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Pride 25 Body Blow
March 16, 2003
Yokohama, Japan at Yokohama Arena
Kazushi "The Gracie Hunter" Sakuraba vs. Nino "Elvis" Schembri
This fight was thrown together to help bolster the card and help Sakuraba prepare for the opening round of the Pride 2003 middleweight grand prix. Nobody expected much from Schembri and pretty much pegged him as a sacrificial lamb. There wasn't much lead-up to the fight, so let's get right to it and witness one of the biggest upsets in Pride history.
THE FIGHT
Round 1: Sakuraba begins with a left high kick that is deflected by Schembri. Sakuraba lands an outside leg kick followed by a left jab. Kazushi unloads a fury of punches off a left hand lead but few hit their mark. Schembri is being patient and looking to counter strike. Sakuraba lands another outside leg kick and follows up with a right and left hook combo that land nicely. Both men trade leg kicks shortly before Sakuraba lands a three punch combo to the face of Schrembri. Nino attempts to pull guard but hits the mat with Sakuraba towering over him. Sakuraba works the leg kicks as he searches for openings. The crowd is really into this fight. The ref stands Nino up and the reset in the middle of the ring. Elivs lands a nice right hand lead and attempts to pull guard again. Sakuraba stuffs it and they end up near the ropes with Schembri hanging on for dear life. Sakuraba lands a few punches to the midsection but the ref stops the action on account of Nino's bloody nose. The action resumes and Sakuraba lands a hard inside leg kick followed by a body kick and another three punch combo, two of which land perfectly. Schembri looks to clinch but eats the canvas as Kazushi shrugs him off. Excellent start by Sakuraba here. Another hard inside leg kick lands for the Gracie hunter and the leg of Schembri begins to show signs of damage. Schembri is getting picked apart by punches as Sakuraba lands combo after combo. Schembri is taking some massive shots but hangs tough. Sakuraba nails one of his signature Mongolian chops and follows up with a right left combo. Out of nowhere Schembri executes a thai clinch and decimates Sakuraba with a hard knee to the chin which drops him. Schembri follows up with two more knees off the clinch and a series of soccer kicks to end the fight. Brutal knockout win for Elvis here as he wins the upset of the night award. Renzo Gracie comes in to celebrate with his protégé as Sakuraba looks on in amazement.
THE AFTERMATH
Nino "Elvis" Schembri: Schembri was undefeated coming into this fight, but only had two fights on his resume. Sakuraba was well on his way to earning a possible knockout or TKO victory and Nino just got incredibly lucky. Schembri would go on to lose his next four fights after the Sakuraba win, including a loss to Kazushi in a rematch at Critical Countdown 2004. Nino had a decent ground game and many pegged him to develop into a really good fighter. But things don't always work out that way in the sport of MMA. Schembri would never earn another victory in Pride and his only real claim to fame is what went down here at Pride 25. There is nothing really more to say about Nino. He had a good night and enjoyed a win over one of MMAs greatest warriors, which is a lot more than most fighters can say.
Kazushi "The Gracie Hunter" Sakuraba: At this time, Sakuraba had already competed in a Pride ring eighteen times. He had defeated some of the most well known fighters of the time at their peak. Some of his victims included four Gracies, Carlos Newton, Vernon White, Vitor Belfort, Guy Mezger, and Quinton Jackson. Schembri was looked upon as a pawn to be used as a stepping stone to propel Sakuraba into a rematch with Wanderlei Silva with momentum. Nobody expected Schembri to pull off the upset, but he did and people were left speechless. Sakuraba would go on to lose his rematch with Silva via brutal knockout before securing a submission victory over Kevin Randleman. He suffered yet another loss at the hands of Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at Pride Shockwave 2003 next, and would go on to avenge his loss to Schembri at Critical Countdown 2004. A series of wins and losses occurred for the remainder of Sakuraba's career and he is always a top draw in whatever promotion he fights for. No matter who Sakuraba is fighting, they can be sure to expect a war. Sakuraba is probably the most popular fighter ever in Japanese MMA and as such, he is always in demand.
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