Pride: Real Deal

[Manji]

Anybody catch Pride's debut in North America....
Not one of its best shows but it did have some entertaining fights.....
Few things to mention before I hit the sack:


Most Disappointing Moment: Pavel Nastula not winning....Some more experience and better defense against Leg submissions and he would have beaten Barnett....Nastula looked very impressive.
(Also disappointing was Butterbean not fighting Mark Hunt...that fucking sucked ass)


Weirdest Moment: Coleman bringing out his daughters who had just witnessed him getting pounded....They were crying their eyes out....They kind of looked scared of Fedor



Vanderlai Moment: Wand calling out Chuck....Hopefully, Chuck and Dana are listening....

 

[iluvquarks]

While it was weird watching Pride matches without stomps, knees to downed opponents and soccer kicks, I still enjoyed it. Nastula did look impressive, but I also think Barnett took him a bit lightly. With more experience, he'll be a top five or six heavyweight.

There were a lot of mis-matches on this one though. The two matches I was expecting to be competitive were very disappointing. Shogun made quick work of Randleman and Belfort looked horrid against Henderson.

Regarding Fedor and Coleman. Fedor looked really good, like he was just sparring, while Coleman went all out. Coleman bringing his daughters in the ring was very much like the end of a Rocky movie. I hope he doesn't get bashed too much since he's such a great sport and he's very genuine in his emotions. It was funny though. The kids were crying, his face was all bloodied and smashed up, and he introduces them to Fedor. "This is Fedor. It's all right, he's a nice guy. Say hi to Fedor." So the kids wave while they were crying and Fedor just had this undescribable "I'm sorry I just smashed your dad" look on his face.

 

[Choron]

Hate to say it about Coleman and Fedor...

But it is the equivalent of putting Shamrock against Tito three times...lol

 

[Choron]

fedor is so much better than everyone in the world in the heavyweight category that it is rediculous...

What happened to Nogeira anyway?

 

[iluvquarks]

Re: the lopsided fights, I completely agree but keep in mind that this is pretty understandable. They just finished the HW grand prix and are in the middle of the Bushido grand prix. There was no way Barnett who just fought about a month ago should have been fighting Fedor. He'd need to be well rested and in top form to even stand a chance so unfortunately, they only had Coleman who was coming off a fluke injury win over Shogun. I expect their February Vegas show to be much better. As an aside, I wouldn't mind seeing Nastula and Yoshida, two Olympic gold medalist judokas, going at it - hope it happens.

As for Fedor, well, the only person that I think has a shot of dethroning him is Mirko. One rumour says they'll fight on NYE but another say's it'll be Shogun/Fedor. Shogun is only 24 and has TONS of talent. I think he's the best LHW on the planet (sorry Chuck and Wandy fans - his loss to Coleman was due to a fluke injury). His 2005 run en-route to winning the LHW GP was nothing short of amazing ... Rampage, Lil Nog, Overeem and then Arona all in one year! That's four (Rampage, Lil Nog and Arona are easily top 5) top notch fighters with vastly different styles, all beaten convincingly in one year. Impressive as hell, yet, against Fedor, he won't even be close. Fedor is that good.

 

[Choron]

dude Fedore is like 30+ lbs on Shogun...It would be rape...(fedore is 233)...Shogun is 201...

This fight would be over before the bell would ring

 

[iluvquarks]

dude Fedore is like 30+ lbs on Shogun...It would be rape...(fedore is 233)...Shogun is 201...

This fight would be over before the bell would ring

I agree dude, but the rumour is that Mirko hurt his leg when he almost cracked Wandy's skull. If he's not healed in time then it's Shogun and Fedor on NYE though I'd much rather see Fedor vs Barnett if Mirko can't make it.

 

[Manji]

Dudes....

Not to mention that Crocop earned a spot to fight Fedor....it just wouldn't make sense to set Barnett up against Fedor ahead of Crocop....but if Crocop can't fight Fedor on NYE...then the next best choice is Barnett (who did come in second in Open Weight Grand Prix so he technically deserves to be the substitute/alternate for Mirko)...


They set up Coleman knowing that he didn't have a chance against Fedor (Coleman wouldn have been done sooner if there were kicks and knees alllowed on the ground).
Coleman is also an American who is well known in North American MMA and Pride figured he would draw more US fans...


Shogun is just too light to fight Fedor.....
Anything is possible in the fight game but I definitely would not bet on Shogun if he fought Fedor....


Right now....Crocop is the only credible threat to Fedor....If Mirko fights like he did against Barnett and Silva then Fedor may actually suffer his first loss.

 

[Manji]

Nastula and Yoshida would be interesting but Nastula is just too big and strong for Yoshida.....I don't think Yoshida could overcome the size difference...


I really thought Nastula could have pulled a victory over Barnett....


Too bad Nastula is around 37 years old....If he was younger he could have been a real serious threat in the heavyweight division....but with his age I think he will not be able to take his MMA game to the level that he could have if he was younger....
Too bad.....

 

[Choron]

Whatever happened to Nogeuria? I remember he was top3 HW like a year ago...

 

[The Oracle]

Whatever happened to Nogeuria? I remember he was top3 HW like a year ago...

Nog got beat by Barnett in the open weight grand prix. He is probably ranked #4 right now behind Barnett,Cro-Cop and Feodor. As to the question as to whether Cro-cop can beat Feodor. Cro-cop has better standup and Feodor has better ground skills. Feodor is the heavier and just doesn't gas out. Cro-cop will have to stay outside and do damage with his striking and kicking. Feodor will have to get inside and press and try to get the fight to the ground. Which is hard to do because Cro-cop has great takedown defence. This should be a good one.

 

[Lapper]

was i the only one who hated the fact that pride was held not held in japan??? it resembled ufc more than the pride i once knew and loved. at least they kept the old lady who announces the fighters. her screechy voice rocks. oh yeah, love those pride girls.

hated how they had a 'best buy' ad on the back of the round cards. tacky.

my favorite part of the night was fujita yelling 'next time is my time!!!'