Pride is back!

Was pretty good, although they've lost most the good ameican fighters to the ufc, which is a shame, and the stomps too.. bah.

Loved the big show they put on, just like the good old days.
 
yea i watched pride 16 last night, that was one HELLA tournament. UFC need to WATCH AND LEARN how to do it properly. Ninja vs Matsui - amazing battle,

otherwise its never going to get past the hillbilly drunken brawl stigma which is stopping it from being really mainstream.
 
If you only ever watch one Pride fight, catch Kawajiri vs Gomi from Bushido 9.
Simply one of the most tense and compelling fights I've ever seen, truly a classic.
 
ya ive seen that, ive watched Pride 1-16, 25-31, Bushido (80% of them), Hvy Wgt GP Qualifyer, all the critical countdowns (apart from Absolute) etc, all the Shockwaves so i have seen a lot of fights!

the Ninja vs Matsui though, man its like they were fighting for their lives in that one!



Pride 17 looks to be another cracker though!
 
Nickg said:
yea i watched pride 16 last night, that was one HELLA tournament. UFC need to WATCH AND LEARN how to do it properly. Ninja vs Matsui - amazing battle,

otherwise its never going to get past the hillbilly drunken brawl stigma which is stopping it from being really mainstream.
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WOW that was the most moronic statement iv ever heard in the 11 years iv been watching MMA. Not since John McCain has someones statments been so far off the mark with regards to the UFC!

You have no idea what your on about! The UFC did more PPV buys than HBO last year.

Do you really think the UFC isnt mainstream dispite even being reported on by ESPN and Yahoo?

You think they need to watch and learn how pride did it? You mean put on a great show with high production values whilst also bringing in cans and freaks to fight (giant silva, james thomson, Zulu, shannon rich). Being financed by Yakuza money, getting pulled off tv, getting bought by their only rival.

You havent got a clue.
 
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jdderbys said:
You think they need to watch and learn how pride did it? You mean put on a great show with high production values whilst also bringing in cans and freaks to fight (giant silva, james thomson, Zulu, shannon rich). Being financed by Yakuza money, getting pulled off tv, getting bought by their only rival.

You havent got a clue.
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The Japanese do love their freak fighters, but there's no denying that the pool of 'proper' fighters Pride had was of excellent pedigree. Why else would Dana White buy it out, ransack the contracted fighters, then leave the event to rot into obscurity?
 
jdderbys said:
WOW that was the most moronic statement iv ever heard in the 11 years iv been watching MMA. Not since John McCain has someones statments been so far off the mark with regards to the UFC!

You have no idea what your on about! The UFC did more PPV buys than HBO last year.

Do you really think the UFC isnt mainstream dispite even being reported on by ESPN and Yahoo?

You think they need to watch and learn how pride did it? You mean put on a great show with high production values whilst also bringing in cans and freaks to fight (giant silva, james thomson, Zulu, shannon rich). Being financed by Yakuza money, getting pulled off tv, getting bought by their only rival.

You havent got a clue.
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oh no, you misunderstand, i dont think its a brawl in the UFC (all the time;)) but that is what a lot of people think about it, im sure there was a link to an article in one forum about someone trying to get the UFC in Manchester banned? a lot of my friends do, only a couple of them actually watch UFC and Pride with me.

but to be fair UFC does kind of promote the brawl stance and a lot of fans do especially want a barn burning brawl in th octagon. Watch some early UFC - note when the fans BOO because the fighters are not simply duking it out. (for example why is Tank Abbot a "legend", he never won a title, but the fans just wanted to see someone brawl not GJJ)

The japanese fans like the technical and the brawl factor , as well as the Spectacle that the giant vs technical guy can provide...

i also do not deny that UFC etc is growing in popularity, but it is not yet "there"
 
Pride had a number of excellent fighters. They also have had stories of worked matches in the earlier years as well. A number of Sakuraba opponants have openly said they were offered bribes. 'Rampage' Jackson also said he was offered a huge bonus if he lost to Sakuraba but would forfit that if he won!

The booing isnt the way its marketed. Its the fat drunk americans showing their own ignorance. In the same way the retards chant USA everytime. Prides big appeal was they didnt care about records. If you were entertaining you got a call back despite your record. That is good but doesnt help route out who is the best and goes against what the UFC stood for.

The early UFC (when the gracies owned it with SEG) was about finding what style was the best. When The Fertitas bought it there only premise was to find out who was the best as all fighters were now cross training. They regulated it and brought it too what it is at now.

Without them you wouldnt have MMA. A large portion of Prides income came from DVD sales and american PPV buys. It wouldnt have been as big without American MMA as the Japanese pro wrestling was bigger than pride ever became.

With politicians like John McCain still campaigning to have the sport banned despite by now being regulated shows how big it has become to effectivly shake off nearly all critisism.

I love the japanese fans. But they dont appreciate the freak shows only the technical battles. They booed on their new year show at 2 fights as they never thought they were competative.

The UFC is shown on basic cable. HBO have ran numerace profiles. Its on Showtime, HDNet and repoted on ABC

Its been on every major network including ESPN (The largest sports network in the world). In the UK its on Bravo, Setanta, TWC, Extream Sports AND Sky Sports 1,2 and 3 (live). In canada its on every major sports network and even has its own dedicated channel (fight network).

On Spike TV its won its hard to reach 18-24 demographic at every live showing. The last 5 free ultimate fightnight events have beaten prime time TV (desperate housewifes), NBA, and college football. Considering the ratings these get and every network is competiting for this demographic you cannot say the UFC isnt mainstream.

Saying a show that beat every rival on nearly all occasions isnt mainstream is like saying despite the hugh ratings England football matchs get when they are shown on BBC1 football isnt a mainstream sport when shown on free tv
 
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