Issue 020

December 2006

May 26, 2000, Tokyo, Japan

Rickson Gracie

A near-mythical figure in the early years of MMA, Gracie’s often claimed 400-0 record may be preposterous but he does have a verifiable unbeaten record of 11-0 and even now at 47 years old still makes noises about returning to the ring one more time. Unrealistic as that is (given his reported outrageous price tag of some $5 million, his age, and the fact he last fought more than six years ago) Gracie is still capable of generating plenty of interest. A far bigger name in Japan than younger brother Royce, Rickson made his name by dominating a pair of Vale Tudo tournaments back in 1994 and 1995, where he won every fight by submission. He was also instrumental in the early years of PRIDE FC, twice destroying pro wrestler Nobuhiko Takada in 1997 and 1998.

Masakatsu Funaki

Funaki is one of the pivotal figures in Japanese MMA. In 1993, his vision of a pro wrestling organization without pre-determined endings saw the formation of Pancrase, the world’s second-oldest MMA promotion after Shooto. A handsome, charismatic and hugely popular figure, Funaki, along with fighters such as Minoru Suzuki and Ken Shamrock, were the first real fighters of Pancrase. Funaki, who ended his career with a 38-11-1 record, was by far the biggest star and the slickest competitor. A stylish submission artist, Funaki faced the very best of his era and defeated the likes of Bas Rutten and beat both Ken and Frank Shamrock. Before the unrelentingly brutal Pancrase schedule destroyed his body, Funaki was one of Japan’s very best fighters and deserves to be remembered as a real MMA legend in his own right.

Finally, the dream match

With major corporate backing and the accompanying media frenzy, the one and only Colosseum event on 26^th May 2000 at the Tokyo Dome was a hugely anticipated show. With an undercard crammed with top Japanese talent and a dream match main event, the mountains of cash needed to put the show together made it a money loser, as even with such huge names some 25,000 tickets went unsold. However, it was a genuinely significant show and the fight between Gracie and Funaki marked another high-profile collision between the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and pro-wrestling-derived fighting styles less than a month after Kazushi Sakuraba’s 90-minute epic victory over Royce Gracie. 

Thanks to the popularity of PRIDE FC, Pancrase had been forced to switch from its traditional rules that banned punches to the face in 1998. Fittingly, Funaki was the first to compete under the new rules, but struggled badly and had taken a beating from Ebenezer Fontes Braga some 13 months earlier. Without judges, the fight was ruled a draw, but Japanese insiders were seriously concerned at the pounding Funaki took, and his loyal fans were shocked he couldn’t beat the talented but low-profile Brazilian. Funaki did pick up a September 1999 win over a woefully overmatched Tony Petarra, but that was little preparation for the biggest fight of his life. Rickson, ten years Funaki’s senior at 41, hadn’t fought in 18 months, since his second dismantling of the hapless Nobuhiko Takada.

The fight

Funaki emerged to a tremendous ovation from a 30,000-plus crowd on a stage set so vast it made K-1 look small-time. The shaven-headed Gracie looked calm as ever, while the 31-year-old Funaki looked pensive. Avoiding some unusually clumsy strikes by Funaki, Gracie immediately looked for the upper-body clinch, secured it, and backed Funaki into the corner. The mere threat of Funaki reversing position drew a huge roar from the crowd but Gracie held him tight in the corner and threw a few sharp left knees to the midsection, then used his right knee to block any retaliation from Funaki. 

Three minutes into the first 15-minute round little had happened as Gracie ever so patiently worked his way into position for a single-leg takedown. Funaki used his excellent balance to block it and they were back to square one. They were essentially in the same position at the 5-minute mark with Gracie his classically methodical self and Funaki unable to do much but defend.

His face a study in focus and concentration, Gracie worked to free his wrists from Funaki’s defensive grip and fired off some short punches to the body. Seven minutes had now passed and the crowd were noticeably subdued by the slow pace of the fight. Gracie briefly tried a double-leg takedown, which Funaki easily blocked. Ducking his head for another takedown attempt, Gracie gifted Funaki a guillotine choke which brought the crowd immediately to life. Funaki was nowhere close to a submission though, and Gracie countered with a leg-trip that ended with him on his back looking for the guard. Some weak Funaki punches brought the crowd into a state of ecstasy and the commentary team to the brink of orgasm. With Gracie content to stay on his back, Funaki just stood and threw a couple of dozen kicks to the legs. The crowd loved it but without the kind of bonkers tactics Sakuraba had used against Royce, the older Gracie was in no danger and nimbly got to his feet. 

Gracie’s stand-up, displayed only briefly, was poor and he quickly moved in for the takedown, taking a punch on the way in that caused a swollen left cheek. He soon got what he wanted, and landed in side control before beautifully switching to a full mount with more than five minutes left in the round. From there, Gracie was mercilessly calculating. He bashed away with enough punches to open up a cut on Funaki’s head, and force him to turn away in desperation. Gracie of course took his back and went for the rear naked choke. He quickly secured it but Funaki refused to tap out and instead ended the fight unconscious, his eyes wide open, but unseeing. The referee waved it off at the 12:49 mark.

Farewell performances?

Another pro wrestling scalp for Gracie, Funaki also represented a measure of revenge for the first family of MMA after Sakuraba had outlasted and embarrassed Royce a few weeks earlier. The Sakuraba-Rickson rumors started almost immediately and still intermittently resurface to this day. But after so many false dawns it's likely Gracie’s last fight will have been this thoroughly one-sided win over the Pancrase founder. Funaki retired immediately after this fight and has put his in-ring career behind him. He is now carving out a new career in Japanese action films.