Pride delivered another great PPV with none of the fights going to the judges score cards. Here are the results:
Antonio Nogueira only needed 2:17 to defeat near 400lb. Zulu. They came out, Nog shot, took him down and quickly gained full mount. From there he reined down blows until Zulu gave his arm and Nog secured the kimura for the easy win.
Mirko Cro Cop also had a quick night dispatching Minowa easily in round 1. Believe it or not, Minowa has been asking Pride management for this fight for years now. Minowa finally got his wish and came out with a flashy cartwheel kick that did little damage. From there, Cro Cop landed heavy blows and the fight went to the canvas with Cro Cop on top. There he pounded down heavy blows and the ref had to step in to stop the fight. Minowa was out cold, and when he finally got to his feet he staggered into the ropes. Cro Cop advances.
Kazuyuki Fujita returned to action against up and comer James Thompson. Thompson shocked the crowd when he didn't do his normal "gong and dash" instead implementing a slow and steady pace. James dominated with the jab and keeping Fujita at bay. Thompson defended the takedown with great sprawl and the two began to exchange good shots. Thompson was dominating the fight and looked much improved when Fujita, almost in desperation, began to throw some nice combinations that hurt Thompson. The brawl was on from there as Thompson looked out on his feet but kept coming! Finally, Fujita landed a big right hand KOing the Colossus Mega-Punk! Fujita wins a great fight and moves on.
Fabricio Werdum stopped Alistair Overeem with a kimura. Werdum showed up with a new stand up skill and battled with Overeem the favorite. Werdum though losing, stayed in the fight and got the takedown on a tiring Alistair. From there he secured the kimura and this grudge match was over.
Mark Hunt and TK got it on in a great slugfest. Mark came out swinging as he always does and TK tried and tried again for the takedowns. He could not get the big man down so he resorted to trading blows with the heavy handed K-1 veteran. Though bloody and taking huge shots, TK began to return them and even seemed to have the heavy breathing Hunt, hurt on more than one occasion. Finally, Hunt began to dominate and TK showed much heart though he was badly hurt. TK went down and Hunt paused (showing class) and the ref called an end to the fight. TK was begging to continue but he had taken too much punishment and was covered in his own blood. True to his word, Tsuyoshi Kohsaka announced his retirement after the fight. A warrior and classy fighter, "TK" will be missed.
Aleksander Emelienenko and Josh Barnett fought in one of the most highly anticipated fights of the evening. Alek came out calm and picked his shots and used his long jab. Barnett for some reason, didn't go for the takedowns as is his normal attack, and instead traded shots. Alek got the better of the exchanges and Barnett was getting badly damaged by the end of round 1. In the second round, Alek seemed to gas while Barnett, still losing the stand up war, kept coming with the punches. Finally, Josh shot and took Alek down. From there Barnett quickly secured a keylock for the submission win. Then, Josh Barnett got on the microphone and called out Alek's brother Fedor, saying "Fedor is dead, he just doesn't know it yet."
Hidehiko Yoshida fought in the main event against fellow Japanese boxer Yosuke Nishijima. Yoshida showed heart and even fought out of an early submission attempt by the Judo gold champion Yoshida, but the constant attack on the ground ended with a triangle choke for the win. Yoshida moves on.
In the alternates bout, Gilbert Yvel faced off against Red Devil member Roman Zentsov. Roman controlled the fight and KO'd Gilbert who goes to 1-6 in his pride career. Roman continues to improve from the training of Fedor, Aleksander, and the rest of the Red Devils.
Great PPV and if you didn't see it you should watch the replay. A great night of fights!
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