Live From Pride Bushido II - 2/15/2004
by John Merrill

photos by Jim Roberts

Yukuke Imamura vs. Choi Mu Bae
The first fight of the 2004 between Takada Dojos Yusuke Imamura and Korean fighter Choi Mu Bae was short and to the point. In the beginning of the fight, Bae quickly capitalized on a belly-to-back suplex opportunity, followed by some brief striking from within Imamuras guard. Bae eventually worked his way into the side mount, and then finally got Imamuras back. It wouldnt be long then before Bae successfully applied a rear naked choke in the last minute of the round, defeating Imamura in short order.

Ryuta Sakurai vs. Yushin Okami
The second fight of the evening featured SHOOTO fighter Ryuta Sakurai against judo fighter Yushin Okami. Both fighters came out striking aggressively, but it was Okami who eventually took the fight to the ground and began working from within Sakurais guard. Not much happened until Sakurai managed to reverse the situation and almost successfully execute a key arm bar on Okami. Fortunately for Okami, the round ended just in time, and he was literally saved by the bell.

The second round began with both fighters rushing into a standing clinch, followed by an Okami takedown. Once again, neither fighter did much for the next minutes, and this resulted in a yellow card for Sakurai. This didnt stop both fighters from taking the fight the to the ground once again, however, and the final round would end there. In the end, it would be Okami who would get the unanimous decision in a rather dull fight.

Yasuhito Namekawa vs. Egidijus Valavicius
The third fight of the night between DEEP fighter Yasuhito Namekawa and Lithuanian newcomer Egidijus Valavicius could be summed up in these words dont blink! After a few seconds of feeling each other out and looking for striking opportunities, Valavicius rushed in, getting his neck caught in a standing guillotine choke. Namekawa pulled Valavicius to the ground, and the choke remained. Moments later, despite fierce resistance by Valavicius, he was eventually forced to tap-out in frustration. All in all, an excellent technical victory for Namekawa.

Sean Sherk vs. Ryuki Ueyama
The nights next match would be UFC veteran Sean Sherk against DEEP fighter Ryuki Ueyama. Both fighters came out swinging violently, but Sherk quickly secured a takedown and proceeded to deliver some hefty knees to the head of Ueyama on the ground. Both fighters stood up again, but this time Sherk picked up Ueyama and slammed him to the ground. Demonstrating his wrestling prowess, Sherk then controlled Ueyama at will, and further delivered blows in the form of knees and punches. At one point, Sherk got Ueyamas back and attempted a rear naked choke, but to his credit, Ueyama managed to work his way out of it and reverse things.

This, however, would prove to be of no avail. Sherk once again picked up Ueyama and this time slammed him to the ground in punishing form. It was starting to become clear that Ueyama had a tremendous capacity for punishment. This time, Ueyama briefly attempted a kimura from the bottom, but Sherk was too powerful, and worked his way out of it. Sherk would get Ueyama in the rear mount two more times, but both times fail to execute any kind of finish. End of the first round.

The beginning of the second round was a familiar story. Sherk once again secured the takedown and began working on Ueyama from the top. The round would consist of little more than Ueyama trying to survive, and Sherk struggling to finish. Both fighters seemed to be rather exhausted, and the fight would go to a decision. Not surprisingly, the victor would be Sherk by unanimous decision.

Mike Batman Bencic vs. Mario Sperry
The fifth match of the night had most of us wondering if PRIDE was hosting a quickest fight competition somewhere on the side of things. Mike Batman Bencic better known as CroCops jiu-jitsu trainer would face-off against Brazilian Top Team leader Mario Sperry. It would seem fair to say that most people had expected this fight to be something of a grappling battle. It would also be fitting to say that this fight was the farthest thing from a grappling battle that it could have been. In summary, both fighters came out aggressively looking to strike. Seconds into the fight, Sperry struck, then Batman struck the canvas. Sperry by decisive and unexpected knockout.

Daiju Takase vs. The Westside Strangler Chris Brennan
The nights sixth event also had all the makings of a technical battle between two expert grapplers, but essentially failed to deliver. Long time PRIDE fighter Daiju Takase would face-off against The Westside Strangler Chris Brennan. Both fighters came out looking to take the fight to the ground, but it would be Takase coming out on top. However, little of significance happened for the entire first round. It mostly consisted of Takase controlling Brennan from above, and attempting various unsuccessful submissions. All in all, it was a rather boring round.

The second round began with a brief exchange of blows by both fighters, then a return to the same situation seen in the first round. At one point Takase almost seemed to have a successful kimura, but Brennan worked free from it. Eventually, Takase got back to his feet, and began raining blows down on Brennan from above, but to no avail. It would be a unanimous decision in favor of Takase in what was probably the fight most likely to induce sleep that evening.

Rodrigo Gracie vs. Hayato Mach Sakurai
The next fight would pit undefeated Gracie sensation Rodrigo Gracie against the highly creative Hayato Mach Sakurai. At the beginning of the fight, both fighters came out looking for an opening, but little happened. Sakurai was taken to the ground a few times, but this only resulted in Gracie standing things back up, looking to strike. Ironically, each time the fight would stand up, it would be Gracie taking the fight back to the canvas again. Once again, nothing much happened in this fight for the next minutes. It was beginning to look a lot like the Takase/Brennan and Sherk/Ueyama fights. It was surprising to see two normally very interesting fighters like Gracie and Sakurai engaged in little more than a stall match. The first round ended with nothing decisive happening at all.

The second round began with a bit of déjà vu as both fighters immediately returned to the ground. But this time it would be Sakurai fighting from within Gracies guard and making little progress. Eventually Gracie reversed the situation, but nothing new really resulted from it. In the end, perhaps in an effort to secure the decision, both fighters returned to their feet and began throwing tired knees from the clinch. But the fight would once again go to a decision, this time in favor of Gracie. Unfortunately, this fight was, yet again, rather dull.

CroCop Filipovic vs. Yoshihisa Yamamoto
The next fight of the night, however, promised a much-needed boost in the evenings action. When Mirko CroCop Filipovic is in the house, excitement happens! On this particular evening, CroCops unfortunate victim would be Takada Dojos trash-talking wrestler Yoshihisa Yamamoto. The fight began with a couple of swift CroCop low kicks to Yamamotos thigh and mid-section. After each subsequent kick, the somewhat stunned Yamamoto would gesture to his side as if to say, Is that all youve got? which would later seem like poor judgment on the part of Yamamoto.

At two points, the action came to a brief pause after CroCop apparently grazed Yamamotos eyeball with some of his punches. But this would seem to be more of a stalling tactic by Yamamoto to get a break from the punishment that he was absorbing. CroCop put his hands up as if to say, I cant believe theyre stopping the fight again. But the fight wouldnt last more than a few more seconds as Mirko resumed his deadly punches and strikes. Yamamoto eventually collapsed to his knees under the weight of Mirkos kicks, knees, and punches, and the referee jumped-in to prevent any more unnecessary damage. In many ways, this fight looked more like a mugging than actual competition.

After the fight, CroCop had a few interesting words to say. When we asked him about Yamamotos taunting, Mirko said that it was unnecessary and unsportsmanlike because he couldve hurt Yamamoto a lot more than he did. Also, when asked about his hopes for his next fight, he said that he hoped to shut [Takayamas] mouth at the Grand Prix.

Jadson Costa vs. Takanori Gomi
The next match of the night would be the first of three in the nights main event Chute Boxe vs. Japan. Chute Boxes Jadson Costa dubbed Little Wanderlei by Silva himself against highly regarded ex-SHOOTO champion Takanori Gomi. Ultimately, this fight wasnt nearly as competitive as many had expected it would be. The match began with a quick and powerful takedown by Gomi, whose strength seemed to be too much for Costa. Costa wasnt able to do much from the bottom, and almost seemed helpless as Gomi both controlled him, and rained down numerous punishing blows from the full mount. The situation looked grim for Costa who seemed unable to defend himself, and eventually just tried to cover his face from damage. It wasnt long before the referee stopped the fight, and Gomi emerged victorious. A promising 1-0 start for team Japan in their quest for a Bushido victory.

Mauricio Shogun Rua vs. Akihiro Gono
The second of the final three bouts featured dangerous Chute Boxe up-and-comer Mauricio Shogun Rua and the PRIDE FC debut of Pancrase fighter Akihiro Gono. Both fighters began the fight bouncing, and full of energy, but Shogun especially exploded into the fight using his full arsenal of Muay Thai weapons. If anybody had earned the nickname Little Wanderlei this night, it was Murilo Shogun Rua. Shogun spent the entire first round chasing Gono around the ring like a man on a mission, delivering all varieties of punches and kicks, and a huge number of knees to the body from the clinch. At the same time Gono was effectively demonstrating little more than the fact that he could be a good Chute Boxe punching bag.

The fight surprisingly went to the ground where a tired Gono tried to make something happen from the top, but this was only momentary. Both fighters resumed striking on their feet again, and Shogun continued his deadly pursuit of the never-say-die Gono. Eventually, despite a stubborn refusal to quit, Rua eventually beat the last ounce of will power out of Gono who collapsed to the floor almost unconscious. The whole thing was an unfortunately lopsided fight in my opinion.

Wanderlei The Axe Murderer Silva vs. Ikuhisa The Punk Minowa
And finally what many considered to be the nights main event. The one and only Wanderlei The Axe Murderer Silva, in a tie-breaking showdown with slick submission fighter Ikuhisa The Punk Minowa. Surely this final match could only be an explosive one.

The fight began with Minowa bouncing and full of energy, but Silva taking a more conservative and cautious approach. Minowa initiated the action with a powerful takedown attempt, but Silvas takedown defense proved to be too good. Wanderlei took control from the top, and wasted no time in laying some heavy hands to Minowas soon-unconscious head. The somewhat anti-climactic fight had ended in a matter of seconds. Silva had delivered team Japan yet another Bushido loss and he made it look easy.

Insidefighting.com would once again like to extend a big thank you to Dream Stage Entertainment for delivering yet another quality event. We would also like to extend congratulations to the Chute Boxe team for their Bushido victory. The future looks bright, and we can hardly wait to see what the Heavyweight Grand Prix has in store for us later this year.

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