# True MMA Fans: Read Here



## Regor (Nov 4, 2007)

Keywords: Pride, K-1, Shockwave, Dynamite

If you're a real fan of MMA, you'll understand what I'm about to talk about.



Back in August of 2002, two major martial arts organizations came together to have an amazing event. Pride Fighting Championships and K-1 held what is called in Pride as the first "Shockwave" and is known in Japan as Pride/K-1 Dynamite. This event is VERY hard to come by, as shortly thereafter, K-1 changed from a kickboxing to a MMA format, which made them competitors with Pride, so the event wasn't really released on DVD outside of Japan. Apparently there's a french version of the DVD released, but alas, I'm not in France, so I can't get a copy of that DVD either. I've seen the Japanese release go for >$100 on eBay before.

It had a combination of match formats, MMA and K-1, and one special fight:

MMA rules matches

-Tatsuya Iwasaki vs Wanderlei Silva
-Daijiro Matsui vs  Jerrel Venetiaan
-Gary Goodridge vs Lloyd Van Dams
-Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs Bob Sapp
-Mirko Filipovi&#263; vs Kazushi Sakuraba

Jiu-Jitsu Rules Match
-Royce Gracie vs Hidehiko Yoshida (This match had a VERY controversial ending)

K-1 rules matches
-Ernesto Hoost vs Semmy Schilt
-Don Frye vs Jérôme Le Banner


In any case, I've always (forgive myself) prided myself on having every PFC event possible on DVD. Either the released DVDs (of which I have all), and the others I've recorded the PPVs when we ordered them. But I've never had this event... until last night when my torrent finally finished!! Sure, file sharing can be bad thing. But if the shit just isn't available anymore/at all, I think it's wonderful!! I can't fucking wait to watch these tonight! But first I gotta figure out how to burn an .ogm to a DVD.


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## Jongpil Yun (Nov 4, 2007)

PRIDE > K1 > UFC

Sapp is a giant dumbshit. I hope he got his ass handed to him again.


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## The Dark Wolf (Nov 4, 2007)

Jongpil Yun said:


> PRIDE > K1 > UFC
> 
> Sapp is a giant dumbshit. I hope he got his ass handed to him again.



Laughable. Where is Pride now, hmm?

Oh, I'm sorry! It was organized by Yakuza and the top Pride fighters have been getting their ass handed to them by the UFC guys! Oh my!


Gah. The Pride vs. UFC shit is so fucking stupid. It's all MMA, for Christ's sake! One has an octagon cage, and the other a square ring with ropes. (Oh, and steroids. ) It's apples and apples, man.

Anyrate, sorry bout that, Rog. I'm thinking you and I are probably the two big-time MMA fans on here. I've got a few of those fights on file myself, although not the whole event.


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## Regor (Nov 4, 2007)

The Dark Wolf said:


> Oh, I'm sorry! It was organized by Yakuza and the top Pride fighters have been getting their ass handed to them by the UFC guys! Oh my!



Hmm...  Let's see... Anderson Silva 2 - Rich Franklin 0, Rampage Jackson 2 - Chuck Liddell 0... and both PFC fighters won UFC gold after only 2 fights in the UFC. But otherwise you're right...  


Yeah, it took me a while to get over being a Pride snob myself. But a local band's drummer helped me realize ANYTHING that supports MMA is good in my book. We went to a KOTC event here in MI, and it was a blast. So like TDW said, MMA is MMA. (Just don't forget, there's tons of steroid bullshit in UFC too Bob).



The Dark Wolf said:


> I've got a few of those fights on file myself, although not the whole event.



We'll fix that... IF I EVER FIGURE OUT HOW TO FUCKING BURN OGMS TO DVD!    

I've been trying for fucking ever to figure this shit out... and everything keeps erroring out on me. Stupid codec bullshit.



Anywho.... as soon as I get done printing lecture slides for school tomorrow... ON WITH THE SHOW!!!


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## The Dark Wolf (Nov 4, 2007)

Regor said:


> Yeah, it took me a while to get over being a Pride snob myself. But a local band's drummer helped me realize ANYTHING that supports MMA is good in my book. We went to a KOTC event here in MI, and it was a blast. So like TDW said, MMA is MMA. (Just don't forget, there's tons of steroid bullshit in UFC too Bob).


Agreed, totally.

It's just the dumb fucking "Pride is the best!" attitude that gets me. I loved Pride too, back in the day. I got into way Sakuraba and Wandy were owning everyone, and Igor Vovchancin was one of the most feared HWs around, so I know it well.

But to me, MMA is MMA. It's all good. I regret the loss of Pride, but this attitude that one was significantly better... I don't get it, and never did. Fighting is fighting, man. The more the better.


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## The Dark Wolf (Nov 4, 2007)

How to Convert OGM to DVD - VideoHelp.com

Maybe this helps?


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## 7 Strings of Hate (Nov 4, 2007)

dude, i'm a huge mma fan, yea pride is ufc now, and ufc is the shit, it has the best fighters, and besides, the pride and ufc guys constantly switched fighters, liddel, baroni, tito just to name a few. i'm interested to see what kind of competition fedor will be seeing in that new m1 league


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## Jongpil Yun (Nov 4, 2007)

Regor said:


> Hmm...  Let's see... Anderson Silva 2 - Rich Franklin 0, Rampage Jackson 2 - Chuck Liddell 0... and both PFC fighters won UFC gold after only 2 fights in the UFC. But otherwise you're right...



Don't forget Fedor vs Randleman.

Everything about UFC, from the name, marketing, announcers, venue, stupid reality show, and then channel they play it on annoys me. And they trademarked the name Octagon. What the hell.


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## The Dark Wolf (Nov 4, 2007)

Who fucking cares? If it wasn't for UFC, there'd be no MMA most likely.

What matters is the sport. I was a fan of MMA when it was pretty much illegal in almost every state. With more money comes better fights. Or would you rather the one-sided jiu-jitsu squash-fests of the old days? God, that elitist bullshit drives me fucking crazy. Get over it already.


And I personally love the reality show. There's fights at the end of every show, and we get to see an inside look into training and the personalities of some top MMA stars. Wows, how dare they!


And don't forget Randleman knocking Cro Cop the fuck out.


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## Regor (Nov 5, 2007)

Jongpil Yun said:


> Don't forget Fedor vs Randleman.
> 
> Everything about UFC, from the name, marketing, announcers, venue, stupid reality show, and then channel they play it on annoys me. And they trademarked the name Octagon. What the hell.



Actually, I don't count that fight as UFC vs. Pride... because Randleman came over to Pride from the UFC for a while. So that doesn't count in my book. Hell, Mark Coleman, Don Frye, just to name a few, all came over to Pride from the UFC back in the day. I don't count that as UFC vs. Pride. Same with CroCop vs. Randleman. Randleman was an established fighter in PFC by then. That was just a plain old Pride fight. When Chuck Liddell came to Pride to fight Jackson however... that was UFC vs. PFC.



And Bob, I have to agree here. I have no problem with UFC fighters being better than Pride, and vice versa. My biggest problem with the UFC is the "I'd like to thank my sponsors" bullshit that covers every aspect of the UFC. Mind you, I understand UFC's reason behind it. And the fact that they're doing it is getting MMA bigger and bigger and you can't have a problem with that. BUT, the fighter's FIRST thing out of their mouth when interviewed by Joe Rogan is "I'd like to thank my sponsors..." You don't hear that shit in PFC. Why? Cuz the sport is more important than the sponsors. That's my  That, and if the UFC is ever going to get 'real' legitimization in the world of sports in the USA... it's gotta lose the cage... but they won't, because that's their namesake, really.


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## Regor (Nov 5, 2007)

Ok, so I haven't finished the whole thing... got school in the morning, but here's an update for those of you interested.

-Tatsuya Iwasaki vs Wanderlei Silva: Early stoppage win for Silva. Good fight, but nothing amazing.

-Daijiro Matsui vs Jerrel Venetiaan: Fight was edited for 'time' apparently. Picked up action in the 3rd round. Exciting fight. Too fucking bad they edited it. Bet it was all good.

-Gary Goodridge vs Lloyd Van Dams: Good fight, but kinda slow.

-Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs Bob Sapp: FUCK ME! Expected the outcome, but didn't expect the fight to be that damn good!

-Ernesto Hoost vs Semmy Schilt: Really good fight. Really good.

-Don Frye vs Jérôme Le Banner: Aw hell. Sick knockout.


Just got Royce vs. Yoshida, and Saku vs. CroCop left. Tomorrow night.


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## The Dark Wolf (Nov 5, 2007)

Tell that to NASCAR.

Oh, and yeah... NASCAR is bigger than ever. And A) the drivers, B) the owners, C) the sponsors, and D) the organization, is making more and more money.


Ridiculous quibbles. I've been a MMA fan longer than likely anyone on this board (since late '98, as well as training in it, along with amateur wrestling and judo), and well do I remember when UFC was almost completely washed up, and MMA was illegal everywhere.

Now, thanks in large part to UFC's brilliant PROMOTIONAL work, MMA is growing, with more money (for fighters as well), more popularity, and growing mainstream acceptance. This acceptance has led to wide-scale sanctioning, which leads to more uniform rules and safer fighting conditions for fighters.

I remember when purses were considered huge at 10 grand. Fighters can make more than a million a go now, at the top.


You guys are upset there are sponsors? Be glad! I remember when people wouldn't touch MMA with a stick. Gome on, grow up! You guys want MMA to be underground, as if that was somehow "superior?" Elitist, short-sighted nonsense, that thankfully, the growing MMA communicty at large does no support or agree with.


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## Jason (Nov 5, 2007)

Jongpil Yun said:


> Don't forget Fedor vs Randleman.
> 
> Everything about UFC, from the name, marketing, announcers, venue, *stupid reality show,* and then channel they play it on annoys me. And they trademarked the name Octagon. What the hell.




The first season or 2 kicked ass!


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## Regor (Nov 5, 2007)

Well, I don't watch NASCAR. And I don't have a problem with the UFC being sponsored, or fighters. But you've already got their logo on your trunks or the shirt/hat you're wearing. What I can't stand is that every fighter has to say "I'd like to thank my sponsors" the FIRST thing out of their mouth. It's soooo fucking annoying IMO.


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## 7 Strings of Hate (Nov 5, 2007)

i honostly dont think i'v ever, ever heard one of the fighters first words in the post fight "interview" they do in the ring be about his sponsers. besides, who gives a shit, ufc brought mma to the mainstream, to sit there and say that it sucks is insane, they are collecting all the tallent in to one kick ass league, i cant watch a single fuckin thing on tv that doesnt kiss its sponsers ass, i'd say fuck the bickering and sit back an enjoy what the ufc has done, they have assembled the "super bowl" of the fighting world


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## The Dark Wolf (Nov 5, 2007)

Well said, 7SoH. I feel the same way. It seems petty, childish, and ultimately pointless to complain about the way things are, in regards to money, popularity, and sponsors. These guys sound like Tr00 Kvlt MMA fans or something.




Regor said:


> Well, I don't watch NASCAR.


Neither do I, but that doesn't invalidate my point. How does you not watching it make what I say any less valid? From a marketing standpoint, NASCAR is ENORMOUSLY successful, and UFC is following their model in many ways. Which means sponsors, and fighters mentioning their sponsors.

Guess what? Without sponsors, most of these guys probably couldn't afford to train full-time, and that means we have sub-par quality fighters. Don't tell me you don't agree the quality of fighters has only increased over the years. I know, I've seen it. They have substantially improved, consistently, year after year.


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## Regor (Nov 5, 2007)

7 Strings of Hate said:


> i honostly dont think i'v ever, ever heard one of the fighters first words in the post fight "interview" they do in the ring be about his sponsers.



Are you kidding me? How many fights do you watch? And I'm not talking about the TV show.



I know what you're saying Bob. And yeah, you're right. I just don't like that aspect of the UFC. That's all I'm saying (Besides not liking the rules, but that's another topic).


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## DslDwg (Nov 5, 2007)

Count me as another huge fan of mma here - if not top 2 on this site I'm definitely up there. I did enjoy Pride a great deal although probably a late comer there. Been watching UFC since number 2. Lost track in the middle for a while but don't miss it anymore. 

I'm not sure UFC owning all the big shows and talent is great for the fighters especially those just making ends meet fight to fight. It has certainly been great having the majority of the talent in one place. 

For all who say Pride guys have been getting beat up - remember two of our current champs are Pride guys. Then looking at a few of the other fights where Pride guys lost to other Pride guys a la Henderson to Jackson or Herring to Nog. Not all Pride losses are strictly at the hands of UFC fighters. 

As far as guys promoting their sponsors - I have no problem with this. Especially the young up and coming guys. Many are still working jobs to pay for their expenses- then training half the night. The competition is getting so good most guys need to train and concentrate on fighting 24/7 - If they only get $5000-$10,000 per fight and only fight every 3-4 months that's a pretty meager paycheck - so if promoting tires and fight apparel etc. helps them make ends meet and brings us more great fighters I'm all for it. 

I love the situation we are in now - I remember those days it looked like MMA would be banned in the U.S. now I can turn on cable almost any night of the week and find some kind of MMA show - and honestly some of the best fights I've seen recently have been in the smaller promotions - I know UFC owns WEC but I've really been enjoying that promotion lately. I hope the whole sport just keeps getting stronger - I never get tired of watching a great match.


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## The Dark Wolf (Nov 5, 2007)

Yep. Since UFC has absorbed WEC, it's pretty cool. They show compilations all the time on the Vs. network.



Rog - glad you get what I'm saying. I'm no UFC/Dana White nuthugger, and I loved Pride. But really, it's the sport I care most about. The sport was made by the fighters and the fans, but let's face it, without any sort of money venue, or organization, there wouldn't really be any MMA. But saying one group is/was better than the other... fuck the groups. I care about fighters.


Remember the old days when MMA was trying to find it's identity? Ultimate Fighting, cage fighting, pankration, NHB...  Glad to see they have at least grown up a bit.


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## Regor (Nov 5, 2007)

Yeah, I got no problem with fighters being sponsored. It just annoys the hell outta me when this happens:

Rogan: "So how does it feel to beat the guy everyone said was unbeatable?"
Fighter: "First off, I'd like to thank my sponsors... yada yada yada"

That's all I'm saying.




Dude, i'd love to get my hands on some Pancrase videos, or some Vale Tudo shit from Brazil. That'd be fucking sweet.

All I know is, I know have every Pride event EVER. and that makes me happy


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