Adaptation

After watching the last UFC show in which Anderson Silva stunningly stole Rich Franklin’s mojo (it was a complete replay of UFC 19 Wanderlei Silva vs. Tony Petarra) the thing that most stood out in my mind was the fact that many veteran hardcore fans had watched Anderson “grow up” on the PRIDE stage, and suddenly here he was in Vegas, in the octagon. Therefore, the Brazilian’s victory was not such a surprise given the high caliber of fighters, which roam PRIDE’s pastures. And now, amid a years rumors of the organization dissipating, “a sinking ship” (Kazushi Sakuraba bailing) controversy, and after many a skeptic’s doubts PRIDE’s pastures have planted seed in North America, coming to the wild western gambling world of Las Vegas for the first time in human history. Now the question is, will the North American soil adapt to this high end MMA production from Japan; will the Japanese cherry tree blossom in the Nevada desert? Will the American MMA fans palates be pleased by carefully selected gourmet Sushi instead of their usual steak or burger hunks?

Full Circle
This is as big as the Asians crossing the bearing straight and giving some of us the “Mongolian” gene. As a matter of fact after binging on old school PRIDE tapes as well as ancient UFC’s; one realizes that a notable part of PRIDE’s talent originated from the UFC in the first place. On this Las Vegas card, how could anyone overlook Dan "Hollywood" via Tokyo Henderson taking on the once meteoric teen striker who melted opponents down in the octagon, a still young Vitor Belfort? This was a technically exciting and intriguing match up for hardcore fans, and fortunately, the only match that went to the judges in PRIDE’s American debut. Wow, Henderson returns to fight at home after eight years of competition in Japan. Obviously PRIDE continues to believe in the quality of Dan Henderson’s fighting, and the weight his name carries to attract the American audience. At the press conference the calm and unscathed Henderson expressed that he knew he would "beat up" Vitor and expressed that he fought a "bad fight" against a smaller Kazuo Misaki in the Bushido Tournament, when questioned on the subject.

Although Olympian Pawel Nastula came out striking hard, then trying to lay and prey, "The Baby Faced Assasin" turned it around with a supreme submission and tap out via ankle hold.

Going Home

For fighters such as Josh Barnett, Mark Coleman, Kevin Randleman, just to name a few of the bigger boys, returning to North America in this unique PRIDE event must have been indeed nostalgic and a chance to redeem themselves against the local authorities which had already let them down in different ways. These men must have longed to fight in the U.S. again in front of the hometown audiences and they did it with a Japanese paycheck in a unique PRIDE show, although some of them would not fare well against their overwhelmingly dominating adversaries. For the Buckeyes on this particular night it was the greatest challenge, and veteran Randleman must have been hungry to prove himself to the pilgrims one more time, after coming so close to a belt in the octagon (controversial loss to Bass Rutten) and having a bitter departure after his quick and controversial Chuck Liddell UFC encounter. He could now change the taste in his mouth by confronting a true heavy from PRIDE in Murillo 'Ninja' Rua's lil’ brother, Mauricio, whom Kevin edged out in a decision once upon a time.

Rules
Unique in this case is a double edged sword, as PRIDE’s staple rules have been denied and circumcised (no knees, kicks or stomps to a grounded opponent) and of course as always there are no bloody elbows to decide the outcome; as was almost the case in the last UFC lightweight championship. So the rules alone will have a large impact on certain fighters' styles (in PRIDEUSA), such as Mauricio Shogun, or Wanderlei, whose principal modus operandi is striking, grounded opponents especially with knees and soccer kicks and stomps to the face. Chute Boxe’s hyper striking style will be toned down, limited to a standing opponent unlike in the usual Japanese landscape of rules. Shogun, in this case modified his strategy or seized the opportunity, simply latching on to Kevin Randleman’s leg. I’m sure that in the future he will have no problem applying his sharp knees to the body, although he will miss the urge to land them on his grounded opponents, such as Coleman experienced on this night, unnoticed by the authorities. When Shogun dropped for a knee bar, the entire fight became, how much tolerance to pain and torque can Randleman exhibit? Call it heart or call it something else, Kevin did not tap out until 2’35” but unfortunately it was only the first round. I was left wanting to see a little more of an exchange, but we’ll have to wait till the next time.

Tripping
It was a long journey to Vegas from Brooklyn by way of LAX, but it was more than well worth it. Although Las Vegas is hell on earth if you are a sober man (had a rougher sake voyage the night before in NYC) it was as if the apocalypse had landed in a new form in the middle of the desert. But this apocalypse turned out to be a high tech Japanese vessel with a ring in between its neon wings and laser columns, manned by names such as Fedor Emilianeneko (as captain Kirk) and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua as Spock. L.V.U.’s Thomas & Mack Center had never been transformed quite like this before. Sure there had been fiercely loud pyrotechnical rock n roll shows, but never with such fury, intensity, knees, fists and submissions. So it wasn’t just grinding riffs that made the almost full house shake, but the grinding rhythm of martial arts from the top MMA competitors in the world.
Waiting outside the arena waiting for the doors to open with all the MMA fans and media flashed me back to my youth, waiting to see The Who in Cincinnati. One could feel the anticipation, as the crowd heated up the concrete, but this time nobody was trampled, as the gates opened only fifteen minutes later than promised rather than three hours. And once those gates opened the crowd ascended to the arena in great anticipation of seeing some legends of both American and international MMA, as well as being a part of history.

Paraphernalia
And it was indeed like a major rock show, as the main hall of the cylindrical structure was plastered with amazing paraphernalia, including beautiful colorful glossy programs (including the PRIDE girls), as well as an arsenal of very groovy T-shirts for all the American fans. Now everyone was part of the team, whether from Brazil, Russia, Japan, or at least for that moment in their cool new Tees they were transformed; Chute Boxe, Red Devil, BTT, Yoshida Dojo, etc…
When entering the arena, someone from the Thomas & Mack Center told me they were only expecting about ten thousand people, and I understood the preoccupation of PRIDE’s organizers; did we get our message out there to the American fans? Can we fill the house?

Kevin Randleman shouldn't feel too bad, giving it up to Ninja's Lil' Bro', as Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua is undoubtedly one of the most popular and dynamic fighters in the world currently.

With A Bang
As a huge curtain, the size of a football field dropped, the audience was suddenly elevated into the Mother Ship. When the massive graphically vivid columns appeared and the music, MC, and pyrotechniques kicked on, it was as if thousands of us had suddenly been beamed into an alien spaceship and would be taken on a journey which would be unforgettable.
Obviously for almost all the fans this was the first time witnessing a PRIDE show, and despite the revised rules and five-minute rounds, it was not a let down whatsoever. As the fighters were introduced in gigantic fashion, this was only the beginning.

Fight/No Fillers
After the Nevada State Athletic Commission and referee Yuji Shimada were greeted with overwhelming persiflage, BOOOO…” I realized this audience was at least educated in the traditions of MMA.
It was interesting to witness the re-emergence of Robbie Lawler to the big stage. He attacked with such a vengeance and aerial limbic poetry, but perhaps that vengeance was not necessarily directed towards his who had risen from KOTC, as much as towards that other big show that had cut him loose. By the time Robbie assaulted Joey Villasenor with a round house and a flying knee to the face, I looked around the tiers and was amazingly surprised that the house was already starting to look full as many fans jumped from their seats at the flash ending. This was unlike many UFC shows during warm up bouts were the audience doesn’t land till it’s “LIVE on pay per view.”

Star Power
I suppose the main reason for this was the STAR POWER of the entire card. There were no warm up bouts they were all top notch bouts, as Kazuhiro Nakamura followed suit with a beautiful entrance piece by The Yoshida Brothers, and ended his fight with a knee to the face against Canadian Travis Galbraith. During the first round it was a highly technical back n forth bout, but then it seemed like it was going to turn out to be a typical Nakamura encounter, going to the judges. But fortunately the powerful judoka who received a warm reception from the Vegas house sealed the deal with a nice sudden right knee to the tough crouching Canadian. Up to that point it was anyone’s fight, but what ran through my mind was the fact that three judges had already partially sealed the fate of the encounter with the ten-point must system applied to Boxing. This was the case when Vitor fought Henderson later on, but knowing that he was behind 20-18 by the end of the second did not seem to inspire Belfort towards the KO or submission finish.

Robbie Lawler made his return to the big stage in style catching Joey Villasenor's chin with a solid flying knee.

A Hungry Man
Josh Barnett must have been especially hungry to prove himself after having been controversially stripped of his UFC belt in this very same state by the same local authorities. Although his Olympian opponent Pawel Nastula is rather inexperienced in MMA still, he is a formidable athlete and was almost able to pull off an upset by laying and preying upon Barnett. After the initial five minute round Josh was likely behind on the judges cards and felt the pressure to finish the fight. After perhaps relaxing forawhile, Josh reversed the situation and finished with an artful and painfull ankle hold. At the press conference Josh mentioned that he had fought seven times in the last year, (alot in MMA standards)and he was still a bit "beat up." And although Josh did not mention the name, it was perhaps Hiroyuki Abe, who helped him perfect his leg submission arsenal. Later on when Fedor expressed his desire to fight Josh when it was inquired, the American simply grinned putting his arm around the indestructible heavy weight. who sat next to him. Somehow, I don’t picture the ending of that match to be as pretty as the ending of this post fight press conference.

Flash
The real highlight for many fans was witnessing the biggest and best fighter in the world, as the very humble Fedor Emilianenko did his thing against The Hammer. Although in true Capt. Kirk fashion, he transformed the Hammer into a Vulcan like species with his fists, he couldn’t have made a rougher homecoming out of it for Mark Coleman. The bludgeoned Coleman though was able to make it even more uncomfortable for everyone (especially Fedor) by bringing his young weeping daughters into the ring. If anything, this gave more ammunition to John McCain and his boys who view MMA as “cock fighting.” His team mate Phil Baroni who fought the most intelligent fight of his life on this particular night, defended his mentors actions at the press round, by stating that The Hammer wanted to show his daughters what dad did for a living.
Fedor, admitted that he was extremely nervus when Mark brought the kids to him, but when the subject changed, with a little grin on his face, admitted that he made the fight last a little longer since he needed to test his MMA skills after a one year absence from the ring.

Like A Plague
Will PRIDE bring an MMA plague into the New World like Nosferatu and contaminate everyone, or will today’s innocuous new fans simply overlook this major show? Those of us who experienced it live feel as if we were abducted by aliens, and we welcome them back. Will the impact sustain, or will it be a flash in the desert pan? Lets face it folks, Americans are a very particular culture, the humor, favored sports, etc…and besides, we already dig the UFC. But hey, the UFC would have never matched up or imagined Eric Butterbean Esch against Mark Hunt, although Sean O'Hare was brought in to replace the former Samoan K-1 fighter.

The biggest obstacle for DSE will be, having to submit to the local authorities and loosing that autonomy which they express in the land of the rising sun. Luckily, this time the judges only got one bone thrown at them and the call was obvious. So lets hope that the quality of judges rises as the stakes are rising for MMA in this country. Obviously this Japanese organization knew that they had to make a major splash to attract these abstract American audiences to their ring, as most mainstream fans in the U.S. seemed to only be aware of the biggest dog pound in town, the UFC. It seems like the ads PRIDE ran on Spike TV during the TUF 4 show paid dividends, because this impact definitely shook the earth, and this house.

New Sheriff
It is obvious that PRIDE did not come here to full around, and it is not just a one shot deal in the U.S.A., (February 24, 2007) as reiterated by the man himself, Mr. Wanderlei Sylva, who called out the name "Chuck" (Liddell) and reminded him that he was now in his town. The appearance by Nobuhiko Takada and Kazuyuki Fujita during intermission also added to the drama. Now the question is, “Is this town big enough for the both of them? Who will be reduced to deputy?” In the end, PRIDE made the UFC look like KOTC, now can they co-exist, will the UFC at least wipe the blood off their fighters?

Other Photos and PRIDE USA Complete Results >>