Hello again and welcome back to DVD World. My name is Brian Sweet and as always, please feel free to email me with any comments, questions, or concerns regarding anything MMA or DVD related at bs2647@gmail.com.
Last week I reviewed "UFC 43: Meltdown" and I figured this week I would switch gears and take a look at a Pride event that took place around the same time. I find it interesting that both the UFC and Pride were in the process of establishing new stars at this time. Several of them in this week's review would end up becoming hugely successful in the UFC and involved in some of the most famous knockouts in MMA history.
This week we will be looking at "Pride 25: Body Blow." This event is very special to me and my collection due to the championship title fight contained therein. Fedor Emelianenko attempted to dethrone Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira for the Pride Heavyweight Championship in an epic battle that earned both men a tremendous amount of respect from the MMA community in two very different ways.
My DVD player is loaded, my remote control is in hand, and my faithful companion Chloe the Chihuahua is sitting next to me, eagerly awaiting the action. Let's get right to it and find out what went down six years ago in Yokohama, Japan.
We'll post analysis and perspective on one fight each day this week, so visit MMATorch.com every day for the latest article. We begin with an introduction to put the show in perspective.
Pride 25 Body Blow
March 16, 2003
Yokohama, Japan at Yokohama Arena
Readers who do not own any Pride Fighting Championship DVDs are in for a treat. Pride 25 is the quintessential Pride event that firmly established the great Fedor Emelianenko as a legend in the sport. The main event consisted of a wonderful heavyweight title fight between Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Fedor Emelianenko. This fight changed the way we viewed ground and pound. Nogueira came into the event a huge favorite and Fedor looked to surprise the world and cement his place in the history books. What ensued was a thorough and relentless beat down that has to be seen to be believed.
The rest of the card is stacked full of several brutal knockouts, an armbar submission victory, and only two decision wins. In the co main event, future UFC light heavyweight kingpin Quinton "Rampage" Jackson took on a former UFC heavyweight champion Kevin "The Monster" Randleman. The two Americans threw down heavily and the fight ended in a vicious knockout that is well worth the price of the DVD alone. Next up, Japanese pro wrestling and MMA legend, "The Gracie Hunter" Kazushi Sakuraba took on little known vale tudo fighter Nino "Elvis" Schembri in a fight that ended in an upset of epic proportions.
Dan Henderson was also on the card as he faced Renzo Gracie conquerer, Shungo Oyama. Oyama had earned some respect from the MMA community for his stubbornness to submit to opponents and a reckless style of stand up that almost never failed to entertain. Dan Henderson, on the other hand, came into this fight on a two fight losing streak suffered at the hands of Ricardo Arona and Pride heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Henderson had something to prove, and Oyama was the perfect opponent for him at this time. Dan was already considered a devastating striker and an excellent wrestler. Fireworks erupted and fun times were had by all viewers. Future UFC middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva also made an appearance on this card as he took on a former UFC welterweight champ, Carlos Newton. This fight is fun for nostalgia reasons and also for a surprising knockout that occurs suddenly and brutally.
After the main event, a battle between two Japanese fighters occurred that failed to meet expectations, but is notable as being one of only four wins on the pro record of Alexander Otsuka, who fought 17 times during his career. Not much is notable about his opponent Kenichi Yamamoto other than the fact that he earned two victories in the UFC way back at Ultimate Japan 2. Further stacking the undercard was a brawl between Pride veterans Alex Stiebling, who was in the middle of a three fight losing streak and Akira Shoji. Both men gave a good effort and there were some good spots in the fight. Finally, finishing off the card was a technical scrap between "Little Nog" Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and tought judo practitioner Kazuhiro Nakamura. This fight proved to be highly technical and a true battle of superiority between Brazilian jiu jitsu and the Japanese fighting style made popular by Karo Parisian in America, judo. Without further ado, let's get to the action.
Check in tomorrow for the start of a walk through each fight with a look at where each fighter's career went afterward.
[Fedor art credit Cory Gould (c) MMATorch]
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