Pride 33 “The Second Coming” Thoughts, Pics, and Live Notes
By Luis Cruz
“The Second Coming” has come and gone but what an impact it made. Pride FC’s second show in the United States not only delivered beyond my expectations, but it delivered to a point I would’ve never thought possible when looking at it on paper. If you are a gambling type person, this was your event to gold. I normally place some bets on fights I feel are good risks, but unfortunately I didn’t make it back to place my bets on this event. While I would’ve won two out of the three, the payout would’ve been significant on what I was planning on laying down. Of course I had no idea of Dan’s dirty little secrets for the night, so those two outcomes were not expected in my view. I’ll quickly recap the results and give my take on how things played out.
Results & Notes
Joachim Hansen submits Jason Ireland via armbar- Round 3
Hansen lands a solid knee
Ireland came to fight this night. He impressed me in the first round with his great leg kicks that seemed to damage Hansen. Hansen would turn the fight around after the opening round and control it the rest of the way. He was able to secure the armbar in round 3 and force Ireland to tapout. Good and entertaining fight to start off the night.
Is it me or did Hansen seem a lot more bulky in the weighins than normal? Not an accusation by any means, just an observation.
Hansen seals the deal with the armbar
Frank Trigg wins unanimous decision over Kazuo Misaki
This was one of the three bouts I intended to drop a little wager on. A lot of people, to my surprise, were counting Trigg out of this. He used his superior wrestling to take Misaki down at will and control him all three rounds. Misaki was never able to get the momentum to swing in his direction and just seemed frustrated at his inability to stop Trigg’s takedowns. While not the most exciting fight of the night, it was a job well done by Frank Trigg who topples the Welterweight Grand Prix champion and sets his name up high on the Welterweight rankings.
James Lee submits Travis Wiuff via Guillotine Choke- Round 1
In a spectacular debut, Lee won the battle standing immediately rocking Wiuff. He then went on to win the ground battle when he sunk in the Guillotine choke to end Wiuff’s night. It’ll be interesting to see where Lee goes from here in Pride.
Sokoudjou KO’s Antonio Rogerio Nogueira- Round 1
In the biggest shocker and upset of the night, Dan Henderson’s little secret bomber made a huge splash in his Pride debut. Sokoudjou was a lot bigger than I anticipated when I seen him at the weighins and while that doesn’t mean much in this sport, he was still quite the physical specimen. The odds on this bout were extremely in favor of Nogueira who many seen as the number one contender to Wanderlei Silva’s title. They were as high as 10-1. This will undoubtedly be a hard and unfortunate setback for Nogueira who many thought would see his title shot after this win. While Sokoudjou made it clear, in the post fight press conference, that he would not face his friend Dan Henderson, he will take on anyone else in the division. With the division stacked, it could lead to some very interesting matchups for him – and I, for one, look forward to seeing him take on another top MW to see him prove he was more than a one hit wonder.
Hayato Sakurai TKO’s Mac Danzig- Round 2
Danzig lands a shot on Sakurai
While I was least confident in this bout, the odds were so good. I was going to place a wager on Danzig as well. Danzig proved how resilient he was standing up to “Mach” and never backing down. Eventually in the second round it all caught up to him along with Sakurai as he was caught with a hard shot towards the end of the round, which was followed up by the finishing ground and pound. I believe we will see the Mac get another shot in Pride.
Sakurai on his way to the knockout
Sergei Kharitonov submits Mike Russow via armbar- Round 1
Russow handled himself very well and seemed like he could possibly pull an upset. Late in round one though, Kharitonov would put an end to his dreams by trapping Russow in an armbar and forcing him to tapout. Russow began to complain about the stoppage but it was clear he tapped multiple times on Kharitonov’s leg. Kharitonov will need a couple bigger wins to elevate his status back up to title contender in the Heavyweight division.
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua TKO’s Alistair Overeem- Round 1
Shogun on his way to the ring
While Overeem was more than holding his own in the early stage of round one, he would get caught and sent flailing backwards. Rua followed up with a wicked haymaker that penetrated right through Overeem’s guard and sent his eyes rolling back. That was followed by a couple more punches that would force the referee to call the action.
Now that Silva is no longer the Middleweight champion, will the very long and overdue title shot for Rua be granted? Will we get to see Rua vs. Henderson? Or better yet, will the talk now shift to a blockbuster Rua vs. Liddell bout?
Shogun finishes Overeem inside the first round
Nick Diaz submits Takanori Gomi via Gogo-Plata- Round 2
Nick Diaz on his way to the ring for PRIDE debut
In the fight of the night and the third bout I wanted to wager on, Nick Diaz put on a clinic. I thought, as I said in my breakdown prior to the event, that if Diaz could cut the weight with no problem he would be a very bad stylistic matchup for Gomi. Apparently, it was right. Diaz had a scary moment when Gomi landed a brutal shot standing and almost put Diaz to sleep. Diaz was able to weather the storm and show his great heart to not only survive but also mount a tremendous comeback. Diaz used his long reach perfectly and just kept teeing off on Gomi who seemed to run out of steam into round one. Gomi, fatigued and very hurt, noly escaped the opening round as he turned his back, almost signaling he was done, but just as the bell ending the round sounded. Gomi came out in round two with a second burst of energy but it wouldn’t be long until Diaz once again controlled the fight standing and made a mockery of Gomi with his taunting ways. Gomi would be able to take Diaz down but it would also be his undoing as Diaz locked in the very rarely seen Gogo-Plata with perfection. This was an absolutely fantastic fight with a big coming out party for Nick Diaz in Pride’s Lightweight division.
Diaz lands a shot on PRIDE Lightweight champion Diaz
This makes the second loss for Takanori Gomi as Lightweight champion when his title was not on the line. Is there really a point in having your champion fight without the title on the line? Surely, as President Sakakibara suggested in the post fight press conference, there will be a rematch in the near future and the title should be on the line this time. I can’t see a different outcome, so I fully expect a new and defending Lightweight champion for Pride when the rematch does happen. While I predicted a third round submission for Diaz, I must tip my hat to his trainer Cesar Gracie, who gave me his prediction in my pre-fight interview with him as he called for a second round submission for his pupil.
Diaz lands another good one on Gomi
Dan Henderson KO’s Wanderlei Silva to become the new Middleweight champion- Round 3
Henderson on his way to the ring
Dan Henderson made history on this night. While other fighters have been clamoring at the opportunity to be the first dual division champion, Henderson got the chance and took full advantage of it. It was reported later in the night that Silva was indeed sick. He was suffering from possible strep throat and a high fever. Silva is not the type of guy to make an excuse and he did not before or after the fight. Silva reigned as the Pride Middleweight champion for well over five years and was distraught over the results, as he will now have to feel what it’s like not to wear the title he’s grown attached to.
Henderson sends Silva down for the KO victory
Henderson went into this fight with everything to gain. He went out and fought like the warrior we all remember. He stood and traded with Silva, and even when caught with a solid punch, did not back down for one second. It was a brutal left hook that would send Silva crashing hard to the mat and send his head bouncing off of it. Silva was immediately knocked out and Dan Henderson was the new Middleweight champion and the Welterweight champion. While I don’t expect Henderson to hold on to both titles for long (not because he will lose but because he won’t be able to fight often enough to defend both), he can be the first to claim the feat of a two division champion in Pride or the UFC and add that to his already long and impressive MMA resume.
Let the celebration begin!
Where does the “Axe Murder” go from here? Is a possible move to the UFC a lot more likely now or will he seek an immediate rematch with Henderson? We should know soon enough.
Henderson gets the win and the belt
NOTE: To view our ENTIRE MMANews.com exclusive PRIDE 33 live-action photo gallery, featuring literally hundreds of exclusive photos from the event – CLICK HERE.
Thoughts and Live Notes
-This was an overall great night for Pride and MMA fans. While it seemed a little lopsided on paper, this is a perfect example of why the fights take place no matter how they look, because anything can happen in MMA at anytime. While the ongoing talks of Pride selling keep growing, this can put a setback on those talks. The house was packed for this event and most people I talked to, that didn’t attend, bought the PPV. This could’ve been a large success for Pride and maybe a bit of a crutch at least for a little while. When asked about selling the company, at the post fight press conference, President Sakakibara became extremely emotional seemingly holding back tears and said that Pride was his third child. No straightforward answer but no doubt some truth to it.
-The crowd was hot all-night and very into it. There were loud chants for their favorite fighters and some even jumped on some bandwagons when fights didn’t go their way. I must also mention my distaste for “U.S.A.” chants. That was a fun thing to do when you’re twelve years old attending a professional wrestling event and jeering the “bad guys” from other countries. I don’t feel there should be a home for that in MMA. Most athletes are from different parts of the world and respect one another to the fullest. Why do some MMA fans (MOST of which love the foreign fighters, notably Rua, who arguably had the loudest single ovation of the night for any fighter) feel the need to chant that? Has there ever been a “Japan” chant for a Pride event when they are there? Is there going to be a “Russia” chant when Fedor takes on Lindland? Highly doubtful, so come U.S. fans, get with the program, you can’t chant “U.S.A.” and then turn around and give Rua a louder ovation than Henderson, it just doesn’t make sense and it’s not needed. Other than that, I must admit the crowd was very good. Most people don’t realize that a live crowd can set the tone for the people watching at home. You ever watch an event where the crowds are extremely quiet and you find yourself yawning even if it’s good? Compared to the crowds that are loud and very into the show, which you may notice keep your eyes glued to the TV a lot more.
-The celebrities were in the house to catch the action of Pride. Former IBF Heavyweight boxing champion, Chris Byrd, enjoyed the action from a front row seat. The very popular, Chuck Norris, was also in attendance. Ghost Rider star and famed Hollywood actor, Nicholas Cage joined Chuck. Special guest for Pride, Herschel Walker, joined the pre-fight press conference and also took in the action being a longtime martial artist himself. Indiana Jones himself, Harrison Ford, was also there. MMA fighters who were also in the crowd included, Mark Coleman, Wes Sims, Kevin Randleman, Jens Pulver, Josh Barnett, Brandon Vera, Kit Cope, and Gina Carano. MMA referees “Big” John McCarthy and Herb Dean also attended.
-I spoke with Alistair Overeem following his fight and he informed me that he would be moving back up to Heavyweight because of the struggles of cutting weight to 205lbs. He also said he would most likely remain there from here on out.
-I also caught up with Gilbert Melendez who told me his next fight would be on May 20th, the start of Pride’s Lightweight Grand Prix.
-I asked Kevin Randleman how he was feeling, he said in high spirits, “I’m alive, it’s good to just be alive!”
-I say this everytime and I will make note to keep on saying it. If you have yet to attend a live MMA event, DO SO. While it’s great on PPV and TV, there is nothing like watching it live. The combination of Pride’s opening segment, the female ring announcer (Lenne Hardt) who I absolutely love hearing in person, the fights, and the confetti filled ending is something one must experience firsthand. You’ll surely be left wanting more, as the experience is like nothing else.
-Thanks to Ed Fishman for all his help.
-I would also like to send a special shoutout to our friends over at MMAWeekly.
Stick with us over here at MMANews.com as we will be bringing you more exclusive interviews, breaking stories, and anything else we can get our greedy little hands on for our MMA and boxing fans! Until next time, I will see you at the Forums (Forums.MMANews.com)!
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