Issue 123
December 2014
America had never seen anything like this before. Pride 32: The Real Deal was the Japanese promotion’s first event on US soil in Las Vegas. Fans had spent years watching events in the early hours of the morning as they played out on the other side of the Pacific Ocean, but now the pageantry had come to the Thomas & Mack Center in our back yard. The traditional bombastic fanfare accompanied the introduction of MMA stars including Vitor Belfort, Dan Henderson, Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua, Mark Coleman and Fedor Emelianenko. This was supposed to be a sign of things to come, but the dream was short-lived. There was to be just one more Pride show in America and four more in total before the organization shut up shop for good.
Date: October 2006
Location: Las Vegas, Nevada
