Team Japan will win all of their matches. Kazuhiro Hamanaka

Hes not nearly good enough to say who's going to win." Ryan Gracie

Only God can snatch the victory from our hands. Renzo Gracie

That was the kind of evening we had to look forward to

Yesterday, we at Inside Fighting had the privilege of making our PRIDE FC debut with, Bushido the code of the samurai. As many of you know, the event, which had initially been geared towards the Japanese audience mainly due to the initial Gracies vs. Japan card had rapidly evolved into an extremely promising product.

Of course, the addition of such high-octane fighters as Carlos The Ronin Newton and Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic were largely to thank for this boost in excitement. But heated claims, such as that posted above by Kazuhiro Hamanaka, had also done their share to fuel the competitive flames. As we neared the Saitama Super Arena a truly mammoth structure the excitement was brimming.

An hour before the event had even begun the place was packed with Japans own die-hard MMA fans. Thank goodness for press passes without them, we wouldve been hard-pressed to navigate the ocean of bodies streaming steadily into the arena. When PRIDEs in the house, youd better believe the place is packed. But an hour later, we took our positions, tuned-up our gear, and braced ourselves for a long night of MMAs best putting their money where their mouths are.

As the evening kicked-off, the house went dim, and various members of team PRIDE such as the judges and referee were announced, to a warm reception from the crowd. The first action of the night began with the three preliminary bouts Eiji Mitsuoka vs. Chris Brennan, Chalid Die Faust Arrab vs. Rodney Faverus, and Sergei Kharitonov vs. Jason Nobunaga. The results of all of the evenings fights can be found in the Bushido Results article on our site, so I wont bother mentioning the specific results of each fight just the highlights
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The first bout between Mitsuoka and Brennan, although fast-paced and interesting, was especially noteworthy due to the fact that early into the fight, Brennan apparently mistook Mitusoka for having attempted to tap-out, resulting in an early celebration by Brennan. You can probably imagine the confusion and embarrassment that accompanied this mistake. After spending about a minute trying to coerce Mitsuoka into admitting that he had tapped, and enduring the painful laughter from the audience, Brennan eventually showed what a class-act fighter he really is. He returned to his corner, came-out touching gloves with Mitsuoka, and proceeded to finish the job level-headed and lethal with a few strikes and an arm bar. And these were just the preliminaries.

The next two bouts Arrab vs. Faverus and Kharitonov vs. Nobunaga, were classic examples of ground n pound. None of these competitors demonstrated much expertise in dealing with the guard or full mount, but that was okay. Enough guard action to satisfy our appetites for a very long time was yet to come that night.

As the preliminaries came to an end, the house was abuzz. One could sense that despite the exciting opening to it all, we hadnt seen anything yet. We were right. Again, the house lights dimmed, the curtains on the arena side drifted back slowly, and we were entranced by a magnificent display of smoke, fire, and light. To the furious beat of a Taiko drummer, the evenings warriors appeared suddenly from out of blackness. This was our queue to turn on the adrenaline Bushido had arrived.

Japan vs. the Gracies opened with one of the nights most exciting matches Renzo Gracie and Carlos Newton. Renzo came into the ring to some hard-pumping rap music a trend that all of the Gracies would continue throughout the night and Newton entered the ring waving a Japanese flag, much to the delight of the crowd. But once they met in the ring, one could immediately sense that this would be a balanced and fast-moving fight and it was. As they fought, Renzo and Newton, gave one of the best displays of transition jiu-jitsu that Ive seen in a long time, moving fluidly from one position to another. After many close calls, where it seemed that Renzo had finally gotten the upper hand, it was Newton that ultimately controlled the fight and won the decision. But both fighters, in a tremendous show of sportsmanship, kneeled down in the ring together and immediately began laughing and joking. Then, Carlos hoisted Renzo onto his shoulders and began parading him around the ring. Okay, so the Gracies wouldnt win all of their fights that night but here was proof that class is alive and well in the world of MMA.

Ralph Gracie and Dokonjonosuke Mishima began their match with something of an exciting show, especially as Mishima entered the ring wearing a rabbit mask. But after a strong and fast-paced first round, both fighters seemed rather tired, and the match quickly degraded into little more than traditional jiu-jitsu. This resulted in a somewhat ambiguous decision in favor of Ralph, and the score was tied 1-1.

The following match between Daniel Gracie and Kazuhiro Nakamura left me wondering if maybe the entrance music had been the real highlight. But then I reminded myself that this can often be expected when you put a judo champion against a true BJJ fighter. To his credit, Nakamura came out with a few heavy hands to open the fight, but both fighters almost immediately seemed more comfortable fighting out of the traditional full-guard, with Daniel taking the bottom. The result was a very long fight with very little variation, and a unanimous decision in favor of Nakamura possibly based on the fact that he had connected with a few well-placed punches early in the fight.

Rodrigo Gracie and Daiju Takase followed suit. As they plunged into the traditional guard following the two previous performances, I noticed that the crowd was becoming particularly pacified. They werent alone and as much as I can appreciate truly skillful jiu-jitsu artists working through each others guards, I was starting to need some caffeine. Its safe to say that in these three fights, there was a reason why the yellow cards for inaction were flying.

The next match between Ryan Gracie and Kazuhiro Hamanaka abruptly brought this lull in action to an end. Considering Hamanakas enormous claims, and Ryan Gracies furious fighting style, how couldnt this be a tantalizing bout? And it was. Both fighters began by carefully getting a feel for each other, and then Ryan exploded. Hamanaka would never control this match for the remainder of its brief moments. Both fighters were briefly sent to their corners after Hamanaka received a yellow card for inaction. Then, within seconds after returning to fight, Ryan led with a punch, which just barely missed Hamanakas face, but managed to send him rolling to the ground. Ryan then capitalized on this advantage by delivering a kick to Hamanakas head as he lay there, and then proceeded to jump at his head with both feet kicking. The referee pulled-him off as the entire Gracie entourage poured into the ring in celebration. Not only had the grudge-match of the evening been ended decisively, but the evenings edge had gone to team Gracie as well 3-2.

In a fine show of public relations, Renzo Gracie had these words to say after Ryans match. Today wasnt Japan against the Gracies it was Japan against Japan. Our heart is Japanese. The Japanese actually won. This was a draw. This statement was met with tremendous crowd approval, and was a favorable ending to the nights premiere attraction. Then, Royce Gracie followed up this statement by saying, I just wish that the referees would let the fighters decide and not keep stopping the fight. The crowds response was silence.

After a brief break, Bushido entered its fifth hour with three matches remaining. Following some words from PRIDE Producer Antonio Inoki, Mauricio Rua and Akira Mr. Pride Shoji were up next. Shojis decision in this match to go toe-to-toe with Rua a fighter who trains with Wanderlei Silva will continue to baffle me for a long time. Not only is Rua a far superior striker, but Shoji lacked the reach necessary to compete with him in this way. The result was a flurry of punches that sent Shoji reeling, and a quick stomp to the head for the knockout. Wanderlei and company were most pleased.

Only a step away from one of the nights biggest cards was the PRIDE debut of Fedor Emelianenkos little brother Alexandre against Brazilian Assuerio Silva. This fight no doubt, had many asking the question would Alexandre be anything as devastating as his brother is? Well, after two rounds going back and forth between slugging-it out and rolling for positioning on the ground, both fighters seemed awfully tired. This resulted in second round lull of sorts, followed by the sixth decision of the night, in favor of Emelianenko.

And finally the moment that so many had been waiting for. The return of Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic against masked Mexican wrestler Dos Caras Jr. Now, some had predicted an easy victory for Cro Cop; others, an amazing upset by the mysterious Dos Caras. But what seems probable now is that those who predicted an upset are most likely hoping that all of their friends forgot about it. In summary, Dos Caras lunged, briefly managed a weak hold, circled around Mirko for a few more seconds, and then WHAM! One swift roundhouse (and an arguably unnecessary punch) later, Dos Caras had collapsed in the corner of the ring, and Mirko was one step closer to proving that his rightful place is in next months heavyweight title match. End of story.

As the final fight came to an end, the crowd slowly made its way to the exits, their thirst for quality MMA most certainly quenched for the time being. After attending a brief press conference and wrapping up a few loose ends, my partner and I headed-out into the cool Saitama night. PRIDE had delivered again taking a true diamond in the rough, and grinding it into an event full of top competitors and amazing upsets. We are thoroughly excited about Novembers Grand Prix. Wouldnt miss it for the world.

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