PRIDE Fighting Championships
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Overview
PRIDE Fighting Championships (b. October 11, 1997 - c. October 4, 2007) was a Japanese mixed martial arts organization which was promoted by Dream Stage Entertainment before the organizations was sold to Frank Fertita III and Lorenzo Fertita of Zuffa in 2007.
During its lifespan, PRIDE held 68 events and was considered by many to be the top MMA promotion in the world.
History
Beginnings
PRIDE began in 1997 when Kakutougi Revolution Spirits proposed the idea of popular Japanese professional wrestler, Nobuyuki Takada facing off against Rickson Gracie who was widely regarded as the greatest Gracie jiu jitsu practioner.
The idea was turned into an event, as Takada and Gracie faced off as the headlining match of PRIDE 1 on October 11, 1997. The event attracted mass media attention in Japan as well as 47,000 fans to the Tokyo Dome.
The success of the event led to a Japanese TV deal with Fuji TV and pay-per-views broadcasts on SKY PerfecTV.
PRIDE gained great attention from the MMA world in 2000, when they held a 16-man openweight tournament held over two events to crown the world's best fighter. The epic tournament concluded with a final between former UFC heavyweight champion, Mark Coleman and Ukranian slugger, Igor Vovchancyn. Coleman finished Vovchancyn in the second round with some flying knees from north/south to claim the tournament.
In 2003, PRIDE introduced the Bushido series which focused on the lighter weight classes and emphasised a faster pace with only one ten minute round and one five minute round, as opposed to the traditional one ten minute and two five minute rounds.
In the future years, PRIDE held a number of a tournaments in all four weight classes which featured many of the world's best fighters.
In November of 2006, PRIDE announced the discontinuation of the Bushido series as they planned on integrating the lighter weight classes into regular PRIDE events.
Demise
On March 27, 2007, Dream Stage Entertainment president, Nobuyuki Sakakibara announced that Lorenzo Fertita and Frank Fertita III - co-owners of Zuffa and top flight US MMA promotion, the Ultimate Fighting Championship - had made a deal (reportedly US $70 million) to acquire all assets of PRIDE from DSE. The deal was to come into effect after PRIDE 34 in April of 2007.
The new PRIDE owners - known as PRIDE FC Worldwide Holdings, LLC - publicly stated they hoped to continue PRIDE on as a seperate entity to the UFC with both organizations trading fighters and having combined events in the future. However, after stating the difficulties of the Japanese market, Zuffa pulled the plug on PRIDE and on October 4, 2007, PRIDE Worldwide closed its Japanese office.
Rules and Judging
Rounds
In the early years of PRIDE, the round system differed almost from event to event. From only one 30 minute round to multiple 10 and 15 minute rounds, PRIDE eventually settled on a consistent round structure which is as follows:
- Normal PRIDE bouts and non-Bushido tournament bouts (if only one round of the tournament was held that night) would consist of three rounds. The first being 10 minutes and the last two being 5 minutes.
- Bushido bouts and tournament bouts (if there was more than one round that night) would feature two rounds. The first being 10 minutes and the second being 5 minutes.
Judging
PRIDE fights that went to a decision were judged on the entirity of the fight rather than the traditional round by round basis. When looking at the fight judges would decide the winner from the following criteria (in order):
- the effort made to finish the fight via knockout or submission,
- damage given to the opponent,
- standing combinations and ground control,
- takedowns and takedown defense,
- aggressiveness, and
- weight (if the difference is 10kg (22 lbs.) or more
If the fight lasts longer than the first round and is stopped by illegal but accidental means then the fight will be judged on this criteria as well.
Rules
PRIDE's rules differed to that of the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts in some key areas:
- Elbow strikes to the head and face were banned
- Knees to the head of a downed opponent were legal
- Soccer kicks and stomps were legal.
- Piledrivers were legal.
- Fighters were allowed to wear a gi and variations of the gi.
- Fighters were also permitted to wear wrestling shoes.
Weight Classes
PRIDE featured four weight classes ranging from lightweight to heavyweight:
- Lightweight - 73 kg. (161 lbs.)
- Welterweight - 83 kg. (183 lbs.)
- Middleweight - 93 kg. (205 lbs.)
- Heavyweight - Over 93 kg. (205+ lbs.)
Current Champions
Divisional Champions
For the full history of PRIDE divisional champions see List of PRIDE Champions.
| Weight Division | Champion | Since | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lightweight (161 lbs.) | Takanori Gomi | December 31, 2005 | 1 |
| Welterweight (183 lbs.) | Dan Henderson | December 31, 2005 | 0 |
| Middleweight (205 lbs.) | Dan Henderson | February 24, 2007 | 0 |
| Heavyweight (205+ lbs.) | Fedor Emelianenko | March 16, 2003 | 3 |
Tournament Champions
| Year | Weight Division | Champion | Finalist |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Openweight | Mark Coleman | Igor Vovchanchyn |
| 2003 | Middleweight | Wanderlei Silva | Quinton Jackson |
| 2004 | Heavyweight | Fedor Emelianenko | Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira |
| 2005 | Middleweight | Mauricio Rua | Ricardo Arona |
| Welterweight | Dan Henderson | Murilo Bustamante | |
| Lightweight | Takanori Gomi | Hayato Sakurai | |
| 2006 | Openweight | Mirko Filipovic | Josh Barnett |
| Welterweight | Kazuo Misaki | Denis Kang |
Events
External Links
http://www.pridefc.com/pride2005/index_new_temp.php - PRIDE Official Website (English)
http://www.prideofficial.com/ - PRIDE Official Website (Japanese)
--Sam Cupitt 04:11, 24 April 2009 (UTC)
