Issue 123

December 2014

The former two-weight Pride champion on facing 'Big Nog' with just two weeks notice, fighting for pocket money and Japanese crowds.

You competed in some of the most memorable Pride events, dating back to Pride 12. What are your earliest memories of Pride? 

“Back then I was just a wrestler still trying to compete in wrestling and I was trying to make a little extra money from fighting. I didn’t really know a whole lot about Pride at the time. As soon as I got there I could see that the showmanship, the production and the event itself was absolutely amazing. Many of today's fans of the sport missed out on hat.”

A lot of the older fans miss the pageantry, the over-the-top walkouts, the pyrotechnics, even the Pride theme song itself. But do you?

“Yes, it was all pretty neat. I don’t know if any one thing stands out, but the opening ceremonies were always a big part of the event. The biggest thing Pride focused on was the opening ceremonies. Every one of them was different and special in its own way.”

Something else that was special about Pride was the number of fans it attracted to the live events. What was it like fighting in front of a football-stadium capacity?

“My first few events were the biggest events I ever competed at. And they were small for Pride standards, just 30,000-40,000 people. One of the bigger events was at the Tokyo Dome which held about 70,000, which is crazy. The UFC never had an event that size. The event in Canada had about 50,000 which was rare. 

“Pride by far had the biggest audiences at the events and for the New Year’s Eve shows it had the biggest TV events in MMA history.” 

What were the Japanese fans like?

“They were very into MMA, but at the same time, in public, they are very respectful toward the fighters. They won’t come up to you in restaurants and they are very polite when asking for autographs and things like that. I miss going over to Japan – interacting with and experiencing the fan base.”

Now that Pride is an organization of the past, what would you want future fans to take away from it and that golden era in the sport?

“They definitely missed out on the whole experience of Pride if they didn’t have the opportunity to see it live. That’s unfortunate. It had such great fighters and great talent. 

“To combine the talent, the magnitude of the show and the excitement behind it, it's unmatched. Pride spent a lot of money and it was neat to see how much it invested into the production of each event. It had the huge on-screen displays and all kinds of crazy stuff.”

Who were the fighters in Pride you enjoyed watching compete?

“I would say Fedor (Emelianenko), Mirko 'Cro Cop' and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. I also was a fan of Wanderlei (Silva) and I would put Takanori Gomi and 'Shogun' (Rua) right up there as well.”

You cemented your MMA-icon status during your run in Pride. Between your Wanderlei fights, which other performance sticks out in your mind?

“My fight in Pride with Nogueira was taken on less than two weeks' notice. He was the heavyweight champion and outweighed me by about 40lb at the time. 

“The tough part about it was after the second round. I wasn't in the best shape and taking that fight on short notice was tough. It happened pretty often and I was OK with it back then, but I couldn’t do it now. I need a little more time. 

“For that fight I was pretty sick the night before too. I had to have IVs before and after the fight. I was throwing up all through the night before.”

There were many unique things about Pride including the time limits, ring attire, freak-show fights, and everything in between. What was the most unique aspect for you fighting in Pride?

“It was a different experience when they would stop the fight and move you back to the middle of the ring. But the biggest thing that separated Pride from the rest, it separated the men from the boys, was that 10-minute first round. 

“It’s just a tough round. It’s tough to get into shape for. Once you got used to it, it wasn’t that big of a deal. When you would see guys come in from the UFC, guys like Chuck Liddell, they weren’t used to that 10-minute round. Six or seven minutes into that round they died out a little bit. It was interesting.”

Can you choose one fight from your time in Pride you're most proud of?

“I would still say my second fight with Wanderlei Silva at Pride 33 when I won the middleweight championship. I would also say my win over Pride legend Fedor Emelianenko, even though that didn’t happen in Pride. They both have that reputation, that respect of being two of the toughest guys to ever step in there. To be able to beat them was a great accomplishment in 

my mind.”