Japan's Finest: The Pride FC Review - Pride 5
Posted by John Wilson on 11.10.2008
Pride has so far failed to hit the right buttons in terms of a good all-round event, but this could be about to change with its fifth show. UFC veterans Mark Coleman and Vitor Belfort make their Pride debuts, on a card also featuring Kazushi Sakuraba and Igor Vovchanchyn.
Pride 5 Review
April 29th 1999, so over 6 months since the last show and we once again have Stephen Quadros and Bas Rutten on commentary. An at the time intriguing main event between Mark ‘The Hammer’ Coleman and Nobuhiko Takada is what the show will build up to, although everyone had one eye on the secondary main event of Belfort/Sakuraba. Belfort had his ‘Phenom’ nickname, but at this point the Japanese fighter is probably more worthy of the title, having put on grappling clinics so far in his Pride career. It’s also well worth stating at this point that Pride 5 sees the introduction of judges decisions in place of the automatic draw. A good decision on their part and about time too, as it should reduce the amount of inactivity in fights, with fighters working to score points with the judges. Anyways, after one of the first of many extremely elaborate openings, it’s onto the first bout…
With regards to career records, you’d have to give the edge to Egan, although neither have anything to write home about so Egan takes it on the fact he actually has ticks in the win column. Minoru has lost two decisions, while Inoue is on a three fight losing streak, having lost two decisions and a DQ, one of which came against Pride fighter Sanae Kikuta. Egan is the brother of Enson Inoue, who is fighting later tonight.
Round 1: Both guys look a similar size so that shouldn’t be an issue, as Egan is able to get the mount when the fight goes to the mat, having stuffed a Minoru takedown. From here Inoue gets the back and works a rear naked choke, which is escaped from well. Egan works the strikes, and then takes his opponents back again. Another escape and now Egan is giving chase around the ring. A back kick from Toyonaga and he drops to the mat, where Egan gets his back yet again. Inoue goes back to his feet to work the strikes as Minoru tries an ankle pick. Strange finish now as Inoue lands a few strikes but not really anything special but the referee jumps in and stops the fight. Winner: Egan Inoue via TKO at 5:53 of Round 1. Replays show to me at least that Toyonaga might have verbally submitted due to the way he turns his head towards the referee, although the commentators don’t say anything. Decent fight to open up, even better that it wasn’t a decision.
Fight 2: Satoshi Honma (Karate, 4-4-2) vs. Francisco Bueno (Jiu-Jitsu, 1-0)
Honma is back on the winner’s path after his dismantling of Yuhi Sano last time out at Pride 4; although I think he’ll have a tougher time here given that Bueno is likely to dominate if the fight goes to the ground.
Round 1: Bueno looks a bit like Ninja Rua to me with the shaven head, while Honma looks completely different having cut his hair. No action for what feels like at least five minutes in this one, as they dance around the ring not wanting to give the other the chance to use their strengths. Bueno has the odd flurry but does no damage, while Honma has offered nothing and is leaving himself dangerously open to strikes. No sooner have I typed that and Bueno charges in again with some rapid punches, catching Honma with a good left hand that puts him down. Bueno starts to rain punches on his downed opponent but the referee pulls him away. Winner: Francisco Bueno via TKO in 4:59 of Round 1. Nice finish, despite a lacklustre opening few minutes, and at this rate we won’t need judges decisions. Apart from a loss to Ron Waterman at UFC 25, this is Honmas last MMA fight to date which isn’t really surprising given the rate at which other fighters are improving.
Fight 3: Igor Vovchanchyn (Kickboxing, 26-1-1) vs. Akira Shoji (Jiu-Jitsu, 3-1-4)
Vovchanchyn is undefeated in 24 fights, including his TKO of Gary Goodridge at Pride 4, although the quality of opposition isn’t exactly a who’s who of MMA and also depends on what tournments you count as MMA competition. Shoji is coming off of his entertaining fight with Wallid Ismail, which he won when he stopped Ismail through strikes. It’s hard not to see past a Vovchanchyn win here though. Shoji has the heart but has yet to show the ability, whilst Igor has perhaps the greatest economy with regards to his striking of anyone in Pride at this point.
Round 1: Two minutes of circling pass, before Vovchanchyn throws a big overhand right that glances the shoulder and puts Shoji on the mat, although it was more of a push than a punch. More circling as Shoji really wants nothing to do with the striking game, given Igor’s power, while Vovchanchyn is just slowly cutting the ring off. A short clinch lets Igor land a few punches as they break, and he finishes by pushing Shoji back to the mat. Shoji doesn’t want to get up and engage on the feet, instead butt-scooting after Vovchanchyn. Igor isn’t even tempted to go to the guard though and after a few minutes or so Shoji gets stood back up. We see out the rest of the round on the feet, with the two trading jabs and leg kicks without scoring any notable damage. Easily a 10-9 round for Vovchanchyn, as he was more aggressive and connected with more offence, while I don’t see Shoji having the tools to turn this around.
Round 2: More circling as neither fighter really pushes the match to make something happen. It’s clear what Shoji’s plans for the round are though, because as soon as Vovchanchyn hits a semi-powerful punch Shoji drops to the mat and starts butt-scooting again, trying to get Igor to engage in the ground game. He’s having none of it again though, and we go back to both men standing and circling. Finally some action as we go into a clinch. Vovchanchyn gets the underhooks and is able to perform a beautiful throw that gets him side mount. Shoji slips out quickly and gets back to his feet, while you get the feeling that Vovchanchyn isn’t too bothered as it allows him to keep searching with that overhand right, which is probably the only thing that’s going to end this fight early. The round grinds to a close after a combination of circling, grappling and butt-scooting, with the only noteworthy moment being an accidental groin kick from Igor that stopped the fight for a few minutes. Another 10-9 round for Vovchanchyn on my cards making the fight 20-18 overall. It turns out the fight is only 2 x 10 minute rounds and so we go to a decision. The judges score it the same, giving Igor Vovchanchyn the victory. Winner: Igor Vovchanchyn via decision after two rounds. Not a good fight, which is funny considering that when looking at the first four fights before the show, the majority would likely pick this as the one with the potential to be exciting. Vovchanchyn definitely won it, but there was nowhere near enough action for a 20 minute fight.
Soichi is making his MMA debut at the event, and despite being the bigger man probably has his hands full here. Enson is back in the winners circle, courteous of a huge upset win, an armbar submission of UFC legend Randy Couture inside two minutes. This is his Pride debut, although he does have experience of the UFC, beating Royce Alger by keylock in a tournament, only to drop out of the final with an injury.
Round 1: Nishida is wearing quite possibly the most bizarre trousers ever seen in an MMA fight. They’re all-round massive, but flared at the bottom too. On top of this fashion disaster, it’s worth mentioning that he doesn’t look to be in prime physical condition to say the least. We start off and Enson drops Nishida with a right hand, and then lands a few more on the ground before taking his back. Seconds later and a rear naked choke is applied leaving Nishida to tap out for the quick finish. Winner: Enson Inoue via rear naked choke submission in 0:24 of Round 1. Rutten says that he thinks Nishida had no business in the ring, and on this evidence I defy anyone to disagree. However, as I always say, you can only beat what’s put in front of you. So in a way it’s a job well done for Enson Inoue, who will likely be back against a more competitive fighter further down the line.
Note: After this fight my copy of the event has a ‘grappling exhibition’ between Rickson and Royler Gracie. This is obviously more a vehicle for Gracie Jiu-Jitsu than anything else so I won’t bother including it in this review. It is fairly entertaining though, and worth a watch if you get the DVD and haven’t seen it before.
This one looks to be an acid test for Sakuraba. So far he’s undefeated since his second MMA fight, winning some great grappling contests along the way. Then at the last Pride show it could be argued that he took a step up in competition quality against Allan Goes and struggled somewhat to get the draw, perhaps even to the point he was lucky judges decisions had not being introduced at that point. Well he’s got another tough opponent in this one, UFC veteran Vitor Belfort. Apart from having a solid ground game, Belfort poses a threat that no-one Sakuraba has fought so far did, in that he has lightning quick strikes. Vitor on the other hand is undefeated barring a loss to Randy Couture, and never gone beyond the first round. His most recent victory being the infamous 44-second TKO of a certain Wanderlei Silva.
Round 1: Carlson Gracie is in Belfort’s corner, which adds a sub-plot to the fight in that Goes was also a Carlson trained fighter, so there’s the slight billing of a rivalry between the two camps by the commentators. Starting off with a low kick then a high kick from Sakuraba which is blocked and we circle for a few minutes. Saku feigns going up high again then shoots for a single leg, but Vitor sprawls well and ends up behind Sakuraba. Belfort’s hands are around Sakurabas waist so he doesn’t see Saku attempt a kimura, but manages to pull free anyway. Belfort unloads with right hands as Sakuraba crawls on his knees trying for a single leg. Vitor throws about 40 in less than a minute but I doubt many, if any, got through. Sakuraba continues to drive for it despite the punches though and is able to get the single leg takedown. Sakuraba works from the guard now as Belfort tries the up-kicks like Allan Goes did, but doesn’t have as much success, probably given that Sakuraba will have trained for those by now. Some surprisingly good right hands from Sakuraba connect, as he continues to try and pass to side mount.
After failing to pass the guard, Sakuraba backs out and starts to land some stinging kicks to the legs of the downed Belfort, then fails with an audacious cartwheel guard pass. Belfort is offering nothing now that Sakuraba is controlling his legs and the only action in the fight is Saku chopping away at the thighs of the Brazilian. More minutes pass by and the only change is that the leg kicks are getting more frequent and more powerful, creating already a large purple welt on the left thigh of Vitor Belfort. With not long to go, Sakuraba is able to step over Belfort’s lazy guard and start raining down punches to the head. Belfort stands up and they clinch against the ropes and that’s the round. I’d be tempted to score that round 10-9 due to the fact the leg kicks were the only thing of note, but looking at the damage they caused and the fact that Sakuraba also controlled every other scoring criteria, I’ll give it 10-8 to Sakuraba.
Round 2: Sakuraba opens up with a fake right kick and instead hits a nice jab square in the face of Belfort. Unbelievably, Sakuraba is now out-striking Belfort, even hitting a beautiful spinning back kick to the mid-section. Vitor wants no more of that action and goes down to the mat, but the referee gets him back up. On the restart Belfort makes this one of the stranger performances of his, as he goes straight back to the mat. The referee is about to tell him to stand only for Sakuraba to say it’s OK and start chopping away with the leg kicks again. The left thigh of Belfort looks so painful now, as the outside is completely purple, which is made worse when he has to stand on it after the referee restarts them. Another back kick from Sakuraba and just to paint a picture of how one-sided this fight it, Sakuraba has hands down by his sides against Vitor Belfort, that’s how worried he is about Belfort’s striking power. A third spinning back kick and I don’t think that Vitor has took a step forwards for about five minutes. Some front kicks from Sakuraba now before Belfort throws his first punches since early in round one; a weak one-two combination. Vitor drops to the mat once more, only to eat a few punches and get back up into a clinch as we enter the last three minutes.
The fight is restarted and Belfort is back on the floor once more, and you kind of get the feeling its frustrating Sakuraba despite him being well ahead in the fight. More innovation from Sakuraba is next as he starts landing punches to the legs before we restart. Belfort actually stays on his feet this time long enough for Sakuraba to work some punches to the head in, before lying back down on the canvas. With not long left we get one of my all-time favourite MMA moments, as Sakuraba nonchalantly backs away from Belfort, then runs back in for the jumping guard pass. The stomp lands to the head of Vitor and sends the crowd into raptures, as Sakuraba begins to up the tempo with kicks. Another tell-tale sign of one fighter dominating the match now, as Sakuraba is actually faking a jumping head stomp. Saku comes back in with another and this grazes the head of Belfort, before the bell rings and that’s the fight. A hugely dominating performance from Sakuraba means I give him another 10-8 round. That’s a 20-16 fight overall on my scorecard, and the judges agree. Winner: Kazushi Sakuraba via judge’s decision after 20:00. A really strange performance by Vitor Belfort, and I’ve heard suggestions that he broke his hand punching Sakuraba, although I’d have thought his corner would have thrown in the towel rather than let him be embarrassed like that. Regardless, this fight is all about Sakuraba. He is awesome here and really shows great innovation and ability. He also begins to blur the line between fighter and entertainer, which is resulting in his popularity snowballing.
Main Event: Mark ‘The Hammer’ Coleman (Wrestling, 6-3) vs. Nobuhiko Takada (Pro-Wrestling, 1-2)
Main event time and like his fight with Kyle Sturgeon, let’s not beat about the bush here. This is another of Takada’s fights that are generally regarded as worked/fixed/whatever you want to call it. But anyway, Coleman is a UFC legend making his Pride debut, despite coming off three straight losses to Maurice Smith, Pete Williams and Pedro Rizzo. Takada is back after losing another armbar submission to Rickson Gracie at Pride 4.
Round 1: I won’t spend too much time on this one, as considering that the finish to the fight was always going to be the same; the build-up to it is irrelevant. We start with Coleman trying to take Takada down in the corner, but Takada is continuously using the ropes to stay up. This earns him a yellow card and a restart, from which Coleman takes him down and works from his butterfly guard. About minute or so passes with not a lot going on, which is strange given that Coleman is the inventor of ground and pound but isn’t actually using it. Coleman transitions to side mount and starts kneeing to the ribs and back of Takada, as we get a shot Mark Kerr in the corner of ‘The Hammer’, looking kind of funny dressed in a suit. Coleman now gets full mount and Takada gives up his back, which in a normal match would mean the end of the fight. Takada ‘somehow’ escapes from the world class wrestler though and they momentarily are back to standing, before Takada drops back to guard. There is a slight lull in the action now, as Coleman passes to side mount, but he eventually manages to apply a side choke. It looks to be sunk in full, but Coleman decides to release it and start punching again. Takada slips out and stands up, but Coleman takes him down again. The two fighters see out the round with Coleman in side mount throwing knees and attempting submissions. 10-9 for Coleman I’d say for that round as although he dominated he didn’t cause much damage, although I can easily see a case for giving it 10-8 on the basis that Takada did nothing.
Round 2: Takada starts with some leg kicks before being taken down. Then comes the moment that everyone who has seen this fight probably remembers, as Coleman actually gives up the advantageous side position to go into Takada’s guard, much to the puzzlement of Quadros and Rutten on commentary. Coleman works from the guard for a while, before ‘foolishly’ leaving a leg open and Takada gets the heel hook. Coleman tries to spin out of it but it’s locked in, and he even does the Triple H-style shake of the hand in a ‘will he, won’t he’ moment before tapping out. ‘Winner’: Nobuhiko Takada via heel hook submission in 1:44 of Round 2. Well, you can draw your own conclusions from that one, as the show finishes with a quick re-cap of the results from the event.
The 411: By no means a bad event, as Pride continues to steadily improve. Definite positives come in the form of more decisive finishes, with 4 of the 6 fights not going the distance. The Sakuraba-Belfort fight is also entertaining. Unfortunately, the Shoji-Vovchanchyn draw is lacking in action and the main event is a sour way to end the card. You also get the feeling that one half of the fighters are far less skilled than the other half, leading to fights like Enson vs. Nishida. Overall though, the introduction of the judge’s decision puts this event just above the half-way point.
Great recap thanks. Really like your format. And very much looking forward to your takes on the Grand Prix and Bushido events.
Posted By: Jeffrey Harris (Registered) on November 10, 2008 at 01:13 AM
I think in order to protect Coleman, someone should have yelled (in Japanese of course) RING THE FUCKING BELL! While he was in that heel hook. HA!
Posted By: Samer (Guest) on November 11, 2008 at 09:19 AM
"I won’t spend too much time on this one, as considering that the finish to the fight was always going to be the same; the build-up to it is irrelevant."
This is the type of MMA purist bullshit I have never understood. Just because the movie finish has already been devised does that negate climax. In a book, the ending is right there in your hand yet you chose to read the beginning because the build is important otherwise the finish makes no sense. Understand this is a MMA review, but to say that is a cop-out that shows the general ignorance of pro-wrestling haters.
Posted By: firebreaker chip (Guest) on January 03, 2009 at 11:48 AM
