Fighters Only

Issue 026

June 2007

April 8th, 2007, Saitama Super Arena, Japan

Report by Andrew Garvey, Images © Dream Stage Entertainment

Most fans care little about the inner workings of their favourite MMA promotions, preferring to concentrate on the actual fights. But anyone watching this strangely memorable, emotional show could hardly fail to notice just how much of an emphasis there was on this being the last under Dream Stage Entertainment (DSE) management. Every fighter who gave a speech thanked DSE boss Nobuyuki Sakakibara and several talked of their sadness at this end of an era. A weak-looking card was further damaged by the late cancellation of the eagerly awaited fight between Wanderlei Silva and Igor Vovchanchyn (Silva had still not recovered from his crushing knockout defeat to Dan Henderson less than six weeks earlier and was refused permission to fight). Despite that, there was still some great action, even if only 20,000 or so fans turned up in a building that PRIDE has pulled 35,000 into the past. In many ways, this was a sad ending for a promotion that has given fans so many fantastic fights and so much entertainment over the years.

Kazuyuki Fujita vs. Jeff Monson

In the last fight ever under DSE management, tattooed anarcho-conspiracy theorist Monson submitted ‘Ironhead’ Fujita in an intriguing battle of two of the sport’s most recognisable fighters. Monson’s physique and tattoos (think of a heavily muscled, shaved gorilla with an interest in body art) and Fujita’s oversized head certainly make them both stand out in a crowd.

Both are also very talented wrestlers and this looked to be an intriguing battle billed as the opener in a proposed UFC vs. PRIDE series. As expected, much of this fight saw both men use their wrestling skills. Monson was the aggressor, constantly moving and going for takedowns but Fujita continually sprawled his way out of trouble. Never noted for his stamina, Fujita soon tired and Monson, the more talented submission artist, took advantage. Using a nice single leg takedown and leg trip combination, Monson brought Fujita to the mat. Softening up the Japanese star with hammerfists, Monson worked patiently for the best possible position. Slowly creeping his way onto Fujita’s back, Monson secured a rear naked choke for the submission win 6:37 into the fight. While not really a battle of UFC and PRIDE (Monson was under contract to DSE, not UFC-owners Zuffa) it was still fitting that an American UFC-associated fighter won since the American company, through its co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta’s purchase of PRIDE, are the winners of the overall promotional battle outside the ring.

James Thompson vs. Don Frye

Don Frye has always been hugely popular in Japan, and James ‘Mega Punk’ Thompson’s size, physique and wildly entertaining ‘Gong & Dash’ fighting style make him a very popular figure as well. The crowd love both men, and they loved every moment of the furious six minutes and 23 seconds they spent brawling. As usual, Thompson charged his opponent, only for Frye to drop him with a punch. Slow to follow up, Frye missed a chance to end things quickly and the Englishman recovered. Soon they were toe-to-toe, left hands wrapped around the back of their opponent’s heads, their right fists clattering into each other’s faces. This almost looked like homage to Frye’s unforgettable 2002 war with Yoshihiro Takayama and the crowd reacted with absolute joy. Surprisingly Thompson took down the more experienced wrestler and showed off his constantly improving ground skills, taking side control. Frye escaped though and they were soon back on their feet and swinging away. A failed guillotine attempt by Frye was his last hurrah as Thompson punished him with punches on the ground and a couple of nasty knees to the face that rocked Frye.

‘The Predator’ stood up and Thompson unleashed more than a minute of punishment. The legendarily tough and stubborn Frye stood in the corner taking dozens of punches and some brutal knees to the face. In fact, he took far too many shots and referee Yuji Shimada should be ashamed that he waited so long and only eventually stepped in when Frye turned his back on his still-punching opponent. It was a thrilling, if disturbing end to yet another hugely entertaining Thompson fight. The Bristol-based man now has two wins over superstars in Japan, having outlasted Hidehiko Yoshida in a New Year’s Eve thriller. Of all the fighters on this show, the end of the DSE era seemed to affect Don Frye the most. After humbly admitting “that big bastard” Thompson had “whooped me fair and square, no excuses” he thanked DSE for bringing him back for this show (Frye has been fighting for K-1 HERO’s since he ‘retired’ from PRIDE on New Year’s Eve 2003) and particularly thanked Sakakibara before saying PRIDE is “the best show on Earth.” Thompson spoke of how honoured he felt to fight one of his heroes and paid tribute to Sakakibara for having faith in him after his disastrous PRIDE debut (an 11-second KO loss in 2004).

Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou vs. Ricardo Arona

Just a few weeks earlier African judoka Sokoudjou had stunned the entire sport with his crushing KO win over top-10 fighter Antonio Rogerio Nogueira. Surely he couldn’t repeat the trick against another elite competitor in Nogueira’s teammate Arona? He could, and he did. Demonstrating superb balance and an excellent takedown defence, Sokoudjou, a protégé of PRIDE middleweight and light heavyweight champion Dan Henderson, also showed off some precision low kicks, but as in the Nogueira fight, it was his heavy, heavy hands that made the difference. Flooring Arona with a huge right uppercut, Sokoudjou followed up with punches and a soccer kick to the face, prompting the finish in just 1:59. This was only Sokoudjou’s fifth fight, and turning 23 ten days later, he has an exceptionally bright future ahead.

The Return of a Legend?

In a major surprise, tearful MMA legend Kazushi Sakuraba returned to the PRIDE ring, alongside DSE boss Nobuyuki Sakakibara and fellow Japanese superstar Kiyoshi Tamura. But Sakuraba was there not to fight, but to say goodbye to the company he helped build. All three men gave speeches and talked of the long-awaited Sakuraba-Tamura fight, but don’t bet on it actually happening. When Sakuraba broke into pro-wrestling in the early 1990s, Tamura was already a star and he bullied the ‘young boy’ throughout his training. This was, and is, how things work in the world or Puroresu, but Sakuraba has never forgiven Tamura and has wanted to fight him for many years. DSE tried many times to match them up but no matter what they offered, Tamura always refused. Now, with Sakuraba still tied to the K-1 HERO’s promotion there’s even less reason to think this will ever actually happen despite what was said on the night.

Undercard Round-up

The ultra-talented Shinya Aoki survived some scary flying knees from intimidating Dutch kickboxer Brian Lo-A-Njoe to go 4-0 in PRIDE using his excellent submission skills. One of the slickest, most entertaining grapplers in the sport, Aoki caught the Dutchman with a slick armbar, forcing the submission 93 seconds into the fight. This was yet another terrific performance from Aoki, who at 24 is one of the sport’s true rising stars.

It was only fitting that ‘Mr PRIDE’ Akira Shoji, the only man on tonight’s card to fight on the very first PRIDE event, should be in action. Sadly for the Japanese veteran (stepping in with just one day’s notice for his 23^rd fight in PRIDE) he took a pasting from the much bigger Gilbert Yvel. The Dutch striker is a dangerous man with a blatant disregard for the rules of the sport, but thankfully there was no eye gouging or hitting referees here. Instead, he survived patiently on the ground, even went for a very uncharacteristic heelhook and made a neat reversal off his back. This left Shoji open for a barrage of punches on the ground that ended the fight in just over three minutes.

James Thompson’s Trojan Gym teammate Zelg Galesic left an impression in his PRIDE debut but still lost to a far more experienced grappler in Makoto Takimoto. An enthralling back-and-forth battle, Galesic was hammering Takimoto standing and even went for a rear naked choke on the ground. Sadly for the exciting young Croatian, the Japanese fighter survived and after a hopeful omoplata attempt, picked up the first round win with an armlock.

In what may be the last ever freakshow fight in a PRIDE ring, spherical boxer turned MMA fighter Butterbean tapped out Brazilian behemoth Zuluzino with a keylock in a short fight that greatly entertained the audience for it’s sheer oddity. In the opening match, boring wrestler Yoshihiro Nakao forced a submission from Brazil’s Edson Drago with a simple neck crank late in the first round of a forgettable fight.