First five minutes.
His strategy was to go toe to toe for the first five minutes because Kazushi Sakuraba was aware of his own advantages.
He believed he was superior in the grappling department, submission techniques, cardiovascular workouts; stamina!
Sakuraba wanted Wanderlei Silva to expend as much energy as possible in the first five minutes. It was surely a gamble to go toe to toe against the current Pride Middleweight Champion from Brazil’s Chute Boxe Academy, a factory of mean lean striking machines.
Sakuraba however thought he could stand against Wanderlei for five minutes - and indeed, he did.
But he danced a touch too long, one second too many, to be precise.
And the result was just devastating.

Yes, "devastating" is too weak a word for this.
It was shocking - in fact, but even "shocking" is too weak a word.
We all knew how lethal Wanderlei's striking could be but Sakuraba was supposed to be too smart and too slick to get knocked down.

Mark Kerr once called Sakuraba "The Michael Jordan of MMA," but I always thought he was more like Magic Johnson. What I mean is that to me the rivalry between the UFC and Pride is quite similar to the one between the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers back in the 80's. The Old vs. The New. Gritty "street-style" vs. flashy "show time!" Sports broadcasting vs. Entertainment coverage.

And in the middle of the big entertainment show was a fighter named Sakuraba. He definitely was "Magic" in the early years of Pride's ten-year history but on August 10th, 2003, in Saitama Super Arena; Sakuraba looked more like he was in Larry Bird’s twilight years.

Larry was not a physical phenomenon but he was indeed an artisan of basketball, just like Sakuraba, the master of submission wrestling. Larry's no-look passes and game-ending three pointers were just as captivating and thrilling as the tricky moves and breathtaking techniques Sakuraba displays on the white mat. The huge taping job on both of Sakuraba’s knees somehow reminds me of the double heel injuries Larry suffered back in 1988.

Both Larry and Sakuraba are true professionals. Both have clear understandings of their places and how they affected their own sports (team) individually. Larry knew back then that the Celtics would be in chaos without Larry and I believe Sakuraba somehow senses that Pride does still desperately need Saku (39), the biggest marquee name in the history of Japanese MMA. Larry Bird finally retired due to a back injury, not because of heel injuries or the pushing and banging brought on by the Detroit Pistons. Sakuraba is the same. Wanderlei's striking and his own injury-riddled knees are not a good enough reason for him to consider checking out early.

The truth of the matter is that Sakuraba is the only true top Japanese fighter in a Brazilian and American dominated Pride Fighting Championship. The other Japanese fighters like Kazuyuki Fujita, Yoshihiro Takayama, Tokimitsu Ishizawa, Daijiro Matsui, and Daijyu Takase, did or are doing very well both in the ring and at the box office but none of them really belong in the same sentence as Sakuraba.
Let's face it. Sakuraba is the only Japanese fighter from Pride who is starring in nationally televised TV commercials. (Sure, I've seen fighters like Fujita and Satake in TV commercials but they were too far from being a main talent /a spokesperson) In other words, the majority of the Japanese general public can only recognize one Japanese fighter in Pride and that is Kazushi Sakuraba.

I believe Sakuraba understands that very well.
Here is a fighter with more than enough experiences of having had his employers go out of business. The worst scenario for a professional fighter is to be in a situation where there is no place to fight. There is no gig, no fans! Sakuraba knows that very well because of what he went through at UWF International and Kingdom, both of which busted. That's the reason why Sakuraba is one of the few professional fighters in the sport who never gives away free tickets, not even to his closest friends. He knows that the money fans spend on tickets and PPV determines the fight money.

So, it was not a big surprise to many when Sakuraba was already back in his normal joke mode just nine days after the fight. However, I believe he was dead serious when he said he is willing to take on Silva - ten or twenty times - till he wins. It is partly because of his conscience as a professional athlete but mainly because of his warrior mentality.

Sakuraba knows that any act of showmanship or flirting with the media would look ridiculous without being a true

warrior in the ring.
After all, he was recognized as the world's top MMA fighter when he dominated Vitor Belfort and Ebenezer Fontes Braga. Then he became a showman in a series of fights against the Gracie Empire. He then secured a status of "TRUE ROAD WARRIOR" when he took on hard-hitting Igor Vovchanchyn after fighting one hour and forty-seven minutes against the awesome Royce Gracie. And his warrior mentality was again confirmed when Sakuraba decided to allow Cro-cop to use "knee strikes to the head on the ground" even though Saku was more than twenty pounds lighter.

Sakuraba is a warrior so he will keep on fighting. Sakuraba decided to continue because he feels he can still compete in the top level, and he probably also understands that "the challenge to overcome obstacles" can be the biggest entertainment. Basically, Sakuraba is willing to continue for himself, for the fans, and for the promoters because he is indeed a true professional just like Larry Bird or Magic Johnson for that matter.

Kazushi Sakuraba's MMA Record:
 
No Contest - premature stoppage
vs. Marcu Silveira
at UFC Japan - Ultimate Japan 1
(12-27-1997)

Win - submission (armbar)
vs. Marcus Silveira
at UFC Japan - Ultimate Japan 1
(12-27-1997)

Win - submission (armbar)
vs. Vernon White
at PRIDE 2 (3-15-1998)

Win - submission (kneebar)
vs. Carlos Newton
at PRIDE 3 (6-24-1998)

Draw
vs. Allan Goes
at PRIDE 4 (10-11-1998)

Win - decision (unanimous)
vs. Vitor Belfort
at PRIDE 5 (4-29-1999)

Win - submission (armbar)
vs. Ebenezer Fontes Braga
at PRIDE 6 (7-4-1999)

Win - submission (armbar)
vs. Anthony Marcias
at PRIDE 7 (9-12-1999)

Win - TKO (kimura)
vs. Royler Gracie
at PRIDE 8 (11-21-1999)

Win - forfeit
vs. Guy Mezger
at PRIDE GP 2000 - opening round
(1-30-2000)

Win - TKO (towel thrown)
vs. Royce Gracie
at PRIDE GP 2000 - finals
(5-1-2000)

Lost - TKO (towel thrown)
vs. Igor Vovchanchyn
at PRIDE GP 2000 - finals

Win - TKO (kimura)
vs. Renzo Gracie
at PRIDE 10 - Return of the Warriors
(8-27-2000)

Win - submission (achilles hold)
vs. Shannon Ritch
at PRIDE 11 - Battle of the Rising Sun
(10-31-2000)

Win - decision (unanimous)
vs. Ryan Gracie
at PRIDE 12 - Cold Fury (12-9-2000)

Lost - TKO (referee stoppage)
vs. Wanderlei Silva
at PRIDE 13 - Collision Course
(3-25-2001)

Win - submission (rear naked choke)
vs. Quinton Jackson
at PRIDE 17 - Raging Ramble
(7-29-2001)

Lost - TKO (doctor stoppage)
vs. Wanderlei Silva
at PRIDE 17 - Championship Chaos
(11-3-2001)

Lost - TKO (eye injury)
vs. Mirko Cro-cop
at PRIDE - Shockwave (a.k.a. Dynamite!)
(8-28-2002)

Win - submission (armbar)
vs. Gilles Arsene
at PRIDE 23 - Championship Chaos 2
(11-24-2002)

Lost - TKO (knees)
vs. Antonio Schembri
at PRIDE 25 - Body Blow
(3-16-2003)

Lost - KO (punch)
vs. Wanderlei Silva
at PRIDE GP 2003 - Total Elimination
(8-10-2003)