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Pride 25 Body Blow
March 16, 2003
Yokohama, Japan at Yokohama Arena
Akira Shoji vs. Alex Stiebling
Alex Stiebling was basically like the Jason "Mayhem" Miller of this time period. He had a funny personality and brought some nice ground and boxing skills, but always seemed to blow a chance at winning big. Shoji on the other hand, was loved by the Japanese audience and had a heart the size of a lion. Fans were looking forward to a good brawl, and they sure got what they wanted. What ensued turned out to be a good back and forth fight. Although the decision was questionable, a case can be made for either man. Neither fighter really had much of a chance at earning a championship title fight, but they always came out swinging and this fight was put together basically for the entertainment of the crowd.
THE FIGHT
Round 1: Alex starts out strong with a nice inside leg kick. Shoji returns the favor with one of his own. Both men being cautious here. Stiebling evades a few punches by Shoji and executes a thai clinch and throws a knee that misses as Shoji wisely backs away. Shoji charges in with an overhad right, but Alex ducks under and lands a beautiful uppercut to the midsection. They trade low kicks again before Shoji gets inside and lands in inside sweep takedown. Shoji looks to land a little ground and pound as he works from Stiebling's closed guard. Shoji passes to half guard and Alex pulls him in close. Shoji passes to side mount and looks for an opening. Shoji locks in a crucifix but loses it. This is a fairly technical battle here with some good spots. Shoji looks to get to mount, but Alex defends and Akira ends up back in guard. Akira regains half guard and the action slows again. Shoji moves to side control and north south position. Shoji looks for knees to the head, but Alex gamely works him back into half guard. This is a perfect example of how exciting a ground war can be. Shoji lands a few punches but ends up back in guard. Akira postures up and lands a few more punches as Alex pulls him back into guard. Shoji gets a crucifix again and lands a few punches to the face of Stiebling. Nice defense being shown here by Alex. Stiebling works to his feet and rushes in with bad intentions but Shoji initiates a clinch and they take a breather in the corner as the round ends.
Round 2: Alex lands two stiff jabs followed by an overhand right that backs Shoji up. Stielbling works a jab followed by a nice straight to the body. Shoji is game though and throws out a few jabs of his own. Shoji lands a series of hooks that drop Alex and lands a few more bombs as he towers over Stiebling. Shoji is relentless here but Alex defends well. Shoji jumps into half guard and transitions to full mount before landing more bombs to the face of Stiebling. Alex regains guard and performs a beautiful sweep and ends up in full mount. Stiebling drops a few bombs of his own before Shoji gives up his back and Alex looks for a rear naked choke. Shoji waves to the camera as if to say he's ok. Stiebling lets go of the choke and works from the back as he drop a succession of punches to the side of Shoji's head. This fight got real exciting really quick. What a great round this was.
Round 3: Stiebling wisely works the jab again followed by a right cross that misses. They trade leg kicks and look for openings. Alex throws out a series of jabs that keep distance between both men. Shoji looks to counter but appears too tired and slow to be effective. Alex is the busier fighter, but isn't landing much as he keeps working the jab. Shoji steps in and throws a left jab and straight right that both land nicely. Stiebling lands a hard outside leg kick and another stiff jab. Alex lands a hard right uppercut but Shoji scampers away before Stielbling can follow up. Both men are swinging for the fences here. They approach the last minute of the fight and Alex remains the aggressor. Alex tosses out a jab but Shoji returns fire with three hooks, one of which lands. Shoji drops a bomb of a left hook that hits its mark. The round ends with no clear victor. Excellent fight here, both men gave all they had. The decision is read and Akira Shoji is declared the winner via split decision.
THE AFTERMATH
Akira Shoji: Shoji was a Pride veteran coming into this fight, with 17 appearances to his credit already. He was adored by the Japanese fans and although he lost more fights than he won, he always fought with his heart. Shoji always impressed fans with his willingness to fight opponents much larger than him and had only been finished a few times. This fight with Alex Stiebling was no exception to the heart and determination that Shoji possessed as Akira survived a tight rear naked choke attempt and went on to win the decision. Shoji would go on to lose his next two fights in Pride to Mauricio and Murilo Rua respectively, before earning his last victory in a Pride ring at Bushido 3. Shoji would remain actively fighting in Pride, Cage Rage, and King of the Cage but never made much of an impact again. His skills had diminished the further his career progressed. Shoji was brought in for Pride's last event, Pride 34, and lost to Gilbert Yvel via knockout. Akira provided fans with a lot of good fights over the years and will mainly be remembered for his battles in the early years of Pride, along with a heart the size of a basketball.
Alex Stiebling: Alex is one of those fighters that always entertain but never wins the big one. Coming into this fight, he had already made three appearances in Pride and lost only once to the current UFC middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva. Stiebling had a reputation of sorts as a Brazilian killer since his record against Brazilian fighters was an impressive 6-1. Alex was in the midst of a three fight losing streak and knew that another win in Pride would go a long way towards securing another invite. Shoji was able to earn the victory and this fight proved to be Stiebling's last in Pride. Alex would go on to enjoy a four fight win streak but then hit another four fight losing streak, consisting of losses to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, Chael Sonnen, Vernon White, and relatively unknown Fernando Gonzalez. Stiebling has fought all over the world in his career including appearances in the UFC, WEC, IVC, Pancrase, Bodog, and various other organizations. However, big time success has always eluded him.
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