was much more aggressive and utilised better striking, which I would give him the edge on.
Round 3: Straight off from the bell Kikuta charges Matsui into the corner and gets the flip and trip takedown once more, much to the frustration of the commentary, which Stephen Quadros calls ‘The Three Steps of Sanae Kikuta’. Five or six minutes of nothing but Kikuta slowly improving his position to the full mount is ended when Matsui gets a sweep and is in the guard. Some short range strikes from Matsui aren’t able to do much damage due to Kikuta holding him close and the round comes to a close. Result: Draw. They get no reaction from the fans, which in many ways is worse than being booed, because it shows that the fans don’t even care about you or the half hour fight you just had.
Fight 4: Kazushi Sakuraba (Catch Wrestling, 3-1) vs. Allan Goes (BJJ, 3-1-1)
Most Pride fans by now know all about Sakuraba, and you should too if you’ve read the previous two editions of this column. He is on a three fight winning streak, all by submission in both Pride and the UFC. He’s at this time regarded by many as one of the most exciting fighters out there, largely due to his grappling clinic with Carlos Newton at Pride 3. Goes on the other hand is entering this fight on a loss, a decision against Dan Henderson in a tournament at UFC 17 five months ago. Proficient in Jiu-Jitsu with allegedly over 200 wins, and being trained by Carlson Gracie, he should be a stern test for Sakurabas submission skills.
Round 1: We start off with an unexpected front kick from Sakuraba, who then secures the takedown with an ankle pick. He works to transition to side mount but Goes won’t let him. Both a triangle choke and a guillotine attempt fail to catch Sakuraba who backs out of the guard, so Allan starts to work the up-kicks and lands one nicely. A kicking war ensues with Goes on the floor on his back with Sakuraba standing. Kazushi does actually have some blood coming from his right ear, possibly from the earlier up-kick. A minute later and Saku tries a cartwheel pass to cheers from the fans, although he only ends up in half-guard as Goes defends well. Here Sakuraba starts to tee off on Allan’s head which he really doesn’t like and lands a flush up-kick in Sakurabas face to keep him at bay as they go back to kicking.
After a couple of minutes of kicking Goes hits two more solid up-kicks to the face which angers a frustrated Sakuraba and he climbs on top and connects with some strikes then attempts a toe hold. Goes escapes by standing up and has Sakurabas back, and he tries a takedown by falling to the mat which doesn’t quite work, and ends with Sakuraba back on top. Saku works some punches from the guard for a while then backs out and we’re back at the leg kicking, which is making up a large portion of the fight. Goes almost secures a good takedown by holding the ankle of a standing Sakuraba from the mat, but Saku stands up and tries a failed kimura. A short grappling contest is next, with Goes getting Sakurabas back and almost, almost locking in a rear naked choke. He escapes though and they continue to grapple as the round comes to a close. Good entertaining round with Allan Goes really giving Kazushi problems in terms of passing his guard. So much so that I would score it in favour of Goes due to the good defence, striking from the bottom and threat of a submission with the RNC.
Round 2: The second round starts with both fighters looking fresh and Allan gives it up with no problems due to his success in the first round from the bottom position. Sakuraba hits a right hand flush to the face of Goes to remind him that he can strike too before they embark on another grappling exhibition. This one starts with Goes on his back, he sweeps to get on top, then takes Sakurabas back, only for Kazushi to flip over well and wind up back in Allan’s guard. A slight lull in action as they prepare their next moves, then Saku escapes a loose guillotine attempt, before trying a Kimura. They both roll through with it and we wind up with Sakuraba almost getting an armbar on the Brazilian. Goes is too experienced to get caught though and manages to pull out and take Sakurabas back once again. Some beautiful movement and balance from the Japanese fighter allows him to end up in the guard and he backs out so he is standing over his opponent again. Round 2 ends in this position which is right where Allan wants it as he starts to get back into the rhythm of firing off up-kicks. A much better round for Sakuraba who learnt to deal with Goes offence more and more as the fight goes on. Although Allan’s defence was still solid, Sakurabas offence was much more potent and combined with the armbar/Kimura combination earns him the round in my book.
Round 3: Two kicks to the midsection open up from Kazushi, who then tries an ankle pick which is strangely defended this time Allan. He ends up on top which I find odd as he has found much more success from the bottom position in this fight than when he was on top. Some close range strikes from both men as Saku keeps pushing Goes away from him to maintain guard before they get restarted in the middle after Sakuraba almost falls out of the ring. Saku gives up his back like we’ve seen him do time and time again in Pride, and is able to fight off another RNC attempt by flipping over and get back to Allan’s guard. Both men are showing a sign of fatigue as the fight begins to slow down after an active twenty-plus minutes, and Sakuraba stands back up with Goes remaining on the floor. This position has been a large part of the story of the fight, although I cannot see it being ended from here. They exchange kicks from this position as Sakuraba circles but cannot pass the guard. Eventually Goes stands up and is taken straight back down with a single leg. They stay in a similar position until the bell and it’s over. Result: Draw. This is a good fight, great if you’ve just watched Matsui-Kikuta before it. However, as big a Sakuraba fan as I am, I would have to say that he’s lucky that the fights are not scored yet. Despite being more aggressive, Allan Goes was more effective in nearly every other category and in my eyes would have taken a decision. That said, if Sakuraba can go away and deal with that position from which Goes was hitting the up-kicks, it would likely swing the other way in a rematch. Afterwards Sakuraba shakes hands with Carlson Gracie and future UFC champion Murilo Bustamante can be seen in the background.
Honma is making his Pride debut here with a mixed record, his last fight being a draw in RINGS with Lee Hasdell. Sano has only one fight to his name, a submission loss to Royler Gracie after half an hour of fighting. Regular readers of the column may remember him, apart from being a fairly dull fighter, also getting out struck by the much smaller Royler. Given that Honma has a few strikes in his arsenal from the Karate background, he might find this one tough going.
Round 1: Tentative striking allows Honma to straight away find his reach, which he utilises by landing a great left-right combo that floors Sano. He gets straight back to his feet and they clinch, with Honma, who is sporting a mullet, throwing some knees into the mix. A couple more strikes from Honma, although Sano catches a kick at waist height and takes him down. Honma continues to throw punches though, and just like against Royler, Sano keeps on eating them with not a lot in the way of defence going on. This carries on for about a minute till they get back to their feet and clinch where Honma again uses his better stand-up skills to nail three right hands and only take one in return. Another clinch and Honma is happy to just wear him down and beat up on Sano from this position. Sano is just getting picked apart now and has a cut over his left eye. He’s struggling to get the takedown and being forced into a stand-up fight which obviously isn’t his forte. Honma knows this as he is hardly even defending; his hands are down half of the time with Sano unable to do much damage from striking. Honma mixes up some low kicks into his strategy next, before just exploding with a flurry of rights and lefts that leave Sano a bloody mess as he desperately clinches, no doubt hoping for the bell.
As soon it’s broken they start to trade again with Sano the worse for once more. He’s now cut badly from both eyes and the referee stops it to get the doctors opinion. He’s deemed fit to continue, and takes a low kick on the restart. The interesting thing about Honma is that he has traditional Karate type strike defence which usually don’t fare well in MMA. Therefore I think he’s lucky to be fighting a guy without strikes like Sano, as a guy more proficient in stand-up would give him real problems. They clinch again, and a tired Sano has his head dragged down from which Honma is able to hit four or five unanswered knees, opening the cuts back up. Another flurry from Honma includes some dirty boxing from the clinch and finishes with two leg kicks, the second of which causes a wincing Sano to collapse to the ground just like Ruas-Varelans. Incredibly the referee doesn’t deem these grounds to end the fight and Honma has to go back in there and land a ton more punches before it’s finally called off. Winner: Satoshi Honma via TKO in 9:25 of Round 1. Good fight in the way that complete one-sided beatings are. Domination by Honma, as Sano just had no striking game whatsoever.
Fight 6: Alexander Otsuka (Pro-Wrestling, 0-2) vs. Marco Ruas (Ruas Vale Tudo, 7-1-2)
Moving swiftly on, we’re getting to the business end of the night now as the final three fights showcase arguably the four most famous fighters on the card at the time, Marco Ruas in this fight, Mark Kerr afterwards and Rickson and Takada in the main event. Marco Ruas is on a two fight winning streak, both victories coming by heel hook, with Gary Goodridge being his last fight at Pride 2. If you’ve read my review you’ll hopefully know that was a close fight, although you’d imagine that he will be much more comfortable here. Otsuka has two losses to his name from two fights so his chances against a UFC tournament champion don’t look too hot.
Round 1: First notable action of the round is a hard kick from Ruas as his opponent shoots for the takedown; it’s completed though, the Brazilian then looking for a guillotine choke from the guard. Again we see Bas Rutten in the corner of Ruas this time, so it’s all quiet on the commentary front till he’s gone. Not a lot of action early on as they both work for position, particularly Otsuka looking to pass to side or full mount. When that fails, Otsuka tries for some strikes, but is being held too close to connect with any force. A good four minutes in and it’s not exciting stuff, even after Otsuka backs out of the guard and tries some combinations of punches, kicks and stomps. Back down into the guard by Otsuka, only for Ruas to perform a beautiful sweep and get the full mount. There’s only one minute remaining though for him to finish it. Some crunching punches force Otsuka to give his back and Ruas gets the choke. Otsuka remains calm however, and is able to see out the round whilst remaining in the submission hold. A fairly dull round overall, but a good finish which had the round been a minute longer, would have ended the fight. I’d have no problems scoring it either way, Otsuka controlled for longer, but Ruas did the only real damage.
Round 2: The round starts and we get some strange camerawork that seems to focus on Otsuka’s ass. He’s wearing shorts with the words ‘Diet Butcher’ on the back. I’m not exactly sure what that means, but I’d hazard a guess at either a nickname that doesn’t translate well, or some sort of sponsorship. It’s after a period of circling that Otsuka shoots in but Ruas sprawls well, despite looking pretty gassed after the opening round. A clinch is broken by a very pro-wrestling looking spin by Otsuka and back to how we started the round. Otsuka is getting better as we go on, clinching again from where he is able to take even more wind out of Ruas with some knee strikes to the solar plexus. As Rutten talks about how he’s never seen Marco Ruas in this bad condition Otsuka gets a trip out of the corner to fall into half guard, then rains down some rapid fire punches, although they don’t look like they’ll end the fight. We carry on in the half guard with some punches every now and again from Otsuka to see the round out. Ruas is bleeding from around his right eye which gets a gasp from the crowd when it’s shown on the big screen. This is definitely Otsuka’s round from the strikes and he is still fresh, one of the big advantages of most pro-wrestlers, whilst Ruas is struggling to get back to his corner. After speaking with the doctor, Ruas decides he cannot continue and the fight is finished. Winner: Alexander Otsuka by corner stoppage in 10:00 of Round 2. Otsuka celebrates a huge upset first win for him by back flipping off of the ropes, while Bas Rutten points out that Ruas was taking medication for inflammation and it looks like they have had some side effects. A decent enough fight, although it would have been much more active had Ruas been in better fitness.
Fight 7: Mark Kerr (Freestyle Wrestling, 9-0) vs. Hugo Duarte (Hugo Duarte Luta Livre, 5-1)
Mark Kerr is making his third consecutive Pride appearance and is still undefeated, his last win being the submission victory over Pedro ‘No, no, no, no!’ Otavio at Pride 3. Duarte has just lost his perfect record after a brutal 43 second TKO at the hands of Tank Abbott.
Round 1: Both fighters look well conditioned, so hopefully we’ll have an active fight. Kerr gets us off on the right foot, as he swings a roundhouse kick wide of Duarte’s head. Kerr gets a takedown but Duarte pulls guard. Kerr lands a firm punch to the face of Duarte who complains to the referee, although I’ve got no idea about what. Some more time spent in the guard, and Duarte complains again to the referee, although it sounds more like he’s wheezing. It’s a really strange thing to be doing, as both fighters are inactive so he’s not really in any danger. Anyway, we get a restart in the middle as both guys get close to the edge of the ring, from which Kerr hits some powerful rights to the side of the head, then backs out of the guard. Duarte wants it back on the floor though, and gets it after taking some leg kicks. There’s another lull in the fight as they work back towards the ropes, which gets another restart close to the middle. Kerr backs out of the guard and the round ends with him throwing a few leg kicks as Duarte is reluctant to get back to his feet. Easily Kerr taking that round, Duarte did nothing but mysteriously complain about nothing.
Round 2: Funny start to this round, as Bas is in Kerr’s corner, he’s quiet on commentary then as soon as he goes off-screen starts talking again, although he’s out of breath. It probably would have worked as a way of getting round the fact they aren’t live, had he not already spoken regularly whilst being in the ring. Ten seconds later and he speaks again whilst on-screen. I like their commentary but consistency is a beautiful thing. Kerr comes straight off and gets a takedown into the guard, then throws some bombs in a quick flurry. Although it didn’t look that potent, at least one shot must have gotten through as Duarte is busted open above the left eye. It’s a bad cut to say the least and the referee stands them up so the doctor can look at it, although Duarte thinks it’s just being stood up for a restart and can be heard saying ‘No, No!’. The fight gets going again back on the floor, and the commentary team are just laying into Hugo Duarte with regards to his game plan. More punches from Kerr aimed at the cut and Duarte is again yelling at the referee about something, and I can only suggest that he might not fully understand the rules. There is yet another stoppage now as Kerr leans forwards in the guard and his head clashes with Hugo’s. Not quite a head butt but still contact, which of course gets a complaint from Duarte, although it’s hard to tell how badly he is hurt. Obviously he’s not as hurt as he makes out though as we eventually get a restart standing, with Quadros correctly pointing out that Kerr must be wondering where the hell Pride are finding these opponents for him, every fight he’s had in the company has had controversial moments in it. The round ends with nothing happening; I would score it for Kerr although another ten minutes of this isn’t what I would call appetising.
Round 3: The fight restarts after Hugo’s cut is seen to again, and I cannot think of Duarte doing anything in this round other than holding for a draw. I die inside slightly as Duarte drops straight to the guard and Kerr joins him to groans from the fans. Straight Kerr backs off to the other side of the ring though, sick of Duarte’s game plan. He doesn’t give in though and remains on the floor, Kerr is clearly angry as he comes at him with a brutal stomp then finally claims side mount and rains some brutal strikes down. Duarte is running scared, almost literally as he more or less climbs out of the ring to escape the beating. The referee tries his best to get a restart in the position they had, Kerr with Duarte’s back, but Duarte refuses to give it up. In the end they go to a restart on the feet, although every time the referee signals to the fighters to work, Duarte just drops to the canvas. Kerr isn’t bothered anymore now though, and just rushes in and starts punching from the guard, which causes Hugo to again move his head out of the ring, stopping the fight. The final restart of the fight has the same results, and this time when Duarte climbs out of the ring, the referee ends the fight. Winner: Mark Kerr by TKO in 2:32 of Round 3. Duarte acts like a clown in the fight and that’s all there is to it. Perhaps the commentary team are a bit too strong on him, but that’s only to be expected when Rutten was in Kerr’s corner. Kerr must be angry at the calibre of opponents he has faced so far, be it Cikatic, Hugo or The Pedro.
Main Event: Rickson Gracie (BJJ, 9-0) vs. Nobuhiko Takada (Pro-Wrestling, 1-1)
Rickson is returning to Pride for a rematch with Takada, presumably they offered him a large amount of money to do so, as Ricksons alleged reason for returning is that Takada proved himself as a warrior with a win over Kyle Sturgeon and deserves another chance. Yeah, right. Takada is coming off that ‘win’, but is unlikely to fare much better in this fight than he did at Pride 1, despite a 25lb weight advantage.
Round 1: Big cheers for Takada as expected when the bell rings and they go straight into the clinch. Knees from both men keep the fight ticking over till Rickson is able to connect with a straight right after Takada breaks away. Another clinch in the corner for a couple of minutes, as Rickson begins to unload with a lot of punches to the body, softening Takada up. Takada is actually able to surprise most people and nails a good knee, with Rickson falling back to the mat although Takada decides not to engage him in the guard. Back to the clinch and Takada spins Rickson around, who offers no resistance in going to the ground, taking the Japanese fighter with him. You have to question Takada’s tactics there. Punches land to the head from Rickson, as Takada is doing nothing from the guard. Unbelievably, Takada then stands and tries to leg lock the Gracie, as everyone watching slaps their forehead in disbelief. Rickson easily grabs the ankles of Takada and trips him to the mat, getting side and then eventually after some good bucking from Takada, full mount. Takada actually does a pretty good job of fighting the inevitable submission for a while, but Rickson is just too good technically and perfectly transitions from side mount to the arm bar to get the tap out win…again. Winner: Rickson Gracie by arm bar submission in 9:28 of Round 1. This is the last we’d see of Rickson as a competitive fighter in Pride, although he would have one more MMA fight in the future elsewhere. We close on an interview with the Gracie as Takada returns to the locker room with Dojo members Sakuraba and Matsui.
The 411: Overall not a bad event really, but not much was good either. Lots of periods of inactivity on a fairly stacked card meant that it clocks in at over 3 hours long, which also makes it a bit of a slog to get through, particularly with the Kikuta-Matsui fight. Sakuraba-Goes is good, and Vovchanchyn had a watchable stand-up fight with Goodridge. Shoji and Honma picked up the kind of TKO wins that have been missing from Pride so far, while Duarte’s actions are kind of fun to watch I guess and the main event is as predictable as you can get. So on reflection there isn’t much wrong with this show for the time period, but the slow pace and several parts of serious inactivity might be too much for some as it hasn’t aged well.
