The History Of Pride FC: Pride 33 - The Second Coming

Posted by Jeffrey Harris on 02.22.2009

Pride returns to the US for the second and final time in what would turn out to be without hyperbole the greatest MMA card in the history . . . of . . . history. The only Middleweight Champion in the history of Pride, Wanderlei Silva, puts his belt on the line against the reigning Pride Welterweight Champion, Dan Henderson.

PRIDE 33: THE SECOND COMING 2/24/2007



-The landscape for Pride Fighting Championships had changed. Pride had lost their major television provider in Japan after a scandal involving Dream Stage Entertainment being exposed as a front for the Japanese yakuza. The organization was also up for sale, with rumors of the world's premiere MMA company, the UFC, buying out Pride. Pride still went through with their planned shows and returned to the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas for their second show, hence The Second Coming. This however would end up being the second to last show of Pride FC, but it would be one for the history books. Wanderlei Silva after constant talk and chatter of him finally facing off against Chuck Liddell in a light heavyweight dream match, even going so far as challenging Liddell for a fight at Pride 32, puts his Pride Middleweight Title on the line against Dan Henderson, the reigning Pride Welterweight Champion. Please note that this review of the event is of the recently released DVD version that runs about 1 hour and 47 minutes, and is not the original PPV broadcast version of the event.

-Broadcasters for the event are Josh Barnett and Lon McEachern who run down the main event. McEachern informs us that Frank Trigg will unfortunately for everybody be joining the broadcast team later in the evening following his fight. Drat. Barnett goes over Silva's attributes and what Henderson has to do in order to stay alive. Remember since this show is in the US, it's being held under the sanctioned rules of the Nevada State Athletic Commission. All fights save for the title bout will be three, 5 minute rounds. The title bout will be alotted five, 5 minute rounds. Soccer kicks, stomps, and knees to a grounded opponent are illegal. There will be no green, red, or yellow cards.

-Lenny Hart and the Japanese announcer start the show off and introduce all of the night's competitors. There's a little pyro presentation in the ring to get the show underway. Ladies and gentlemen, this is more than MMA, this . . . is . . . the . . . PRIDE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIPS!

Joachim "Hellboy" Hansen (MMA Record: 14-5-1; Pride Record: 3-2) VS. Jason Ireland (MMA Record: 16-8-1; Pride Record: Debut)
Hansen's coming off a loss less than two months earlier to Shinya Aoki at Pride Shockwave 2006. Ireland's a veteran coming off a two fight win streak in King Of The Cage. Uh oh, look out, your referee for this fight is the eternally idiotic Steve Mazzagatti . . . who is wearing some form of a Euro-pornstar moustache. Who the hell does this guy think he is, Gung Ho?

Round 1. Ireland comes out swinging and gets some low kicks. Ireland then clenches and gets the takedown on Hansen. Ireland quickly pulls out of the guard, and Hansen pops back to his feet. Another low kick nearly trips up Hansen and makes him do a spin over to the ropes. Hansen rushes back in for more. Mazzagatti stops the action so Hansen's corner can re-tape Hansen's glove, must've gotten loose or something. Back to the fight and Ireland works for the clinch and lands some bodyshots. Hansen turns Ireland around into the corner but gets a knee strike to the midsection. Mazzagatti stops them in the corner for no reason and brings them back into the middle. Hansen clenches and bodylocks Ireland and takes him down by the ropes and works in the half-guard. Hansen passes to side control. Hansen manages a full mount, and Ireland turns over, giving up his back. Ireland struggles to get away, but Hansen applies a figure four body triangle and looks for the RNC. Ireland struggles and avoids the submission, and Hansen turns over perhaps trying for an armbar. Ireland escapes and gets right back to standing position. Hansen answers another low kick with a left strike. Leg sweep by Hansen gets Ireland down, and Hansen gets right into side control. Hansen does a beautiful roll through into a body scissors lock on Ireland. Hansen punches at Ireland's shoulder, trying to weaken him for the submission. Ireland defends and punches back at Hansen's head. Hansen instead rolls Ireland over and lands some hooking blows. Ireland reverses the position and stands up. Ireland lands down some ground punches as the round ends. Good first round. Ireland looked good early, but Hansen dominated and controlled most of the round and had the more impressive submission attempts as well as knocking Ireland down twice. 10-9 round for Hansen.

Round 2. Ireland comes out with a low kick and then a head kick which Hansen blocks. Hansen goes in, but Ireland turns the position around and takes down Hansen. They both get back to their feet. Hansen is now set off and gets an uppercut and drives Ireland to the corner with a knee strike. Thai clinch by Hansen and a series of knee strikes to the head, and Hansen continues to pummel Ireland back with some great combinations. Ireland grabs Hansen into a guillotine choke, but the announcers act like Hansen's in control . . . OK. Hansen slips out of the hold and looks for a waistlock. Ireland starts to stand just as Hansen lands a knee to the head and a one, two punch combination. Hansen absorbs Ireland's punches and low kicks. Hansen moves forward and aggressively punches away at Ireland. Ireland's got a mouse swelling under his left eye. More knee strikes to the head in the Thai clinch by Hansen, and he takes Ireland down at will. Hansen punches Ireland in the side in the half-guard while Ireland tries to grab hold of Hansen's right arm and kicks away at Hansen's leg. Ireland might be trying for a kimura, but he lets go and Hansen gets back into half-guard. Hansen passes into a full mount. Ireland turns over and totally gives up his back. Hansen has both hooks and starts landing hammering blows to the side of Ireland's head. Hansen looks over to the corner asking for the time. Round's almost over? Hansen simply transitions over into armbar territory, but Ireland keeps it from being completed. That's just fine for Hansen as rains down a series of nasty looking, pounding punches to Ireland's head. Hansen looks for Mazzagatti to stop it, and Mazzagatti does nothing as Hansen hits about 20 unanswered, vicious strikes to Ireland's head. Dana White was correct, Mazzagatti is not a referee. Will the NSAC review this guy already? That said, Ireland seemed to do enough for this not to be a 10-8 round, so let's say another 10-9 for Hansen, 20-18 overall.

Round 3. Check out Ireland's face. Sorry Ireland, but it's Mazzagatti's fault that Hellboy is going to hurt you even more. Hansen and Ireland start raising their hands, they are psyched. Hansen gets more knee strikes in the Thai clinch. Ireland tries for a single-leg pickup, but Hansen slips out. Ireland tries with some more low kicks, and Hansen finally whips out one of his own. And when I say whip, I really mean *whip*. Hansen kicks and punches at Ireland who swings at nothing but air in the corner. Ireland then retaliates with a pick-up and takedown. Ireland lands with some punches, and Hansen works his legs under in like a half-butterfly, rubber guard. Hansen hooks the legs over and there's the triangle! Hansen lands continuous blows on Ireland's vulnerable head and wrenches the hold on. Ireland isn't giving up. Fine by Hansen as he transitions right over into a nasty armbar that could wipe out third world countries. Hansen is bending Ireland's arm and is about to break it in half, so Hansen is begging Mazzagatti to stop it already as Mazzagatti just sits there and watches. Ireland finally decides to save his arm and verbally quits. Ireland . . . now you're done.

The Winner: Hansen wins at 2:33 in Round 3 with the armbar submission. After the dissolution of Pride FC, Hansen moves on to fight for the DREAM organization in Japan and is currently their lightweight champion after getting into the finals through a reserve match by beating Kultar Gill. Hansen avenges his loss against Shinya Aoki to win the DREAM Lightweight Grand Prix. Hansen is quite possibly one of the best lightweight fighters on the planet that's never stepped foot into the UFC. This was a hella fun fight. Hansen had a great, dominating performance coming off of a loss and came in with some great stand-up and an equally exciting and beautiful submission game. The announcers saying Hansen isn’t a strong striker are pretty ridiculous, especially while watching this fight.

Frank Trigg (MMA Record: 14-5; Pride Record: 1-0) VS. Kazuo Misaki (MMA Record: 18-7-2; Pride Record: 4-3)
Misaki won the 2006 Pride Welterweight Grand Prix, beating Phil Baroni, Dan Henderson, and Denis Kang to win the tournament. Misaki lost to Paulo Filho in the semi-finals, but Misaki was able to take Filho's place in the final round against Denis Kang, as Filho was too injured to go on with the fight. This is Trigg's first fight for Pride since 1999. The referee is the honorable Yuji Shamada.

Round 1. Misaki and Trigg jockey for control over the clinch and trade knees to the midsection. Shamada demands ACTION(!). Short takedown by Trigg right into side control. Trigg does some of the old wrestling lay and pray and works on the hooks and tries for a rear naked choke. Trigg can't finish it, so he lands some punches while holding onto Misaki with a figure four body triangle. It stays this way for the remainder of the round. Bell sounds for round 1. This was not a very impressive round for Trigg, but he got the takedown and had the control over Misaki for the whole time, so 10-9, Trigg.

Round 2. Trigg works for the clinch and gets the takedown into side control again. Trigg doesn't really do anything and generally just holds Misaki down. C'mon Shamada, demand some action! Misaki tries to roll over, but Trigg gets on the hooks and keeps mount. Trigg manages to land some punches. Misaki sweeps over and gets out to his feet. Misaki and Trigg exchange punches and Misaki lands a nice right hand. Trigg later shoots and gets the takedown on Misaki. Trigg works in the full-guard and gets a little ground and pound before Misaki gets some wrist control. Misaki defends in his full guard until the bell sounds to end round 2. Trigg continues to dominate and control the fight with his wrestling. Misaki doesn't have much of an answer for the wrestling or lay and pray. 20-18, Trigg.

Round 3. Some light exchanges on the feet, and Trigg shoots and scores with the takedown yet again. Misaki tries to get a triangle out of the full guard, but Trigg slips right out into side control. Trigg lands some knee strikes and punches from the side position. Misaki avoids the RNC again. Misaki gets back to his feet and goes for a high knee but gets punched for his attempt. Trigg gets another takedown and works in the half-guard. Shamada demands action but doesn't get it. Doesn't matter though, as time expires and that's the fight. More of the same in round three making this 30-27 and an easy win for Trigg.

The Winner: Frank Trigg wins via unanimous decision. Trigg relied on his superior wrestling and takedowns to win the fight. Misaki didn't have much of a response when Trigg was taking him down and holding him down pretty much at will. Not the most exciting fight, but it was decent. Matt Hughes is right though, wrestling is probably your best base for MMA, and MMA highly favors wrestlers.

Travis Wiuff (MMA Record: 42-8; Pride Record: Debut) VS. James Lee (MMA Record: 8-3; Pride Record: Debut)
Both fighters make their Pride debut for this show. Lee is a veteran of KOTC. Wiuff has fought in both the UFC and the IFL. Mario Yamasaki is the referee. Trigg has now joined the broadcast booth at this point to provide some color commentary. Oh joy.

Round 1. Lee rocks Wiuff to the canvas with a huge left. Wiuff tries to fight back up and takes Lee down. Lee gets up again and grabs hold of Wiuff into a guillotine choke. Wiuff takes Lee down again, but he's unable to escape the hold. Lee hooks legs around and grabs the arm, and Wiuff taps.

The Winner: Lee wins by submission at 0:39 in Round 1 with the guillotine choke. Lee won a couple more fights in KOTC and made his UFC debut at UFC 80 where he lost to Alessio Sakara via TKO. Lee was set to take on Tim Boetsch at UFC 88, but had to drop out due to an injury.

Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou (MMA Record: 2-1; Pride Record: Debut) VS. Antonio Rogerio "Little Nog" Nogueira (MMA Record: 12-2; Pride Record: 7-1)
Sokoudjou is a young, rookie newcomer in Team Quest, originally from Cameroon, Africa. This is Nogueira's first fight in Pride since Critical Countdown Absolute where he defeated Alistair Overeem by TKO. Nogueira looks like he towers over Sokoudjou in the opening staredown before the fight.

Round 1. Sokoudjou gets some inside low kicks and goes up with a head kick. Sokoudjou gets in to box and lands a big left hook. Nogueira goes down! The referee rushes in and stops it. Sokoudjou knocks out freaking Nogueira in 23 seconds!

The Winner: Sokoudjou runs around and celebrates with a huge upset knockout victory. Nogueira is laying down, looking like he's wondering what the heck just happened. Sokoudjou wins at 0:23 in the first round by knockout. Huge upset and it would not be the only for tonight. Not by a longshot.

Mac "Kick Ass! Go Vegan!" Danzig (MMA Record: 16-3-1; Pride Record: Debut) VS. Hayato "Mach" Sakurai (MMA Record: 29-7-2; Pride Record: 7-3)
Danzig makes his debut to Pride FC. Danzig's another KOTC veteran as well as the former KOTC Lightweight Champion, having lost the title to Clay French about a month beforehand. Danzig is facing an older and much more seasoned MMA as well as Pride veteran and fan favorite here. Yuji Shamada is once again the honorable referee.

Round 1. They feel each other out at first. Sakurai then comes in with some vicious strikes and doesn't hold back against Danzig. Danzig maneuvers away. Sakurai comes back in with punches and puts Danzig down with a pair of knee strikes to the head. Spinning discus punch gets a glancing land on Danzig. Sakurai gets a big body shot and applies the clinch against the ropes. Danzig breaks the clinch and keeps himself moving. Danzig looks like he's shooting for a flying armbar, but I think Sakurai blocks it and takes Danzig down. Danzig pulls half-guard. Sakurai moves into full guard, and Danzig avoids any major damage. Danzig looks to attempt a triangle, but Sakurai moves out of it and stands. Sakurai lands some low kicks, and then gets a beautiful, perfectly perfect judo takedown throw on Danzig right into side control. Sakurai tries a straight armlock, and Danzig keeps himself alive until the bell sounds. *Whew*. Heck of a first round beating Danzig took there, but he made it out intact at least. This is most definitely a fight of baptism by fire for the vegan. Sakurai just bullied Danzig with the stand-up and easily avoided all of Danzig's submission attempts. 10-8 round for Sakurai.

Round 2. Danzig comes in punching, but Sakurai grabs the clinch and takes Danzig down again. Danzig tries rolling up on his shoulders to armbar Sakurai, but Sakurai moves away. Back to the feet. Sakurai throws it down a little, and Danzig comes in with some more punches and kicks, but they seem to do little damage. Sakurai comes back and nearly trips up Danzig with another low kick. Danzig can't seem to check a low kick to save his life. Danzig and Sakurai circle. Sakurai lands a huge right hook right on the button. Danzig immediately goes down and crumples into the fetal position. Shamada stops it immediately and in the words of Bas Rutten: "It . . . is . . . over!"

The Winner: Hayato Sakurai wins by KO at 4:01 in Round 2. A valiant effort by Danzig, and props for toughing out that rough first round, but he was clearly outmatched here. This was probably the only fight besides the opening that went the exact way pretty much everyone expected. Sakurai ends his run in Pride FC on a high note. Following this, Danzig goes on to win the sixth edition of The Ultimate Fighter, totally steam-rolling through all his inexperienced opponents, many of whom had no business being on the show.

Sergei Kharitonov (MMA Record: 13-3; Pride Record: 7-3) VS. Mike Russow (MMA Record: 16-8-1; Pride Record: Debut)
Mario Yamasaki is the referee once again in this Russia vs. USA clash.

Round 1. Kharitonov scores early with a low kick and an inside heel trip. They both jockey over the clinch and break. Russow grabs a front karate kick from Kharitonov and puts the Russian down. Russow passes into side control, and then gets the full mount maybe going for the RNC. Kharitonov escapes and gets the dominant position on Russow. Russow stands to his feet and takes down Kharitonov. Russow tries to punch through the guard, but Kharitonov gets the armbar from the bottom. Russow taps, and Yamasaki ends the fight.

The Winner: Kharitonov gets the submission win at 3:46 in Round 1. Russow looks to be arguing the stoppage which ticks off Barnett who wants the fight restarted to see Russow get knocked out. Russow apparently wasn't arguing that he tapped like CB Dolloway, but for a different reason, I forget. Kharitonov most recently fought for DREAM last September. And despite career wins over Alistair Overeem, Fabricio Werdum, and Murilo "Ninja" Rua, Kharitonov has still yet to fight in the UFC.

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (MMA Record: 15-2; Pride Record: 11-1) VS. Alistair "The Demolition Man" Overeem (MMA Record: 24-9; Pride Record: 7-6)
To show how wonky this DVD is, Overeem is listed with the exact same MMA record stats as Rua. Overeem is in a pretty hefty slump in Pride FC, having lost his last three fights there. This is a rematch from the Pride Final Conflict 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix semi-finals where Shogun won by TKO. The referee for this fight is the highly dishonorable and incompetent, Steve Mazzagatti.

Round 1. Overeem and Shogun do some standing exchanges. Overeem clenches by the ropes and lands a knee strike. A little later and Overeem gets a hip throw on Shogun. Overeem grounds Shogun with a waistlock. Shogun rolls over and grabs a wristlock. Overeem gets out of it and tries for a front headlock, but Shogun gets up. Shogun gets some right and left hooks, but Overeem knees Shogun in the midsection when Shogun goes for a single-leg. Shogun is still able to move over into top position and stands over the grounded Overeem. Shogun lands a big punch from the standing position. Overeem upkicks. And then Shogun comes down with a huge overhand right that knocks Overeem out. A couple more punches by Shogun before Mazzagatti steps in to stop it.

The Winner: Shogun wins with the knockout at 3:37 in Round 1. Overeem was actually starting off pretty strong before Shogun got Overeem to the ground and finished him off with that vicious ground and pound display. An impressive knockout and finish by Shogun in what would be his final Pride FC fight.

Non-title Bout: Nick Diaz (MMA Record: 14-8; Pride Record: Debut) VS. Takanori "The Fireball Kid" Gomi (MMA Record: 27-3; Pride Record: 13-1)
Gomi is the reigning Pride FC Lightweight Champion, but is not defending the belt here. That was kind of another issue with Pride. You constantly had the champions fighting without defending their belts. Gomi did successfully defend his belt in his one and only lightweight title defense against Marcus Aurelio at Pride Bushido 13. Gomi is clearly the fan favorite for this one. Diaz is recently out of the UFC despite having won his last two fights there in 2006.

Round 1. Gomi starts with a takedown and goes into a waistlock. Diaz turns over going for a wristlock and tries to flip it over, but Gomi blocks and rains down some punishing punches. Diaz pulls full guard. Gomi gets up and passes with some more punches to Diaz. The ref moves the action into the middle after a while, and Diaz tries to slip on a triangle from the full guard position. Later back to the feet. Diaz comes in with his patented jabs. Huge right hook by Gomi puts Diaz down. Diaz stays in it as Gomi passes and lands more strikes. Fans are chanting for Gomi. Gomi is starting to look a little tired and surprised that Diaz hasn't been knocked out yet. Diaz stands again and lands more of his right jabs. The fight devolves into a slugfest, and Barnett busts out "Slobberknocker!" Diaz keeps landing with more of his light-looking punches, and Gomi is looking dazed. Gomi's hands are down and he's not even defending the strikes from Diaz. Gomi is swinging some, but he's not putting his hands up and blocking any of Diaz's punches. Diaz has a bad cut under his left eye. Diaz continues to just whittle away at Gomi. The crowd is reacting wildly. Gomi's manner here is just unbelievable. Gomi is swinging at air as the bell sounds and the round ends. Surprising that the fight didn't end there. Gomi just looked stunned and beaten there.

Round 2. Diaz uses his superior, long reach to continue picking Gomi apart. Fans are now chanting loudly for Diaz. The referee stops the action as Diaz cut on his face has opened up again, and its a gusher. The doctor checks on Diaz and lets him go. Diaz gets back into it and continues with his stand-up. Gomi is asking for the fight to be stopped because of the cut. Wow, Gomi is begging for a way out of this fight. If the cut is bad, then finish him off. Gomi gets a low double-leg takedown, but Diaz hooks the left leg under Gomi's neck. Right leg over the shoulder. Holy guacamole. Is that? Yes it is. GO-MOTHER-FREAKING-GO-PLATA!!!!! Gomi taps! By gawd! By gawd! By gawd! Nick Diaz beats Takanori Gomi with the undoable submission move!

The Winner: Well here's the thing, following this fight, Diaz tested positive for marijuana use. He's a Diaz and perpetually baked, not surprising. Diaz's win was overturned and declared a no contest in the record books. Barnett and the other announcers said it looked like Gomi did not train hard enough for this fight. After winning the title, Gomi really just seemed to lack that old fire and motivation in his later fights. And he's especially not been the same since this fight. At this point, Gomi can't reasonably be ranked as one of the top of the world lightweights right now. Despite everything, this was an amazing performance by Diaz.

Pride FC Middleweight Championship Bout: Dan "Hendo" Henderson (MMA Record: 21-5; Pride Record: 12-5) VS. Wanderlei "The Axe Murderer" Silva © (MMA Record: 24-3-1; Pride Record: 22-3-1)
This is Silva's first title defense since he beat Ricardo Arona at Pride Shockwave 2005. Henderson as the reigning Pride Welterweight Champion wishes to become the first man in the history of MMA to hold two titles in two separate weight classes at the same time. Henderson lost a decision to Silva over six years earlier at Pride 12. Since this is the clipped version of the show, we don't get any of the ring entrances or videos played for the fight. There was some cool stuff like Henderson shooting pictures of Silva with a bow and arrow at the archery range at Henderson's ranch. The honorable Yuji Shamada is the referee for the main event.

Round 1. Early on, Henderson slips off a leg kick, and Silva moves into the half-guard. Henderson works into a butterfly guard, and Shamada eventually stands them up. Henderson goes in with some punches and knees in the clinch. They get into a stalemate in the corner and Shamada calls for a break. Henderson lands some big left and right punches. Henderson hits a big right hook that almost sends Silva down, and Hendo lands knee strike to the midsection. Silva comes back and lands a flurry of punches of his own, but Henderson keeps his composure and doesn't get knocked out. Time runs on the clock and that's it. Close first round. You can argue that with Silva lying on top of Henderson early on and the punches he landed near the end he could've won the round. But overall, it looks like Henderson won the stand-up in round one, so say 10-9, Henderson.

Round 2. Henderson and Silva clinch. Henderson gets the bodylock and goes for the takedown, but he doesn't get all of it. Henderson however puts Silva right into a guillotine choke and lands a pair of knees to the head. Silva slips out. Henderson takes Silva down into the corner. Shamada moves them into the middle of the ring, and Henderson goes into Silva's full guard. Henderson is able to land some punches, and Silva is cut. Silva tries to lock the arms of Henderson up, so Henderson butts his shoulder into Silva. Henderson lands some hammer shots. Henderson continues with more ground and pound punches. Silva attempts an armbar, but Henderson passes over it, but doesn't attain side control. Shamada moves them back into the middle after they get too close to the ropes. Henderson is back in Silva's full guard, but Silva with the armbar! Nope, Henderson slips out and lands two big overhand right punches. Time expires and round 2 is in the books. The submission attempt by Silva keeps him from getting an 8. Still, Henderson totally just dominated Silva on top and on the ground. Silva avoided going to ground in the first, and Henderson took Silva's submission attempt and escaped. Another 10-9 round for Henderson, and 20-18 overall.

Round 3. Silva lands with a low kick and misses with a second. Henderson is looking very calm and straight with his demeanor. Henderson lands with a right, and he goes in for a double-leg and gets it. However, Silva rolls it over and gets on top with a front headlock. Henderson gets up, and Silva goes for a waistlock. Henderson moves over to the corner, and Silva boxes some right and left punches to Hendo. Silva lands a straight left jab. Henderson swings and lands with a perfect spinning backfist. They exchange. Right hook lands on Silva. Henderson comes in with a big left hook and gets all of it. Silva goes down! Henderson drops down one more overhand right for good measure, but it's already over! Hendo wins! Hendo wins! Hendo wins!

The Winner: Henderson gets the KO at 2:08 in Round 3. Henderson becomes the first man in the history of MMA to gain possession of two belts in two separate weight classes at the same time in the biggest fight of his career.

DVD BONUS FEATURES

Weigh-ins - The controversial Jerry Millen directs all the fighters for the official weigh-ins and photo-op for the event at Caesar's Palace, complete with Roman guards. This runs about 8 minutes total. Listening to Jerry Millen constantly talk and shill isn't very impressive.

Pre-fight Press Conference - Trigg guarantees his fight won't go to the final bell. Uh yeah, sit back down Trigg. Select fighters at Millen's direction give their comments on the fights. Silva does not say he likes the chicken and the rice, but does say he will knock out Henderson for his fans. This extra runs about 7 minutes, nothing special.

Fighter Picture Montage - This is a two minute, edited photo montage of Pride's second US tour for the event. Some pictures of the fighters are shown with some very generic music in the background for about two minutes.

Post-fight Press Conference - Video of the post-show press conference at Caesar's Palace. Hendo says he broke his right hand in the first round and that's why he finished Silva with his left. Henderson says the fight went the way he planned it to go. Shogun says he'll bring back the title belt to Chute Box. I'm assuming had Pride survived the downfall somehow, the idea was to groom Shogun to compete for the middleweight belt after Silva lost it. But . . . you all know what happened really. The video runs about 4 minutes.

Fighter Walk-ins - A montage video that runs through all the fighter entrances that aren't shown on the DVD. This feature rushes through all the fighters’ entrances including some clips of their entrance videos for about 6 minutes.

Fighter Interviews - These are some interviews with select fighters before the Pre-fight press conference. There are a few clips with people like Danzig, Henderson, Sokoudjou, and Trigg. Basically the fighters that can speak English. The answers at least are a little less rehearshed. This feature also runs about 5 minutes.

The 411: This is the definition of what a 10.0 MMA card is and should be. No stupid freakshow matches. No crazy mismatches with the weight classes. Just a great night of fights with something for everybody, and a classic moment and main event in the final days of Pride's legacy. This show really represents what MMA could and should, and what so many fans loved about Pride FC despite the problems. This would've been a hell of a final show for Pride, but alas, Pride FC went back to Japan won last time in April for Pride 34: Kamikaze, which was the very last Pride FC event.

Final Score:  10.0   [ Virtually Perfect ]