Fighters Only

Issue 021

January 2007

Thomas & Mack Centre, Las Vegas, USA, October 21^st 2006

By Brad Doerges, Photographs © Dream Stage Entertainment Inc.

Las Vegas, Nevada is famous for having some of the biggest fights in history, and PRIDE was looking to become more than just a footnote. After attending over 15 UFC’s and numerous other smaller fight organizations, I have never been more excited after the opening ceremony of an MMA event. The show had more of the look and feel of a concert, taking up a sixth of the massive Thomas & Mack Centre with a huge stage with a light show and pyrotechnics announcing each fighter’s arrival to the PRIDE ring. The Who’s ‘Baba O’Riley’, the UFC’s opening song, may get my heart racing, but hearing ring announcer Lenne Hardt scream Fedor Emelianenko’s name at the top of her lungs made the hair on the back of my neck stand up and sent my emotions into a swirl. I hadn’t felt this type of excitement in an arena since Tito Ortiz fought Chuck Liddell. This event was already everything I had hoped for and more.

Fedor dominates in his US debut

In the main event of the evening PRIDE heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko took on former 2000 Grand Prix champion Mark “the Hammer” Coleman. The two ground and pounders had met once before, with Coleman getting a takedown only to be quickly submitted by the crafty Russian. Although Coleman is American and a former UFC champ, it was Fedor’s name who had been chanted before the fight and at the weigh-ins, causing Coleman to question out loud what country he was fighting in.

From the outset of the fight Coleman’s strategy was apparent; go for the takedown at all costs. After both men squared off Coleman closed the gap and attempted a single leg. Fedor sprawled, and when Coleman got up he was bombarded with a series of punches, including an overhand right that put the wrestler down on his knees and searching for an ankle. The rest of the round would be more of the same with Emelianenko able to avoid the takedown and peppering Coleman’s face with punches and hammerfists from in the clinch. Although it looked as if the shots weren’t doing much damage, the effect was more than obvious when the men were clinched and the camera zoomed in on Coleman’s bloodied and battered face.

After dominating round one an unblemished Fedor looked to do more of the same in the second, but Coleman had other ideas. Coleman dived in with an overhand right and was eventually able to get the champ away from the ropes (where he was easily able to get back to his feet earlier in the fight) and down to the mat. Coleman began hammering the calm Russian’s body with punches, but once again made the mistake of putting his right arm behind Fedor’s head. The Russian shifted his hips and secured an armbar, getting the tap at 1.15 in the first round.

Coleman had an emotional post-fight interview where his young daughters were brought into the ring. Telling the crowd he would be back and his daughters that “Daddy was OK”, you had to question whether it was tasteful. It may have been like something out of a Rocky movie, but that didn’t make it right. Humble as ever, Fedor stated in a post-fight news conference that he would like to fight Barnett next.

For Shogun, revenge is twice as sweet

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua was out for revenge in this co-main event match against former UFC Heavyweight Champion Kevin “the Monster” Randleman. Randleman defeated Rua’s brother Murilo “Ninja” and is the teammate of the only man to defeat Shogun in the PRIDE ring, Mark Coleman. The Monster was ready to get back to his winning ways after taking a year off to recover from shoulder surgery.

The action started as soon as the ref moved away from the centre of the ring, with Shogun walking right into a textbook double leg takedown. Unfazed by Randleman’s feared wrestling ability Shogun quickly attacked, getting Randleman’s leg and transitioning from a heel hook to a toehold. Randleman showed tremendous heart in fighting off the submission, literally screaming in pain while the ref screamed back “Give Up?”

Randleman was eventually able to kick Shogun’s hands off his foot, but Rua countered by rolling into a kneebar that the Ohio State wrestler would not be able to escape. Shogun initially attempted a traditional kneebar but then sat up, securing Randleman’s leg under his left armpit. He arched his back and took the leg to the point of snapping, getting a final scream and the tap only 2.35 into the fight. Randleman later went on to deliver a suspect urine analysis, which was described as “non-human or that from a dead human”.

Barnett wins by a toe

In the first of the main card fights former UFC heavyweight champion Josh “the Baby-Faced Assassin” Barnett took on 2006 Olympic gold medallist Pawel Nastula. This fight looked as though it may not happen as Barnett waited until only one day before the deadline to pass the State Athletic Commission’s required drug test. Barnett need to pass to regain his Nevada State license after having it suspended in 2002 by the Athletic Commission for testing positive in his title fight with Randy Couture. Although most pundits had Barnett as the heavy favourite it was Pawel who dominated the outside of the clinch, scoring two takedowns in the first, easily winning the round.

Pawel didn’t back off in the second, putting his “Baby-Faced” opponent to the mat after landing a wild overhand left. Pawel went to work and landed a few hammerfists but Barnett showed why he is the 3^rd ranked heavyweight fighter in the world, muscling out of side control. He quickly securing a toehold, forcing Pawel to tap out at 3.04 in the second round. Barnett showed a lot of class by constantly praising his opponent Pawel in post fight interviews, and though suspicions were flying around whether Barnett would pass his drug test, it was actually Nastula who tested positive for controlled substances. The Pole is currently under investigation by the NSAC.

Under Card

Lawler looks golden again

The first fight of the night featured Miletich-trained fight Robbie Lawler, a former UFC ‘Golden Boy’. He would be taking on the former King of the Cage middleweight champion Joey Villasenor. Coming off a loss to Jason “Mayhem” Miller, Lawler showed why he once wreaked havoc on the UFC welterweight division by immediately stunning Villasenor with a left high kick. “My kicks felt good this week,” stated Lawler. Lawler was able to finish the fight early by landing a devastating flying knee that sent Joey down to the canvas. The undefended punches that followed forced the ref to stop the fight only 22 seconds after it had begun.

Nakamura knows more than JudoKa

Hidehiko Yoshida protégé Kazuhiro Nakamura took on Marvin Eastman’s last minute replacement, Canadian Travis Galbraith. Kickboxer Eastman was unable to compete due to contractual obligations with the WFA. Early in the first Nakamura proved that he was no longer just a talented judoka when he put Galbraith down to a knee with a left hook. Galbraith rallied back, taking Nakamura down twice, but not to be outdone Nakamura ended the round with a textbook hip toss.

The second round was all Nakamura. The Japanese fighter gained a takedown early but Galbraith was able to get back to his feet. Galbraith bullied Nakamura into the corner but made the mistake of keeping his head too low and Nakamaura once again showed his striking skills by dropping Galbraith with a knee. Nakamura fallowed Galbraith to the mat where he was able to finish the fight at 1.60 in second with a flurry of punches and hammer fists.

The New York Bad Ass

For the first time since his devastating loss at UFC 51 to TUF contest Pete Sell Phil "New York Bad Ass" Baroni was back fighting in Las Vegas. Phil, fighting at 194lbs instead of his usual 183lbs, took on former cruiserweight boxing champ Yosuke Nishijima. Nishijima (who held his own against heavyweight slugger Mark Hunt before being knocked out in the 3^rd round) had many MMA fans hoping for another slug fest.

Baroni had other ideas. Baroni dominated Nishijima on the ground after getting an early takedown. He quickly trapped the arm from sidemount but was unable to land any significant blows due to the disallowance of elbows due to the modified PRIDE rules under which they fought. Baroni wisely took advantage of his position by cranking a wicked kimura until the ref stopped the fight at 3:20 in the first, although fans and even PRIDE president Mr Sakakibara voiced their displeasure at such a boring match.

Hollywood shines in return to the USA

PRIDE middleweight champion Dan “Hollywood” Henderson was back fighting in America for the first time since 1998 where he appeared on UFC 17 [see this month’s classic fight on page 80 – Ed]. Henderson took on former UFC light heavyweight champion Vitor “the Phenom” Belfort. Always fickle, Belfort did not show the hands that had taken out Tank Abbott and Wanderlei Silva, but was instead content to clinch, allowing Henderson to work for the takedown. Henderson aggressively worked from top for much of the fight, but the BJJ black belt did mange to reverse him at one point. Belfort was unable to inflict any damage from the top postion before Henderson was up and out and able to regain his feet, and it was the American who took the round.

Coming out swinging, Henderson looked to press the action, but they stalled in the second when the Brazilian pulled guard. Henderson did enough on the ground to keep the match on the mat, and he came out swinging once again in the third, taking Belfort to the mat. Although Belfort finally began to put up a bit of a fight after Henderson began to tire late in the third it still wasn’t enough to win him the round. Henderson won by unanimous decision with the judges turning in disparate sets of scores in 30-27, 30-26, 30-27. How one could give Henderson three 10-8 rounds is very questionable considering Belfort walked out of the arena with nary a scratch on him.

Butterbean racks up another KO

The former boxer Eric “Butterbean” Esch took on Mark Hunt’s last minute replacement, the former pro wrestler Sean O’Haire. Hunt was denied a visa due to an involvement in a bar fracas last time he was in the USA, so O’Haire was drafted in as his stand-in. He’s a big boy Butterbean, he came into the ring at a whopping 398lbs, and he used all of that weight to stun O’Haire with a right hook. The clueless wrestler backed away to regain his senses, then came in for an awkward looking clinch. O’Haire oddly kept his head low, almost inviting Butterbean to hit him. No way did he do this as part of a work, as anyone stepping in the way of one of Butterbean’s punches can’t be all there. A huge right hook to the chin put the 6’6 O’Haire down to the mat in only 29 seconds, taking Butterbean to 7-2-1.