The History Of Pride FC: Pride FC Shockwave 2005

Posted by Jeffrey Harris on 01.29.2009

Two new champions will be crowned in the year ending MMA event to rule them all! Wanderlei Silva puts his Pride Middleweight Championship up for grabs against Ricardo Arona who defeated Silva at Final Conflict.

PRIDE FC SHOCKWAVE 2005 12/31/2005



-Welcome back MMA fans. Here we are with Pride FC's third annual New Year's Eve event, Shockwave. The show begins with a cool and nifty anime opening with a catchy theme song. The action then moves to the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan with the commentary team of Mauro Ranallo and . . . Frank Trigg. Unfortunately, Bas Rutten, the best color MMA commentator in the business is gone at this point. Bas had a falling out with Pride FC when he asked for a raise and Pride didn't want to give it to him, when Bas Rutten helped create a relationship between Pride FC and the NSAC so Pride could run shows in the US. Pride just didn't feel that Bas was worth it. So we have former UFC welterweight contender, Frank Trigg, complete with hair. Even with hair, he looks even more like Kurt Angle's doppelganger or long, lost brother. The resemblance is freaking uncanny. Mauro and Frank run down the card including the three title bouts: Arona vs. Silva for Silva's middleweight belt; Henderson vs. Bustamante in the Welterweight Grand Prix Finals; and finally Sakurai vs. Gomi for the Lightweight Grand Prix Finals. Mauro asks Frank if there is any better way to kick off the New Year. Frank says yeah if he was on the fight card. Oh sigh, I miss you so much Bas.

-Takada with the honorable TAEKOOOOOHHHHH(!) drums! TAEKO OSHIMA! The announcers introduce the night's combatants as Mauro and Frank quickly run over the match-ups. Ladies and gentlemen, this is more than MMA, this . . . is . . . the . . . PRIDE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIP!

Lightweight Bout: Charles "Crazy Horse" Bennett (1-2) VS. Ken Kaneko (Pride Debut)
This is Kaneko's MMA debut as well as his Pride debut. Bennett apparently forgot his gear and needs to get his drawers taped up before the fight. Bennett starts mugging at the camera, and referee Yuji Shamada smacks his shoulder and tells Bennett to recognize his authority. Round 1 starts and Kaneko goes for the takedown. Bennett defends and grabs onto a bodylock and hits a belly to belly suplex. Kaneko defends Bennett from his guard. Bennett looks for a leg, but Kaneko avoids getting any damage. Kaneko hooks on a triangle but can't get hold of Bennett's left arm, and Bennett is able to punch out. Bennett gets the full mount on Kaneko and starts pounding him out. Kaneko leaves his arms wide open and can't scramble out. After about an hour, Bennett finally hooks on the armbar and pulls back. Shamada stops the fight and that is all.

The Winner: Charles Bennett takes the fight at 4:14 in Round 1. Bennett goes crazy after the fight and tackles Shamada who awards Bennett with a yellow card for his insolence. That's what you get for acting like a dumbass Bennett. Kaneko was so mediocre he got submitted by Charles Bennett. Kaneko would try and fail two more times at the MMA thing.

Paulo Cesar "Giant" Silva (1-4) VS. James "Colossus" Thompson (2-1)
This is another one of those Pride FC side freakshow attractions. That's right, one of those fights that the keyboard warriors that worship Pride FC will never own up to. One of those fake fighters has had five fights in Pride FC. The former Oddity, Giant Silva against James Thompson, the guy that almost embarrassed Kimbo Slice last year before his nasty ear popped. And wow, Thompson's ears looked pretty normal here. Just remember folks, if you want to keep your ears and not have nasty looking ears . . . don't become an MMA fighter. The bell sounds for Round 1 and Thompson bum rushes Silva and nails him with rights and lefts. Silva goes down like nothing and almost gets mauled out of the ring. The fight's already over at this point, but Silva was through the ropes so the referee restarts the action in the middle of the ring. Thompson bum rushes Silva again and gets him down on this back. Thompson shows Silva no mercy with his vicious ground and pound. Thompson just starts kicking and stomping on Silva's head and the referee mercifully ends Silva's suffering.

The Winner: Thompson wins by TKO at 1:28 in Round 1, but it was more like a pointless, bloody massacre than a TKO. Unfortunately this would not be the last dumb, sideshow freak attraction of the evening. Silva would get another fight in Pride that he loses, and then he would go on to actually beat Akebono in Giant Silva's last MMA career bout at a K-1 event in 2006.

Makoto Takimoto (2-1) VS. Sanae Kikuta (1-1-1)
Takimoto won his last fight in Pride over Dong Sik Yoon at Pride 30. Kikuta is a Pancrase fighter and former Light Heavyweight Champion that has not competed in Pride since Pride 20 in 2002 where he defeated Alexander Otsuka.

Round 1. Kikuta goes for a leglock early, but Takimoto escapes. Kikuta controls Takimoto from on top and hits a nasty right shot. Kikuta lands some more solid shots from half-guard. Takimoto scrambles and gets some of an upkick, but Kikuta remains the aggressor. Kikuta passes Takimoto's guard and looks like he almost has a Dragon Sleeperhold applied. Takimoto tries to nee Kikuta from his position. Kikuta goes for Takimoto's back and gets on the hooks. Hooking strikes by Kikuta and a rear naked choke attempt. Takimoto blocks Kikuta from finishing the hold. Kikuta continues with some more strikes, but Takimoto is able to roll over and get up back to his feet. Takimoto pushes Kikuta into the corner but does nothing and the ref breaks them up. Short timeout to fix Takimoto's glove. Kikuta lands a few more strikes and then holds Takimoto against the ropes until the bell sounds.

Round 2. Takimoto whiffs on a high kick and falls to his back. Kikuta passes guard and lands some knee strikes. Kikuta continues to dominate Takimoto from the top. After a while, the ref issues Takimoto a yellow card, but it's not clear why. Takimoto has to get his glove fixed again. On the feet again. Takimoto swings and gets nothing, but grabs hold of Kikuta and gets a takedown. Takimoto's glove is still busted and needs to get it fixed for like the umpteenth time. Kikuta tries for an anklelock which Takimoto avoids but still gets taken down to the canvas. Kikuta transitions into the full mount again. Kikuta tries the rear naked choke again right about as the round ends. Kikuta has been consistently scoring more in this fight with very little from Makimoto.

Round 3. They trade standing up and Takimoto is finally able to get Kikuta down with some strikes. Kikuta relentlessly starts pulling at Takimoto's gi shirt. Is that allowed? The ref isn't saying anything. Kikuta works well off his back and reverses the position after going for another anklelock. Kikuta remains on top and keeps Takimoto down. Kikuta gets the back again with the hooks and lands some strikes. Round ends and that is it.

The Winner: Sanae Kikuta is awarded the victory by unanimous decision. Kikuta easily dominated that fight, but he was unable to really capitalize and finish Takimoto when Kikuta had Takimoto in many vulnerable spots and positions. The fight was pretty boring overall.

Aleksander Emelianenko (4-1) VS. Pawel Natsula (0-1)
Natsula is an Olympic Gold Medal winner for Poland in judo and made his MMA debut against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at Pride Critical Countdown 2005 where Natsula lost to Minotauro via TKO. Aleksander is the younger brother of Fedor and has won his last two fights in Pride against James Thompson at Pride 28 and Ricardo Morais at Pride Bushido 6. Aleksander looks like a mafia hitman or movie villain with all that ink he's sporting.

Round 1. Alek and Natsula trade a little standing up. Natsula pulls guard, but Alek lands a series of right punches. Natsula keeps Emelianenko from passing. Emelianenko leaves the guard and the referee stands Natsula up. Emelianenko aggressively swings at Natsula which Natsula ducks and gets a waistlock into a waistlock takedown. Natsula tries to transition over into an armbar, but Emelianenko slips out of it and gets to his feet again. They jockey for position against the ropes. Emelianenko lands a knee strike to Natsula's mid-section, but Natsula uses the waistlock to ground Emelianenko again. Natsula gets in the hooks and looks to get an armbar. Natsula almost just about has it, but the position against the ropes is very bad and Emelianenko is tries to block Natsula from finishing it. Aleksander uses his long legs to kick at Natsula's head from the hold, but Natsula holds on. In a beautiful ground display, Emelianenko uses his legs to scissor Natsula's head and uses his arms to grab hold of Natsula's legs to break the hold. Aleksander continues to land some brutal kicks to Natsula's head on the ground while Natsula goes into Emelianenko's guard. Natsula does some ground and pound, but Emelianenko gets a sweep to reverse the position. Natsula gives up his back. Bad move as Emelianenko scissors Natsula's body and lands some hooking blows to Natsula's noggin. But then Natsula slips out and reverses to the top again. Emelianenko maneuvers over and applies the kimura! Emelianenko releases the hold and gets into Natsula's half-guard. Natsula is looking pretty gassed right now. The referee breaks the action up and restarts it in the middle of the ring. Emelianenko easily rolls over Natsula and gets on the rear naked choke. Natsula taps and that is all.

The Winner: Aleksander Emelianenko at 8:45 in Round 1 by submission. A valiant effort by Natsula in his second career MMA bout against a scary Aleksander Emelianenko. Natsula put up a good fight, but Emelianenko's experience and skills won out in the end. Pretty fun fight though. Natsula would go on to have a few more fights, but a rather uneventful MMA career with only one career win.

Non-Title Bout: Fedor Emelianenko (11-0) VS. Zuluzinho (1-0)
Zuluzinho won his Pride debut against Henry Sentoryu Miller at Pride 30. But . . . let's face it, that was freaking Henry Miller. Seriously, what the hell is the Pride FC Heavyweight Champion doing in the ring with freaking Zuluzinho? Just another Pride freakshow the pretentious keyboard warriors won't come clean about for their precious, do no wrong organization. Bell sounds. Fedor quickly knocks Zuluzinho down with a super left hook and pounds him. Zuluzinho gets back up, but Fedor just as quickly puts him down again. Stay down bizzy! Series of vicious punches and that's it.

The Winner: Who do you think? Fedor is awarded the victory in 0:26 seconds in Round 1. What a complete and utter waste of the PRIDE FC HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION at one of your biggest shows of the year. Seriously, what the hell was this? Last year, you had Nogueira fighting Fedor for the heavyweight title. Stupid freakshow match. I mean seeing Fedor destroy some fat giant is kind of fun, but its also kind of lame that they would put on a fight like this. Fedor puts on his belt and gets a microphone. Fedor thanks the fans and apologizes to Zuluzinho. Fedor looks forward to 2006 and dedicates his victory to the Pride fans. Frank Trigg says he would like to see Zuluzinho in the 2006 Heavyweight Grand Prix. OK . . . please shut up Frank Trigg.

Naoya Ogawa (4-1) VS. Hidehiko Yoshida (4-3-1)
Ogawa is the former Olympic Silver medalist in judo while Yoshida got the gold. Yoshida defeated Tank Abbott by submission at Pride Final Conflict 2005. Ogawa beat Giant Silva by TKO at Pride Critical Countdown 2004. According to Dave Meltzer, both men were paid $2 million each for this fight. Ogawa and Yoshida have both opted for spandex trunks instead of traditional judo gi attire. They respect each others mad judo skillz that much. This was actually the main event of the evening, but was moved to the second aired match of the North American PPV broadcast.

Round 1. Bell sounds and Yoshida hits a pair of overhand rights and gets Ogawa against the ropes with a knee strike to the mid-section. Ogawa reverses and pushes Yoshida into the corner. The ref breaks it up for lack of ACTION! They trade some more strikes, and Yoshida looks for the inside heel trip and gets it. Yoshida goes for an anklelock and lays down. Ogawa is able to punch out of it and get into Yoshida's closed guard. Ogawa rains down some strikes, but Yoshida grabs Ogawa's arm and rolls the position over into an Americana (TM, Mauro Ranallo). Ogawa escapes and Yoshida spins around and scrambles over to Ogawa. Yoshida lands a Wanderlei Silva style head stomp. Ogawa grabs hold of Yoshida's foot, but Yoshida keeps nailing Ogawa's head with punches. Ogawa reverses to Yoshida's guard. Ogawa hits some lefts, and Yoshida tries to control Ogawa's wrists. Yoshida takes control of Ogawa's left arm and slips his legs over it. Armbar! Yoshida sinks its on and Ogawa falls to the mat. Ogawa isn't getting out of it, and that is all.

The Winner: Yoshida gets the armbar submission victory at 6:04 in the first round. Beautiful highlight reel finish with that armbar. Big celebration for Yoshida's victory.

Pride FC Welterweight Grand Prix Tournament Finals: Dan "Hollywood" Henderson (9-4) VS. Murilo "The Professor" Bustamante (3-3)
The winner of this fight wins the Welterweight Grand Prix and also becomes the first Pride FC Welterweight Champion. Henderson beat Murilo Bustamante at Pride Final Conflict 2003 by KO. Pre-fight video package shows the footage as well as the accidental headbutt by Henderson. Bustamante claims the headbutt caused him to lose the fight and he wants some retribution. Henderson and Bustamante are already in the ring as all rise for the playing of the Brazilian and American National Anthems. Instrumental music only, no lyrics. This is Henderson's first title opportunity in his career. Bustamante is the undefeated former UFC Middleweight Champion that finally has a chance to become a champion in his weight class in both the UFC and Pride FC. Henderson defeated Ryo Chonan and then Akihiro Gono at Pride Bushido 9 to advance to the finals of this tournament. Bustamante beat Masanori Suda and Ikuhisa Minowa to get to the finals. Hendo's been training with the likes of Dean Lister and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson for this fight. This fight will be under Bushido rules: the first round 10 minutes, and the second round will be 5.

Round 1. Hendo and Bustamante trade some quick shots, and Hendo lands a quick knee strike to Bustamante's head. Bustamante pushes Hendo over to the ropes, but Hendo reverses a sweep and lands on top. Hendo leaves the guard and avoids going in for ground and pound. Referee stands Bustamante up. Straight left jab from Bustamante and Hendo responds with a leg kick. Hendo goes in with his punches, but Bustamante ducks under and gets a nice single-leg takedown which Henderson immediately upkicks and gets up from. Henderson closes the distance with some punches and a knee strike and gets a right-handed uppercut off of the clinch. Left jab by Henderon. Bustamante and Henderson circle up, and Bustamante goes in for the takedown. Henderson defends and grabs Bustamante in a front headlock. Bustamante pushes into the corner, but Henderson turns the hold into a guillotine. Henderson releases as Bustamante continues to push him into the corner. Ref breaks them up and stands them back in the middle for lack of . . . ACTION! Henderson and Bustamante trade more standing up, Henderson's looks to be landing more with the punches and gets a knee strike to the mid-section. More circling and a right hook by Bustamante. They clinch again against the ropes and move over to the corner. Bustamante gets a leg in and an inside leg-trip takedown. Henderson tries to avoid damage close to the ropes. Bustamante gets into a full mount, and Henderson maneuvers his legs out and pushes Bustamante to his feet. Nice escape by Hendo. Bustamante tries for some foot stomps and then a big head kick. Henderson tries to sweep Bustamante's feet with his legs, but Bustamante goes back down into the half-guard. Bustamante tries to pass, and Henderson hits some knee strikes to Bustamante's head from the ground. Bustamante gets up again and goes for more stomps and head kicks. Hendo grabs Bustamante's leg following a head kick attempt and goes in for an anklelock, and Bustamante pulls his foot away. Bustamante tries to work in full guard again, but leaves it again and measures Henderson with a couple of punches. Henderson gets a low double-upkick. Referee stands both fighters up again. Henderson gets a nice left in, and Bustamante clinches it back up. Another inside legtrip takedown over by the ropes by Bustamante on Henderson. Bustamante goes in for a ground and pound and Henderson moves constantly kicking up and away at Bustamante. Bustamante again tries for a stomp, so Henderson just grabs the leg for a second anklelock attempt. Henderson leans himself upside against the ropes and fetals himself up. Referee breaks things up again. Henderson goes in and picks up Bustamante's left leg. Kick by Henderson to Bustamante's right leg, and Bustamante goes down. Henderson ties up Bustamante's legs and grabs the former champion in a front headlock. Henderson goes into Bustamante's full guard and just about has a guillotine applied. Bustamante is unable to escape or retaliate as the round ends. Close round. Bustamante scored more takedowns, but it seems that Henderson was able to hit just as many strikes off the ground as Bustamante attempted. Henderson scored more hits standing up and had two submissions applied. Henderson got the takedown at the end of the round and had Bustamante tied up and in a submission hold until the end of the round. Henderson worked well off his back and avoided sustaining much damage. Bustamante might've been on top more, but that doesn't score you points in Pride. Slight edge in Round 1 to Hendo.

Round 2. Henderson goes in and gets some right/left combinations and an uppercut. Bustamante goes for a takedown, but Henderson beautifully keeps it to the side and goes straight into Bustamante's full guard. Henderson tries to pass, but Bustamante's attempted upkicks keep him away. Referee stops them and stands up Bustamante. Bustamante lands some right and left combinations, and Henderson gets a straight left jab. Henderson grabs onto Bustamante and works for the takedown and gets it. Henderson leaves the guard, and Bustamante stands back up. Henderson and Bustamante start trading punches. Bustamante looks to be landing a little more. Henderson has a cut under his left eye. Bustamante looks for a takedown, but Henderson defends and leans against the ropes. Bustamante keeps at it but can't take Henderson down. Referee breaks them up and brings in a towel to wipe the blood off Henderson's face. Henderson comes out of the corner and trades again with Bustamante. Henderson then nails his patented right hooks and Bustamante is wobbled! Henderson follows it up with a million dollar knee lift strike, and Bustamante goes down! Henderson gets some ground and pound, but Bustamante is able to pull a half-guard to avoid getting murdered. Henderson grabs hold of Bustamante's head again in a headlock and lands some knee strikes. Bustamante is able to stand up in the hold again, but Henderson hits another pair of knee strikes that send Bustamante back down again. Henderson keeps Bustamante in the hold and goes to town with knee strike after knee strike. Henderson releases and lands another right hand and stands up. Fight has less than a minute remaining. Henderson tries for the takedown, but Bustamante blocks it and hits some body shots. Henderson avoids some shots and hits a right and left combination. Bell sounds and that is the fight.

The Winner: The fight goes to the judges. And . . . Dan "Decision" Henderson strikes again! Henderson is awarded the victory by split decision. Henderson becomes Pride FC's first ever Welterweight Champion and goes into MMA history books! For all intents, this should not have been a split decision. Bustamante did score more takedowns and landed some good shots. He did cut Henderson. However, Henderson landed with more, cleaner shots. Henderson had more submission attempts, and took down Bustamante and kept him in the guillotine until the end of the first round. Henderson came back from a trouble spot in round 2 after getting cut with a great combination and got a knockdown on Bustamante. Henderson kept hold of a headlock and landed a fantastic series of knee strikes. Bustamante stood the hold up, but Henderson knocked Bustamante down a second time with some big knee strikes while keeping Bustamante in the hold. This was Henderson's fight. As it turns out, Henderson would be Pride's only welterweight champion and would never actually get a chance to defend the title. However, Henderson's MMA history making moments were far from over. Henderson celebrates as he wins the first title belt of his career. Takada-san gives Henderson the golden belt. Henderson hugs one of the hot, Asian ring girls again. Don't watch Alison! An emotional Henderson gets on the microphone and thanks the fans and for the opportunity to fight for this belt in Japan and fighting Bustamante. Henderson poses while wearing the belt for some photo-ops as the fans cheer.

-Backstage interview with Henderson and talks about the fight. Henderson says Bustamante had him in trouble on his back a couple times, but came back and knocked him down and almost had him beat several times. Henderson doesn't believe it was close enough for a split decision, "but I'm not judging either." Henderson knew Bustamante would be tough and would have good boxing, but knew Bustamante would lack the power and feels that's what decided the fight. Henderson says he landed just as much if not more punches, but his punches also had more power than Bustamante.

Pride FC Lightweight Grand Prix Finals: Takanori "The Fireball Kid" Gomi (9-0) VS. Hayato "Mach" Sakurai (5-2)
Pre-fight video package. Gomi says he's not there to do tricks and this fight is like the younger brother fighting his big brother, so it's no problem fighting Sakurai. Sakurai says he and Gomi come from the same gym, and he knows Gomi very well, bearing no ill will, but the guy who gets the first big punch will get the KO. Gomi promises a knockout. Sakurai says he has more experience than Gomi and years earlier he was like Gomi and thinks Gomi will be nervous. To the arena with the Japanese National Anthem. Gomi defeated Tatsuya Kawajiri and Luiz Azeredo at Bushido 9 to advance to the finals. Hayato Sakurai beat Jens Pulver and Joachim Hansen to make it to the finals. Sakurai is also a former Shooto Middleweight Champion. Gomi looks down as he will not look his opponents in the eye before his fights. One reason this fight is a big deal is because Pride will be crowning their first ever Japanese champion for this fight. This fight is also under Pride Bushido rules.

Round 1. Tentative to start. Sakurai tries for a big head kick, but Gomi blocks. The Gomi rocks Sakurai with a huge right punch that looks like it seriously woke Sakurai up. Nice, quick 1-2 punching combination and a body kick by Sakurai. Gomi goes in and gets a big right hook. Big inside leg kick by Sakurai. So nice, Sakurai does it a second time. Gomi comes in with another huge right. Sakurai tries to get a Thai clinch, but Gomi separates to create distance. Gomi gets the better of the exchanges with some super-fast punches. Another inside leg kick by Sakurai. Gomi backs up Sakurai with some left jabs. Sakurai grabs Gomi's head, maybe looking for a judo takedown. Sakurai tries the takedown but isn't able to finish it, and Gomi keeps position on top of Sakurai. Gomi fully gets both hooks and body scissors Sakurai and lands some vicious, hooking strikes. Gomi is landing an unbelievable amount of unanswered, undefended punches on Sakurai. Sakurai is able to turn over, but is in a full mount from Gomi. Sakurai keeps turning over and gives up his back again but is finally able to escape out from under Gomi. Sakurai stands to his feet. The Gomi measures Sakurai with a right and puts down a worn out Sakurai with a right and left. Sakurai is down! The ref stops Gomi and it is over!

The Winner: The Gomi wins by KO at 3:56 in Round 1. The Gomi is the winner of the Pride FC Lightweight Grand Prix to become the first ever Lightweight Champion of Pride as well as the first ever Japanese champion in the company's history since they began in 1997. Gomi stands at the top of the corners and yells his excitement and probably gets the biggest ovation of the evening. Nobuhiko Takada gives Gomi his title belt. Trigg either sarcastically or bitterly expresses his feelings about not knowing what it feels like to win a title belt. Shut up Frank Trigg. Gomi gets on the microphone and says it was an honor to fight and beat Sakurai and thanks those at Kibuchi Dojo. He delivered on his promise on the knockout and not letting the fight go to the judges. Another huge ovation for Gomi as his music plays and celebrates with the fans and his belt. Gomi was at his absolute best here. Without a doubt one of the greatest lightweight fighters of all time. Unfortunately, Gomi seemingly peaked here. After this fight, Gomi was never quite as dominating or motivated as he was leading up to this fight and would go into a serious decline. Now at 30, Gomi seems to have lost what made him "The Fireball Kid" and such a dominating, vicious, and terrifying force at lightweight in the earlier years of his career.

Kazushi "The Gracie Hunter" Sakuraba (17-8-1) VS. Ikuhisa "The Punk" Minowa (6-5)
Sakuraba hand-picked Minowa as his opponent as he believes they would have an exciting bout.

Round 1. Sakuraba gets the better of the first two exchanges. Minowa goes down, but Sakuraba puts on a guillotine. Minowa fights and squeezes out. Sakuraba tries to control Minowa's arms in the guard. Referee eventually breaks them up. Minowa gets a couple punches and a takedown on Sakuraba. Sakuraba tries to apply the Kimura. Minowa lifts himself up and hooks under Sakuraba's leg. Pick up and an inside leg trip by Minowa, but Sakuraba keeps the armlock on Minowa. Sakuraba maneuvers around, but Minowa grabs the leg and gets a legbar and twists the ankle! Sakuraba sits up and tries to fight Minowa's hands off of the hold. Minowa is finally forced to release the hold by Sakuraba. Sakuraba passes guard and keeps himself on top of Minowa. Sakuraba gets a single hook off of Minowa's back and tries for a rear naked choke, but Minowa blocks Sakuraba from finishing it fully. Minowa reverses it and rolls over. Sakuraba keeps top position. Minowa gets up and tries to waistlock Minowa while Minowa looks for the Kimura again. Sakuraba gets it and wrenches it on. Minowa desperately tries to fight out but Sakuraba's not releasing it. With only 20 seconds left, Minowa taps and that is all.

The Winner: Sakuraba wins by submission with the Kimura at 9:39 in the first round. Big ovation and celebration for Sakuraba. Minowa even joins in as he walks to the loser's lockerroom.

Mark Hunt (2-1) VS. Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic (14-3-2)
This is Hunt's first fight since his split decision victory over Wanderlei Silva one year earlier at Pride Shockwave 2004. Cro Cop lost his bid for the Pride FC Heavyweight Championship against Fedor at Pride Final Conflict 2005. Cro Cop then beat Josh Barnett by unanimous decision at Pride 30: Fully Loaded. Mauro notes that Cro Cop is wearing wrestling boots, perhaps hinting he's been working on his BJJ more with Fabricio Werdum for this fight. Both Hunt and Cro Cop are experienced and decorated kick boxers.

Round 1. The kickboxers trade stiff leg kicks, and Mirko follows it up with a wicked head kick to Hunt. Hunt eats another kick, and then advances on Mirko with some strong punches. Inside low kicks by Mirko, and Hunt still advances. Nice left jab by Hunt. Some more punches by Hunt and he clinches Mirko against the ropes. Mirko jockeys for position against the ropes, and Hunt pushes him away. Hunt pushes Mirko into the corner before the action goes back to the middle. Hunt hits Mirko with a right jab. Little later and Hunt gets a nice left and a big knee strike. Hunt aggressively goes after Mirko with the strikes and has Mirko constantly backing away, but Mirko's not really counter-striking. Hunt continues to dominate Mirko on the feet with the superior punches. Cro Cop hits another head kick as the round ends. Wow. Hunt totally took that round. Cro Cop scored with some nice kicks, but Hunt was clearly the aggressor and was dominating Mirko with the striking. Cro Cop looked really off here, like he was surprised that Hunt was still standing after some of those brutal head kicks. Since Hunt is weak on the ground and has terrible takedown defense, one would think Mirko with his new BJJ training would try something like that.

Round 2. Round looks to be going much of the same way with Mirko backing up and eating most of Hunt's punches. Mirko does manage a nice leg kick followed by a nasty axe kick, but Hunt is not looking phased. They clinch for a while by the ropes and the referee breaks it up. Hunt nails a low kick and a big knee strike out of the Thai clinch on Cro Cop. Cro Cop just looks absolutely confused, befuddled, and frustrated with Hunt like nothing he can do is working. Hunt does a spinning back kick that gets a bit of Cro Cop's shoulder. Hunt continues to advance and dominate Cro Cop until the end of the round. Some nice kicks by Cro Cop, but this was easily Hunt's round again. Hunt is clearly hitting and scoring more. Cro Cop is off his game, backing up and not countering and being dominated by Hunt.

Round 3. Some aggressive exchanges and Cro Cop knocks the sweat off of Hunt's head with a big high kick and follows it up with another. Hunt continues with his gameplan and advances on Cro Cop with more punches and gets a nice high kick of his own. Knee strike to the mid-section by Hunt. Mirko tries his best Lyoto Machida imitation except he's being elusive without the technical striking. Hunt is getting pissed about Mirko running away. Cool moment as Hunt just stands with his hands at his hips, begging Cro Cop to engage. Cro Cop runs away again from an exchange and shakes his finger "NO!" Big mistake as Cro Cop is on the receiving end of a giant Kiwi Samoan with a flying body attack. It backfires on Hunt, and Cro Cop gets Hunt on his back. Cro Cop works in side control and then gets a full mount, but the bell rings to signal the end of the fight as this one goes to the judges.

The Winner: The fight goes to the judges, and Hunt is awarded the win by split decision. The second epic fail by the Pride judges of the evening. Look. There are close fights, and this was not a close fight. Yes Cro Cop did get some nice kicks, but Hunt never looked rocked or phased by them. Hunt constantly had Cro Cop backing away, and Hunt was the one engaging Cro Cop most of the time and hitting most of the punches, body shots, and knee strikes. This was quite frankly a pathetic and disappointing performance from Cro Cop. Cro Cop would actually come back and have a pretty good 2006 and go on to win the Pride FC 2006 Open Weight Grand Prix tournament. Good fight for Hunt, where he just dominated Cro Cop as well as a much more dominant performance than his fight with Wanderlei Silva at Shockwave 2004 where Silva clearly won that fight. Slow motion instant replays show Hunt eating all of Cro Cop's vicious head kicks. Yuck, nasty.

-Backstage interview with Mark Hunt. "Your thoughts on the fight?" Hunt: "It was a good fight . . . uh . . . yeah." Hunt said he was surprised by Cro Cop constantly backing away and making him give chase. Hunt says the kicks didn't phase him, but judging from his demeanor that seems rather questionable. Hunt honestly looks like he doesn't even know where he is right now. Those kicks probably did a lot more damage than he thinks.

-Pre-fight video package for Ricardo Arona vs. Wanderlei Silva for the Pride FC Middleweight Championship. Arona beat Silva by unanimous decision at Pride Final Conflict 2005. This was Silva's first official middleweight division loss in five years. That was the semi-finals of the Pride 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix. Arona then later in the night lost in the finals by KO to Silva's Chute Box teammate, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. Some clips of Arona dominating Silva in their Final Conflict bout. Arona wins, but the belt was not on the line. Silva says he respects Arona but as a fighter he hates him and will show him in the ring. Arona says he won't make mistakes and will win the fight. Silva says he won't let emotions get in the way. Arona says when Silva is aggressive he leaves more openings for takedowns. Silva says that it is on like Donkey Kong and the belt is staying with Chute Box.

Pride Middleweight Championship Match: Wanderlei Silva(c) (20-2-1, 1NC) VS. Ricardo Arona (7-2)
Here we go with the grudge rematch of the year. Arona had won four straight fights in Pride before the loss to Shogun in the Grand Prix finals. This is Silva's first title defense since he knocked out Quinton "Rampage" Jackson at Pride 28: High Octane in October 2004. The Brazilian National Anthem plays for both of the Brazilian fighters before the fight.

Round 1. Silva rushes in and Arona scores with the takedown. Silva moves away, gets up, and throws Arona with a hiptoss. Silva low kicks the legs of the downed Arona who doesn't do much of anything. Silva appears to be bleeding from the bridge of his nose. The ref finally breaks things up and stands both men up because Arona is being a wussy. Silva charges again and rocks Arona with a punch and gets Arona on his back. Silva kicks at the legs as Arona does nothing. Silva milks the crowd and walks away from Arona in disgust of his lack of engagement. Silva advances and punches Arona to the ropes again. They sprawl and Silva gets top position on Arona in Arona's full guard. Silva lands some strikes after they are moved back to the middle. Arona struggles for an armbar, but Silva avoids and they roll around and then separate. Arona is stood back up. Silva gets a body kick and a knee strike and takes Arona to the ground, landing some shots. Arona tries to keep wrist control, but Silva still gets in some more strikes. Back on the feet. Silva advances again with some more strikes on Arona. Arona then rushes in with a shot and then gets the takedown on Silva. Arona lands some strikes in Silva's full guard. Silva tries to lift his legs up for an armbar, but Arona passes into side as the round ends. Silva shoves Arona off after the bell. Hate so thick that you can cut it and take a bite out of it like a slice of pizza! Palpable hate energy and unsportsmanlike behavior in Pride FC? AWESOME! Something else the keyboard warriors won't own up to, especially from their lord and savior, Wanderlei Silva . . . who likes the chicken and the rice. Arona scored with the two takedowns and some ground strikes, but Silva scored more hits in this round and rocked Arona multiple times and also had Arona on the run. Silva was the aggressor while most of the round Arona laid on his back not doing anything while Silva kicked his legs.

Round 2. Some leg kicks and a good right by Silva. Arona gets a right of his own and pushes Silva against the ropes and follows that up with an inside leg trip takedown. Silva moves to avoid some of Arona's shots and grabs the arms and the ref moves their position back to the middle. Arona langs a big right handed punch to the grounded Silva. Arona passes Silva's guard into side control and lands a knee strike to Silva's head. Silva pushes off and gets to his feet. Silva lands more rights and a knee to the midsection, grounding Arona yet again. Silva works in the guard before the ref breaks it up and gives Arona a yellow card. Silva looks to get the better of the standing exchanges again, but Arona scores with another takedown. Arona lands a punch as the bell rings. This was a little closer. Arona hit all his takedown attempts, but Silva still had the fight standing up and was more the aggressor on the fight.

Round 3. Silva and Arona stand and trade. Arona goes in and hits a takedown. Arona lands some grounded strikes. They are moved into the middle of the ring, and Arona passes guard and hits a knee to Silva's back. Arona continues with more grounded strikes before the ref breaks the action up and gives Silva a yellow card for not improving his position. They collide and Silva grounds Arona with a hip throw. Arona again lays down and rides it out as Silva kicks the legs. Silva charges in with punches and takes Arona down. Silva gets a series of big right punches in the guard. Silva gets back up and kicks the legs as Arona begs Silva to engage him on the ground again. Silva doesn't call Arona's bluff and the round ends. The Pride FC Middleweight Title bout is going to the judges.

The Winner: The fight goes to a split decision which is awarded to Wanderlei Silva. Silva retains his title and still . . . likes the chicken and the rice. Silva was more the aggressor in the fight and scored more strikes standing up. Arona did hit all his takedowns and got some good ground and pound, but that won't necessarily win you the fight in Pride FC. This fight was very close, and it was a tough call. But when a fight is this close, it should be ruled in favor of the champion, rightfully so. Silva celebrates his victory and gets on the microphone. Silva thanks the fans for their support. Silva says to keep fighting no matter what the obstacle. Silva thanks Pride and says Pride is #1.

-Credits roll as all the fighters gather in the ring in a cool image.

BONUS FIGHT: Kazuhiro Nakamura (7-4) VS. Yuki Kondo (1-3)
This fight can be accessed on disc 2 of the DVD set. Nakamura is fighting at heavyweight at 220lbs, while Kondo is going in at light heavyweight with 194lbs.

Round 1. Nakamura shoots and gets a takedown. Nakamura lands pretty straight ground strikes in Kondo's guard. Kondo is able to stand up after a while, and Nakamura lands a type of judo throw but they land awkwardly against the ropes. Nakamura moves into side control and lands some knees to the head. Nakamura is back in full guard and lands some big punches. Kondo tries to hang on. Nakamura keeps at ground and pound strikes. The ref stands them up, and Kondo's face is looking raw, nasty, and battered. Kondo comes back with a big high that knocks Nakamura down and Kondo works in the guard for a while. Back to the feet and Nakamura lands some more strikes and they trade a little more before the end of the round.

Round 2. Nakamura jabs Kondo early and gets a knee strike to the head. Some more exchanges, and Nakamura lands a short double-leg takedown. More ground and pound strikes from Nakamura. Kondo later defends well from another takedown and gets top position over Nakamura and lands some good shots. Kondo did really well in enduring some tough shots and punches in this round. Kondo also hit some good shots of his own, but Nakamura still looked to land more hits.

Round 3. Kondo defends a takedown attempt and keeps the dominant position over Nakamura. Nakamura goes for another takedown but gets punched. Kondo works in the guard for a while and they are stood back up. Nakamura advances again with some punches and a head kick. Kondo grabs a front kick attempt from Nakamura and puts Nakamura down. Kondo is able to get side control and works the position into a mount into a rear naked choke attempt. Nakamura fights and reverses the position, and Kondo attempts a triangle. Kondo is able to get side control again and hits a knee strike right before the round ends.

The Winner: Kondo looked much better in the third round, but it looks like he couldn't quite come back from the big lead Nakamura amassed from the first two. Good decision. Good fight and a great effort from Kondo despite having to fight a heavyweight fighter.

-There a bunch of additional video extras on disc 2. There's about 45 minutes of additional interviews with the fighters, many of which are black and white pre-fight clips including extended clips that didn't make it into the broadcast. There are also some extended post-fight clips with Hunt and Henderson. In addition, there is also a video montage of the fighter entrances since they were clipped on disc 1. There's also a 23 minute "Countdown Show" featurette that runs down the big matches and hypes fighters like Gomi.

The 411: Two of the three split decisions were pretty lame. But all in all, a fun and very entertaining night of fights despite the freakshow matches and the bad decisions. Zuluzinho and Giant Silva had no business on this show. Zuluzinho had no business being in the ring with Fedor Emelianeko in a complete and utter joke of a fight. I despise Fedor's management for booking him in such a fight. Henderson wins his first title. Gomi is the #1 lightweight MMA fighter of the universe at this point. Silva's still totally BA. Strong recommendation to check out this show.

Final Score:  8.5   [ Very Good ]