PRIDE 2005 Final Conflict = Goat MMA event

UltimateGround
122

Even if he was having a Reyes like early few rounds, Jiri would grab defeat from the jaws of victory doing something stupid.

123

If Igor fought Wand there wouldn’t be a rematch because Wand would be physically unable to fight

1 Like
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Maybe.

Peak Wandy was a force of nature though.
I think he gets a bit underrated around here.

I do think Wandy’s style works to his disadvantage vs Igor though. Coming in aggressive and taking some shots is not a good approach to Igor lol.

But it’s not like Igor was a guaranteed KO machine. Some Japanese guys like Otsuka went the distance with him, and Telligman won a decision. Peak Wandy was around '03/'04, and that’s when Igor was hitting the downside of his career.

Would have been entertaining as hell no matter what.

2 Likes
125

This

His funny post surgery face makes people forget how much of a killer he was

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126

As great as many of these events were, it’s Bushido 9 for me.

LW tournament to crown Pride’s first LW champ. UFC and just disbanded their LW division. For years Shooto had been the home of the lighter weights, but Pride was taking over. Stacked tournament and the fights delivered.

Gomi- former shooto champ. Uncrowned Pride champ

Hansen- former shooto champ. Beat Gomi for the title.

Kawajiri- reigning shooto champ.

Samurai- former WW Shooto champ. Former #1 pound for pound fighter. Undefeated since moving to LW.

Edwards- uncrowned UFC champ when they disbanded the division. Essentially the reigning UFC champ.

Pulver- former UFC champ. Left the UFC as the champ.

Azeredo- upcoming chutebox fighter.

Kotani- weak link in the tournament. Did eventually fight in the ufc as a ww.

On paper the most stacked tournament ever IMO. You also had Mishima vs Crazy Horse as an alternate fight and the MW tournament with Busta, Hendo, Gono, Minowa, Chonan, Baroni

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PRIDE 11

PRIDE 12

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128

Pride 10 has a special place in my heart.

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129

PRIDE 13

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PRIDE 14

PRIDE 15

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PRIDE 16

PRIDE 17

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PRIDE 18

PRIDE 19

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PRIDE 20

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PRIDE 21

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PRIDE 22

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PRIDE 23

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PRIDE 24

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It used to be the norm for MMA events to feel special. It was one of the biggest things it had over boxing, that the card itself had an appeal and sense of spectacle to it rather than it being mostly built around just one fight or fighter. Its fucking sad that thats completely gone now save for maybe a handful of times a year. I mean, how crazy is it that most events used to get released on DVD? I know DVD etc is dead now but even if it wasnt, can you imagine buying a DVD of like Gregory Rodrigues vs Anthony Hernandez or Umar Nurmagomedov vs Yadong Song lol.