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Post by LWPD on Oct 19, 2006 18:00:17 GMT -5
Pride Real Deal US PPV Final Card
Live Saturday, Oct 21, 2006 9 PM EST Hype Video
Odds Snapshot
Courtesy of BettorMMA.com
Pride 32 - Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas: Matchups
Fedor Emelianenko -901
Mark Coleman +811
Mauricio Rua -301
Kevin Randleman +271
Dan Henderson -211
Vitor Belfort +191
Josh Barnett -751
Pawel Nastula +681
Joey Villasenor -131
Robbie Lawler +121
Phil Baroni -401
Yosuke Nishijima +361
Kazuhiro Nakamura -1001
Travis Galbraith +851
LWPD (rules have been changed to three 5 minute rounds and no knees or kicks to the head of a downed opponent...no shoes or wearing of the gi)
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Post by Trent Lawless on Oct 20, 2006 15:20:13 GMT -5
Absolutely don't count Yosuke Nishijima out of his match. That's my upset pick of the night.
I'm really looking forward to this one.
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Post by Darth Turkish on Oct 20, 2006 19:09:24 GMT -5
It would be nice to see Randleman win.
I am really going to enjoy this show.
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Post by Trent Lawless on Oct 20, 2006 20:08:43 GMT -5
Really? I like Shogun. Don't know why, but I do. Nothing against Randleman, though.
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Post by Darth Turkish on Oct 21, 2006 7:08:22 GMT -5
I am actually looking fowrad to seeing Lawler v Villasenor the second most. I saw a lot of King of the Cage fights with Villasenor, and he is a very good grappler.
I'd like to see him ge this one.
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Post by LWPD on Oct 21, 2006 7:25:02 GMT -5
Here's a brief overview of tonight's card from Dave Meltzer:
Courtesy of Wrestling Observer
*Mark Coleman vs. Fedor Emelianenko - Coleman can't stand with Fedor. He can take him down. His one-in-a-hundred chance to win is somehow Fedor getting twisted underneath him when being taken down. That actually happened in Coleman's last night with Mauricio Shogun Rua, so one would think his lightning striking may not be able to happen twice. The last time they thought, Coleman took Fedor right down, and Fedor submitted him. The odds are huge with Fedor, for good reason.
*Kevin Randleman vs. Mauricio Shogun Rua - Randleman is one of these guys with the athletic ability to beat anyone under 230 pounds, but with the unique ability to be able to lose to almost anyone as well. Rua is a heavy favorite to win by strikes or submission, but Rua wins often with stomps and the U.S. rules take away some of his best weapons
*Josh Barnett vs. Pawel Nastula - Nastula has picked up MMA well, even though his win/loss record doesn't show it as he's started out against the best. But he's a novice taking on an experienced star here. Nastula will likely give a good accounting for himself, but I don't see him being able to win standing or on the ground.
*Butterbean vs. Sean O'Haire - I have no earthly idea what to expect. Butterbean can hit hard and we have no idea what he can do on the ground, although he does have several submission wins against nobodies. O'Haire, well, who knows. He's shown stamina problems in his kickboxing matches, but this is MMA. I think whoever gets the jump on the other will win, but if it goes any time, the advantage swings to Butterbean based on ring experience. Funny that you think a guy like Bean has the edge in stamina. I just realize due to regulations that O'Haire also has to come up at more than 265, or else you've got a weight class issue
*Dan Henderson vs. Vitor Belfort - Henderson didn't look good in his last fight with Kazuo Misaki. Belfort is a head case. Belfort is physically a bigger guy with faster hands and more stand-up skill. There is no reason for him to lose. But he's Belfort, and he's actually a pretty big underdog. I think Belfort takes it.
*Joey Villasenor vs. Robbie Lawler - Not a marquee match but may be the best match on the show. They are two aggressive guys who are good standing. Villasenor certainly should be favored.
*Phil Baroni vs. Yosuke Nishijima - If they stay standing, Nishijima has a chance. Baroni needs to take it down, and Nishijima isn't good on his back.
*Kazuhiro Nakamura vs. Travis Galbraith. Nakamura a heavy favorite over the last replacement for Marvin Eastman
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Post by LWPD on Oct 22, 2006 9:56:47 GMT -5
Great card from top to bottom. Nice 'sports entertainment' ending to the Coleman/Fedor fight. I felt bad for Vitor...I've seen this kid grow up in the sport...he's been through a lot and he appeared on the verge of a breakdown after the loss. Butterbean is a draw and I want to see him really tested. Rua is a complete fighter and Baroni has market value. A real home run for Pride...although I could live without the 20 minute intermissions.
Courtesy of Wrestling Observer
This is an authentic Japanese show and the fans seem to want that. The same exact same stage show open, the woman ring announcer with the great voice, the same music and pacing. The people here are hardcore Pride fans as they cheered Yuji Shimada, the Pride ref, like he was a big star.
Even though we've got two pro wrestling announcers (Mauro Ranallo and Craig "De George" Minervini), the pro wrestling ban was in effect as Sean O'Haire was never acknolwedged as anything but a guy who used to do tae kwon do.
Very different crowd from what UFC gets. Way more inside, less casual fans. There are tons of snide remarks in commentary about UFC, but they never identify UFC.
Robbie Lawler knocked out Joey Villasenor in 22 seconds after a knee to the face.
Kazuhiro Nakamura b Travis Galbraith in the second round after a knee ot the face and punches on the ground. Best match of the first half of the show.
Phil Baroni b Yosuke Nishijima in the first round. Baroni played it perfectly. He took Nishijima down, pounded on his body and head and finally won via submission with a Kimura. Baroni joked after the fight that he saw the move on TV and tried to copy it. Baroni came across like a superstar.
Dan Henderson b Vitor Belfort via unanimous decision after three rounds with scores of 30-27, 30-27 and 30-24. I had it 30-27. Henderson won all three rounds solidly. He was more aggressive and kept taking Belfort down. Belfort didn't do much on offense but did got a few nice reversals on the ground and once went for a submission. Mostly it seemed like Belfort was just trying to last the distance without taking too much punishment. It wasn't that bad of a match because the little guy was aggressive in beating the big guy, but it was entirely due to Henderson.
Butterbean knocked out Sean O'Haire with punches as O'Haire made a feeble attempt at a takedown. Whole thing went 29 seconds. Butterbean was pretty over.
We've having some computer problems so most likely we won't update again until the next intermission break.
No big impact type of things that I'd have expected from a first show. Atmosphere is excellent.
Josh Barnett b Pawel Nastula with an ankle lock in the second round. Nastula took Barnett down several times, won the first round and was on verge of winning the second. Barnett reversed him on the ground and grabbed the ankle and twisted for all he was worth. Not a lot of fireworks but good finish.
Wanderlei Silva came out and challenged Chuck Liddell on 2/24. It was the expected grandstand challenge. Huge difference as you can see this was insider fans as everyone knew Silva, unlike at UFC where a very small percentage did. His challenge was the biggest pop on the show, talking about how there are no excuses, come out of hiding. Total pro wrestling here.
Mauricio Shogun Rua b Kevin Randleman in the first round via submission with a kneebar. Randleman took Rua down, but Rua went for an ankle right away. Randleman was refusing to tap and screaming in pain. Crowd was super hot for this. Finally he got the kneebar and was doing seriuos damage and Randleman had to tap.
Fedor Emelianenko b Mark Coleman in round two with an armbar. Technically, this fight was largely Coleman trying for takedowns and Emelianenko being difficult to get down. But the story behind it was incredible. Coleman's left eye was busted but there was no quit in the guy. I think to the crowd it was a victory just because he lasted the first round. Second round was Coleman take Fedor down, but Fedor quickly got an armbar from the bottom. Coleman looked like hell.
The next scene was one of the most incredible scenes you'll ever see. In a sense it was bad. Coleman told his two daughters, ages 9 and 7 (Morgan and McKenzie) to come to the ring. He looked like a train had hit him and the girls were in hysterics. They were all crying in the ring. In a sense, it was almost the Mick Foley deal in "Beyond the Mat" that they shouldn't have been there to see this combined with the night Konnan lost his mask in Mexico in a great emotional way. When he brought his girls and introduced them to Fedor, all I have to say is it was something to see.
Overall impression. There were no fights of the year. There are many shows with better "match quality," whether we talk MMA or pro wrestling. But the lasting feeling when this was over is if Pride had television in the U.S., the way they were able to tell the story of the main event, and with the production of the show itself, UFC and WWE would be playing catch-up within a year. As good as you think UFC has been, and as professional in putting on a show as WWE looks, this really exposed just how far advanced the Japanese really are at this.
Fedor Emelianenko vs Mark Coleman 10/21/06tinyurl.com/y5lvy5
Kevin Randleman vs Mauricio Shogun Rua 10/21/06tinyurl.com/y3tqqb
LWPD (some sweet submission work by Rua...and the straight knee bar with the wrap around under-hook was pure Paint Dry style...tap or pop)
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Post by JMello on Oct 22, 2006 18:38:37 GMT -5
Overall a good introduction to the American people. PRIDE made the matches a little easy to predict and a little lopsided, but that was to expose some of their better fighters and get them over. The best thing of their show was the crazy announcer lady, she cracks me up. Anyways, I wasn't disappointed like I usually am after a UFC PPV, so I was happy.
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Post by Trent Lawless on Oct 22, 2006 20:07:32 GMT -5
Maybe I'm in the minority, but I was really turned off by Coleman's girls coming out at the end. I felt like I was violating this family's privacy by seeing that. These girls don't understand their dad's "business" the way adults do. They probably just saw their dad get beat up, and now their dad wants them to meet the man who just turned his face into tomato paste (to use a Josh Barnett term)? That, to me, is something that should be done away from cameras and crowds. I'm not blaming Coleman or Pride for showing it. It's just a personal thing for me.
I did like the card a lot, though. I wish Nastula had pulled off the upset over Barnett. I like that guy (Nastula, I mean).
And the announcer chick is always good for some laughs with my friends and I who watch. And she looks almost like I thought she would, oddly enough!
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Post by habbalah on Oct 23, 2006 0:31:51 GMT -5
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Post by LWPD on Oct 23, 2006 6:11:26 GMT -5
Props Hab for bringing the content...but why did you post Sak/Rampage & Ricco/Nog? |
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Post by Darth Turkish on Oct 23, 2006 6:58:38 GMT -5
I was disappointed with the Lawler/ Villasenor match only becasue I was looking forward to a really competative fight. Nice knee by Lawler.
Natsula is pretty impressive. His W/L record does not show how capable he is. I was hoping he would have defeated Barnett, but Barnett pulled off a sweet ankle lock
Randleman did not even attempt to get out of the ankle lock. Definitely shades of the Austin/Hart "I Quit Match".
Fedor seemed to toy with Coleman after the initial Clash. There were several times that he could have been peppering Coleman with small shots and did not. i do not even think he was breathing heavy at the end of round 1.
I too was disturbed by Coleman's bringing his girls to the ring. What a horrifying experience. Fedor looked sheepinh when they met.
Hammerhouse needs to work on submission defense, but this is nothing new.
Henderson looked like a million bucks. Vitor doesn't seem to have the fire any longer.
Why the hell would O' Haire try to take down Butterbean instead of work over the man's knees?
Good show, I was pleased.
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Post by Trent Lawless on Oct 23, 2006 8:34:39 GMT -5
I too was disturbed by Coleman's bringing his girls to the ring. What a horrifying experience. Fedor looked sheepinh when they met. I just wonder what the heck Coleman 1) expected Fedor to say, and 2) what he expected his girls to do. If I remember and/or heard right, Fedor looked at them and said, in English, "I'm very sorry." Coleman replied, "Don't be." It's about all Fedor could logically have done, and it was still one of the more awkward things I've seen in my life. No wonder he looked sheepish. |
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Post by Darth Turkish on Oct 23, 2006 12:44:30 GMT -5
I too was disturbed by Coleman's bringing his girls to the ring. What a horrifying experience. Fedor looked sheepinh when they met. I just wonder what the heck Coleman 1) expected Fedor to say, and 2) what he expected his girls to do. If I remember and/or heard right, Fedor looked at them and said, in English, "I'm very sorry." Coleman replied, "Don't be." It's about all Fedor could logically have done, and it was still one of the more awkward things I've seen in my life. No wonder he looked sheepish. I think Coleman wanted to show them that Fedor was not a bad man, just their dad and he were opponents. You were correct that the girls were not mature enough to understand what was truly happening. Peopel do stupid things after competitions like that. They still have all of their adrenaline going, and do not realize what they are doing or saying until later. that is why I hate the Joe rogan post fight interview thing: Joe: "Okay walk us through the end here..." Fighter: "Uh....I was just tryiing to beat him before he beat me. And so I threw a lot of punches and he got knocked out." |
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Post by habbalah on Oct 23, 2006 15:09:39 GMT -5
Oh heh sorry about that... it was late and I found them before going to bed. I ment to put those in the other thread.
Who knows what coleman was thinking. Maybe he was knocked silly. I'm sure if Coleman had a son he would have brought him in to sake Fedor's hands to show it was just a sport. It might have gone better and looked more classy. Hell I don't know. Hind sight is 20/20 I'm sure he thought he was being cool with Fedor at the time.
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Post by Trent Lawless on Oct 23, 2006 15:13:24 GMT -5
The daughter/son thing wouldn't have mattered a bit to me. His kids are, what, 9 and 7? Way too young, boy or girl. Even if they know exactly what Daddy does for a living (and they seem to). I know he wanted them to see that Fedor wasn't a bad guy, which is commendable. I just wish it wouldn't have been in front of the whole audience. Those girls were terrified.
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Post by JMello on Oct 25, 2006 23:49:24 GMT -5
It should had been backstage just like Mick Foley did in WWE. If the kids are there, let them meet the man before hand backstage and explain the situation...I know it's not staged like WWE, but you should still let them meet him and explain before hand...that is, if they plan on being there, like they obviously were. Bad decision, but at least it did show he wants his girls to know it's nothing personal, good message, bad follow through.
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Post by Darth Turkish on Oct 26, 2006 5:23:31 GMT -5
It should had been backstage just like Mick Foley did in WWE. If the kids are there, let them meet the man before hand backstage and explain the situation...I know it's not staged like WWE, but you should still let them meet him and explain before hand...that is, if they plan on being there, like they obviously were. Bad decision, but at least it did show he wants his girls to know it's nothing personal, good message, bad follow through. I agree with both this and Mark. |
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Post by LWPD on Oct 26, 2006 6:05:20 GMT -5
Coleman vs Fedor 2 Post Fight Speechtinyurl.com/y3v5h7Keep in mind when watching this that Coleman and Fedor have a friendship outside of Pride that stems back a few years...Fedor has even publicly stated that Coleman was one of his idols before he entered into MMA and this wasn't the first time Coleman introduced Fedor to his kids. They did a lot of promo work for the show together and Coleman's kids were along for the ride for much of it. Years from now the kids can remember that after their Dad was beat up...their comfort and well being was still his first priority....not a bad trade off for a few seconds of confusion.
LWPD (the incident was probably a product of i. Coleman having been told by Pride that he would be doing a promo immediately after the fight (with a victory he probably planned to do a segment with the kids inside the ring in celebration) and ii. he was knocked silly...saw his kids were visibly upset at ringside...and naturally wanted to immediately defuse the situation while giving them camera time...while I doubt he thought very deeply about it he in effect created a family moment they all will always remember and can relive forever on video...with time it'll probably prove more positive than having left the kids crying in their seats only to later see their busted up Dad backstage and just move along away from the spotlight)
"I want to give my babies a hug...Tracy and Morgan...I love you!"
-The first words out of the mouth of a punch drunk Mark Coleman
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Post by Cosmic Crippler on Oct 30, 2006 21:19:50 GMT -5
I thought Nakurama's fight stole the show. He seems to always put on a good show.
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IPPON!!
