Issue 144

August 2016

Even 14 years after it lit up Tokyo, nothing can compare to the biggest event in MMA history – Pride Shockwave Dynamite! 

Location: Tokyo, Japan

Date: August 28^th 2002

Attendance: 91,107 

The UFC may be taking the Octagon to stadiums around the globe for record-breaking fight cards, but the world’s leading MMA organization still hasn’t come close to matching the grandest night in the history of the sport so far.

On August 28th 2002 – 14 years ago this month – 91,107 fans filled Japan’s Tokyo National Stadium for a unique event. It was officially known as Dynamite! Biggest Mixed Martial Arts World Cup – Summer Night Fever, though you might know it better as Pride Shockwave Dynamite!

Co-promoted by kickboxing organization K-1, Japan’s two leading combat companies arranged a spectacle that was worthy of its grand surroundings. The evening roared into life with an iconic opening ceremony. Fireworks lit up the Japanese capital’s night sky before fighting icons Antonio Inoki and Helio Gracie lit the 1964 Olympic stadium’s flaming cauldron. The crowd went wild.

Then there’s the fights, which were everything you could possibly want from an over-the-top martial arts extravaganza. Introduced by Lenne Hardt’s screaming announcements that echoed around the venue, an eclectic lineup of stars were lined up from every martial discipline you could imagine. And, this being Japan, the card ranged from righteous to ridiculous.

An incomprehensible mismatch? Check. Wanderlei Silva was on hand to brutalize MMA rookie Tatsuya Iwasaki in 76 seconds. Freakshow fights? You bet. Catch wrestling icon Kazushi Sakuraba paid the price for his size disadvantage against Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ by getting his orbital bone smashed. Controversy? No doubt. The iconic jiu-jitsu vs. judo showdown ended with Royce Gracie in a rage when Hidehiko Yoshida was declared the winner – despite the lack of a tap from the UFC pioneer.

But the iconic event also hosted a genuine classic in which a legend was born. The heavyweight title affair between Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Bob Sapp was a David vs. Goliath fight for the ages. The 230lb Brazilian champion was outweighed by about 145lb and got powerbombed, punched and pushed around during a brutal, 10-minute first round. 

But deep into the second stanza, ‘Big Nog’s heart, endurance and grappling nous prevailed. Tens of thousands of awed onlookers erupted as he made ‘The Beast’ tap to an armbar.

Say what you will for the ‘legitimacy’ of modern MMA, sometimes fans just want to see a show. And in terms of pure spectacle, there has never been a fighting event like the first Dynamite!