A new fan's guide to PRIDE.

With the Yarennoka show coming up at the end of the year, I think this is a great time for us PRIDE FC fans to get on about "the old days." Y'know, like 2005.

A PRIDE FC slideshow, to get new fans in the mood, and to bring a tear to the eye of older fans. *sniff*

Seriously, though, I know a lot of new MMA fans are mostly familiar with the UFC. There's nothing wrong with that, of course; people who make fun of new fans annoy me. Those who started watching MMA in 2006 are no less fans than those who started in 1996.

On the other hand, UFC fans who refuse to watch anything else because they think it's inherently inferior annoy me too. So I thought I would make some recommendations for PRIDE Fighting Championships DVD rentals. You'll see a lot familiar names in these lineups, as several of these guys have migrated to the UFC and WEC. I'm pretty sure you can rent every PRIDE event from Netflix; I don't know about Blockbuster or other services.


NO SPOILERS IN THIS THREAD, PLEASE. This is for recommending past events to new fans. Go ahead and say, "Man, that fight was innssaannne!!!!", but if you tell us who won, I'll slap you with a piece of wet lasagna.


To get us started, I'll recommend the 2nd round of 2004 Heavyweight Grand Prix, PRIDE Critical Countdown 2004. This featured four tournament fights and three preliminaries. All of the fights were pretty entertaining, imho, and there were a pair of absolutely crushing body-slams that people still talk about today.

- Sergei Kharitonov vs Semmy Schilt
- Naoya Ogawa vs Paolo Cesar "Giant" Silva
- Heath Herring vs Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira II
- Fedor Emelianenko vs Kevin Randleman

- Kazushi "The Gracie Hunter" Sakuraba vs Nino "Elvis" Schembri
- Ricardo Arona vs Quinton "Rampage" Jackson
- Mark Hunt vs Hidehiko Yoshida


Next I'll recommend PRIDE Shockwave 2004. Shockwave was PRIDE's annual New Year's Eve show, and they always tried to pull out all the stops for it. This year's "Yarennoka!" show is a throwback to these events. This one featured the epic finale of the 2004 Heavyweight Grand Prix, and a Muay-Thai-vs-kickboxing slugfest that was straight out of a comic book. It was like watching The Thing vs. Terrax in real life, only the building didn't actually collapse around them; I think I got a concussion just from watching it.

Heavyweight Grand Prix Final & PRIDE Heavyweight Championship:
- Fedor Emelianenko vs Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira

- Mark Hunt vs Wanderlei Silva
- Takanori Gomi vs Jens Pulver
- Dan Henderson vs Yuki Kondo
- Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic vs Kevin Randleman II
- Rulon Gardner vs Hidehiko Yoshida
- Henry "Sentoryu" Miller vs Makoto Takimoto
- Ryo Chonan vs Anderson Silva
- Yoji Anjo vs Ryan Gracie
- Mu Bae Choi vs Paulo Cesar "Giant" Silva
- Stefan Leko vs Ikuhisa Minowa


Finally, step into PRIDE Total Elimination 2005, the 1st round of the Middleweight Grand Prix (in PRIDE, "Middleweight" was 93kg, or 205 lbs, the equivalent of Light-Heavweight in the UFC). You'll start to see here why Dana White was so eager to sign all of these guys.

- Kazuhiro Nakamura vs Kevin Randleman
- Ricardo Arona vs Dean Lister
- Yuki Kondo vs Igor Vovchanchyn
- Vitor Belfort vs Alistair Overeem
- Dan Henderson vs Antonio Rogerio "Lil' Nog" Nogueira
- Dong-Sik Yoon vs Kazushi Sakuraba
- Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs Mauricio "Shogun" Rua
- Wanderlei Silva vs Hidehiko Yoshida

i'd like to nominate bushido 9. i'm a big fan of all the bushidos but this one i seem to watch more than the others. all the fights are fast paced, with a couple devastating knock outs

Welterweight Tournament Opening Round:

Alternate Bout: Paulo Filho vs Ryuta Sakurai

Daniel Acacio vs Akihiro Gono

Ryo Chonan vs Dan Henderson

Phil Baroni vs Ikuhisa Minowa

Murilo Bustamante vs Masanori Suda

Lightweight Tournament Opening Round:

Alternate Bout: Charles Bennett vs Dokonjonosuke Mishima

Jens Pulver vs Hayato Sakurai

Yves Edwards vs Joachim Hansen

Takanori Gomi vs Tatsuya Kawajiri

Luiz Azeredo vs Naoyuki Kotani


Welterweight Tournament Semi-Finals:

Akihiro Gono vs Dan Henderson

Murilo Bustamante vs Ikuhisa Minowa

Lightweight Tournament Semi-Finals:

Joachim Hansen vs Hayato Sakurai

Luiz Azeredo vs Takanori Gomi

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Posted by loller90278

i'd like to nominate bushido 9.

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I haven't seen that one myself. I've just added it to my Netflix queue.

I'll recommend Critical Countdown 2005.

Sergei Kharitonov vs Pedro Rizzo

Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic vs Ibragim Magomedov

Makoto Takimoto vs Kiyoshi Tamura

Pawel Nastula vs Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira


Middleweight Tournament Quarterfinals:

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs Mauricio Rua

Alistair Overeem vs Igor Vovchanchyn

Ricardo Arona vs Kazushi Sakuraba

Kazuhiro Nakamura vs Wanderlei Silva


Also, when it comes out, Final Conflict Absolute is a must have.

This is great stuff man. I always thought PRIDE was a tad overrated since many American fans tended to look at UFC as a marketing experiment, which therefore made PRIDE the "real deal" if you will.

I never agreed with that point of view and I felt both companies were on the same level the whole time, but I hate PRIDE vs UFC talks and its great you are brining this wonderful organization back into the minds of fans right around there strongest time of year, New Years Eve.

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Posted by cmill21

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs Mauricio Rua

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That was a good one. Again I have to wonder why Lil' Nog hasn't signed with the UFC. I figured that with his brother on board, it would be a no-brainer, but I guess they're not joined at the hip...

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Posted by AchillesHeel

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Posted by cmill21

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs Mauricio Rua

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That was a good one. Again I have to wonder why Lil' Nog hasn't signed with the UFC. I figured that with his brother on board, it would be a no-brainer, but I guess they're not joined at the hip...

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No he signed the HCF I believe.

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Posted by cmill21

I'll recommend Critical Countdown 2005.

Sergei Kharitonov vs Pedro Rizzo

Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic vs Ibragim Magomedov

Makoto Takimoto vs Kiyoshi Tamura

Pawel Nastula vs Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira


Middleweight Tournament Quarterfinals:

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs Mauricio Rua

Alistair Overeem vs Igor Vovchanchyn

Ricardo Arona vs Kazushi Sakuraba

Kazuhiro Nakamura vs Wanderlei Silva


Also, when it comes out, Final Conflict Absolute is a must have.

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Couldn't agree with you anymore brother!

Besides those already listed(and i wholeheartedly agree with them all by the way) I would like to add Pride Body Blow

1 Antonio Rogerio Nogueira Kazuhiro Nakamura
2 Akira Shoji Alex Stiebling Decision
3 Alexander Otsuka Kenichi Yamamoto
4 Anderson Silva Carlos Newton
5 Dan Henderson Shungo Oyama
6 Antonio Schembri Kazushi Sakuraba 1
7 Quinton Jackson Kevin Randleman
8 Fedor Emelianenko Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira 1

Pride 10 return of the warriors

Vitor Belfort vs Daijiro Matsui
Guy Mezger vs Wanderlei Silva
Giant Ochiai" Takayuki Okada vs Ricco Rodriguez
Gary Goodridge vs Gilbert Yvel
Igor Borisov vs Mark Kerr
Enson Inoue vs Igor Vovchanchyn
Kazunari Murakami vs Masaaki Satake
Kazuyuki Fujita vs Ken Shamrock
Ryan Gracie vs Tokimitsu Ishizawa
Renzo Gracie vs Kazushi Sakuraba

and even though its new enough for even a lot of newer fans to see it Pride 33

Joachim Hansen vs. Jason Ireland
Frank Trigg vs. Kazuo Misaki
Travis Wiuff vs. James Lee
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou
Hayato Sakurai vs. Mac Danzig
Sergei Kharitonov vs. Michael Russow
Mauricio Rua vs. Alistair Overeem
Takanori Gomi vs. Nick Diaz
Wanderlei Silva vs. Dan Henderson

Add these to those already mentioned and IMO it is the very best of the Pride events. There are other great cards as well, and some cards with some really good fights, but overall I think those listed would benefit any MMA fan who wants to truly imbibe the spirit of Pride FC.

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Posted by AchillesHeel




To get us started, I'll recommend the 2nd round of 2004 Heavyweight Grand Prix, PRIDE Total Elimination 2004. This featured four tournament fights and three preliminaries. All of the fights were pretty entertaining, imho, and there were a pair of absolutely crushing body-slams that people still talk about today.

- Sergei Kharitonov vs Semmy Schilt
- Naoya Ogawa vs Paolo Cesar "Giant" Silva
- Heath Herring vs Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira II
- Fedor Emelianenko vs Kevin Randleman

- Kazushi "The Gracie Hunter" Sakuraba vs Nino "Elvis" Schembri
- Ricardo Arona vs Quinton "Rampage" Jackson
- Mark Hunt vs Hidehiko Yoshida

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Thats actully Critical Countdown 2004 not Total Elimination 2004

I'll add FInal Conflict 03

Gary Goodridge vs Dan Bobish
Rampage Jackson vs Chuck Lidell
Wanderlei Silva vs Hidehiko Yoshida
DAn Henderson vs Murilo Bustamante
Heath Herring vs Yoshihisa Yamamoto
Kazushi Sakuraba vs Kevin Randleman
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs Mirko Cro-Cop

and finally

Winner of Silva/Yoshida VS Winner of Rampage/ Lidell

Walmart has Pride 18 - 22 on DVD for $20, definately worth buying just for Don Frye vs Takayama and Wanderlei Silva vs Quinton Jackson

I stand corrected, the DVD is $16 on Walmart.com

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Posted by Tombsuprat

Thats actully Critical Countdown 2004 not Total Elimination 2004

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Good catch.

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Posted by Djbb

Walmart has Pride 18 - 22 on DVD for $20, definately worth buying just for Don Frye vs Takayama and Wanderlei Silva vs Quinton Jackson

I stand corrected, the DVD is $16 on Walmart.com

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Silva vs Jackson isnt on that set, they fought at FC 2003 and Pride 28

Any pridefc newcomer with an interest in pro wrestling must watch the legendary fight between carlos jr vs crocop. That was awesome !!
And i personally believe that one of the best fight i ever watched in pridefc was noguiera vs crocop. great fight !!

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Posted by Tombsuprat

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Posted by Djbb

Walmart has Pride 18 - 22 on DVD for $20, definately worth buying just for Don Frye vs Takayama and Wanderlei Silva vs Quinton Jackson

I stand corrected, the DVD is $16 on Walmart.com

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Silva vs Jackson isnt on that set, they fought at FC 2003 and Pride 28

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Ah you're right. The back of the DVD case said "Featuring: Wanderlei Silva, Quinton Jackson" so I assumed it was their fight. Good call.

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Posted by keith-hackney1

Any pridefc newcomer with an interest in pro wrestling must watch the legendary fight between carlos jr vs crocop. That was awesome !!
And i personally believe that one of the best fight i ever watched in pridefc was noguiera vs crocop. great fight !!

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Who's Carlos Jr? lol

Dos Carras Jr perhaps? Not really a legendary fight, but a good one. When Carras slumps to the floor you can see blood running down his mask ans dripping to the mat. Cro Cop's glancing kick split the guys scalp!

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Posted by Djbb

Walmart has Pride 18 - 22 on DVD for $20, definately worth buying just for Don Frye vs Takayama and Wanderlei Silva vs Quinton Jackson

I stand corrected, the DVD is $16 on Walmart.com

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agreed frye vs takayama... all i have to say is hahahahahahha omg that made me wanna get punched in the faced haha

I've always tried to follow Pride (as I am a relatively new fan; started watching just before TUF 1), but it is really confusing. Not only do they have Pride 1-33, but there are also other special events that are difficult to follow, like Bushido and Shockwave. Can somebody explain the Pride format to me?

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Posted by ohiostate1016

I've always tried to follow Pride (as I am a relatively new fan; started watching just before TUF 1), but it is really confusing. Not only do they have Pride 1-33, but there are also other special events that are difficult to follow, like Bushido and Shockwave. Can somebody explain the Pride format to me?

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I'm glad you asked. It does look a little different from the UFC. Where the UFC mostly organizes its events based on the experience of the fighters (new guys on TUF, ex-TUF guys on "Ultimate Fight Nights", and the top guys on the "UFC XYZ" pay-per-views), PRIDE mostly organized its events along the lines of its weight classes.

First, PRIDE staged a grand prix tournament each year, that played out over the course of a few events. Unlike the UFC's "The Ultimate Fighter" tournament, these featured the top fighters in the weight class.

- 2000: A 2-event, open-weight tournament, and they just called it "Opening Round" and "Finals."
- There were no tournaments in '01 and '02.
- 2003: A 2-event Middleweight tournament (remember that PRIDE's Middleweight division was 205 lbs), called "Total Elimination 2003", and "Final Conflict 2003."
- 2004: This was a Heavyweight tournament, and they added a third, middle, round. In order, the events were "Total Elimination 2004", "Critical Countdown 2004", and "Final Conflict 2004."
-2005: This was a Middleweight Tournament. "Total Elimination 2005", "Critical Countdown 2005", and "Final Conflict 2005."
- 2006: "Total Elimination Absolute", "Critical Countdown Absolute", and "Final Conflict Absolute" because it was an open-weight tournament.

PRIDE Bushido 1 was first created as a special event: Team Gracie (plus Shogun Rua) vs. Team Japan (plus Carlos Newton).

With the Middleweight and Heavyweight fighters the focus of the regular events, Bushido 2 through Bushido 13 showcased the Lightweight and Welterweight fighters. Again, note that PRIDE weight classes were a little different from UFC weight classes - "Lightweight" was 161 lbs, and "Welterweight" was 183 lbs. A couple of the Bushido shows featured mini-tourneys, such as "Brazilian Top Team vs. Team Japan."

With Bushido 9, in 2005, PRIDE decided to shake things up again and introduce a Lightweight Tournament and a Welterweight Tournament. The finals of these two tournaments took place at PRIDE Shockwave 2005. There was a second Welterweight tournament at Bushido Survival 2006 (aka Bushido 11). There was supposed to be a second Lightweight Tournament in 2007, which was rumored to include some UFC fighters (a poster for the event actually featured Matt Hughes and Diego Sanchez, although there was never any confirmation from Zuffa).

Starting in 2003, PRIDE Shockwave was the annual end-of-the-year event, and typically featured several hotly-anticipated matchups. As I noted in my first post, Shockwave 2004 is one of my favorite events.

There, see? It's not confusing at all!

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Posted by cmill21

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Posted by keith-hackney1

Any pridefc newcomer with an interest in pro wrestling must watch the legendary fight between carlos jr vs crocop. That was awesome !!
And i personally believe that one of the best fight i ever watched in pridefc was noguiera vs crocop. great fight !!

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Who's Carlos Jr? lol

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my mistake, beer talking, Dos Carras Jr, thats the one !! crocop domination !!

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Posted by AchillesHeel

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Posted by ohiostate1016





PRIDE Bushido 1 was first created as a special event: Team Gracie (plus Shogun Rua) vs. Team Japan (plus Carlos Newton).

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Shogun was not part of Team Gracie in that event.

Best of 5 Series:

Renzo vs Newton
Ralph vs Mishima
Daniel vs Kaz Nakamura
Rodrigio vs Takase
Ryan vs Hamanaka