Customer Reviews

Pride FC - Championship Chaos

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Two fighters will be crowned champions in this event. Here's a rundown of all the matchups:

1. Tom Erikson vs. Matt Skelton: A traditional grappler vs. striker match. Erikson, a world class wrestler, takes on Skelton, a K-1 veteran. A complete mismatch.

2. Dan Henderson vs. Murilo Rua: This match between two rising stars in MMA was intense. Lots of takedowns and reversals. It was a war.

3. Renzo Gracie vs. Michiyoshi Ohara: Renzo Gracie returns to the Pride ring after going through a brief slump in previous events. Ohara, a pro wrestler, makes his MMA debut. Very boring match.

4. Mario Sperry vs. Igor Vovchanchyn: One of the best grapplers from the Brazilian Top Team takes on the most devastating striker in MMA competition. The ending will astonish you!

5. Quinton Jackson vs. Yuki Ishikawa: Team Punishment team member Jackson faces off with another Japanese pro wrestler. Good match. You will see someone attempt a piledriver in this match.

6. Semmy Schilt vs. Masaaki Satake: A former King of Pancrase takes on a K-1 veteran. Schilt's reach was definitely a huge factor in this match (Schilt is 7 feet tall).

7. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Heath Herring: This match was for the Pride Heavyweight Championship. Herring has been on a roll in Pride, scoring victories over top quality opponents. Nogueira has to be considered the best submission fighter in the heavyweight division. He has beaten many fighters using submissions. Very good match. Lots of action. Both fighters were at their best.

8. Vanderlei Silva vs. Kazushi Sakuraba: This match was for the Pride Middleweight Championship. This is a rematch from Pride FC - Collision Course. Sakuraba was looking for redemption, for he was brutally beaten in his first encounter with Silva. Another good match, although the result was disappointing.

9. Mirko Cro Cop vs. Nobuhiko Takada: This match is not included in the DVD, although it is listed on the package.

Championship Chaos is definitely one of Pride's best shows. Plenty of action and some surprising finishes. MMA fans should definitely purchase this DVD.

As my title suggests, this title is a MUST-OWN for MMA enthusiasts. Not because its a superior card top-to-bottom, but because there are a two fights that mark an important point in MMA's history.

1) Silva/Sakuraba - This fight marks the beginning of the end for the great Kazushi Sakuraba. Silva's absolute dismantling of Sakuraba, who was previously thought to be unbeatable, not only affected the fans, but possibly Sakuraba himself, as his career never really recovered afterwards. It also truely, finally, marked the return of stand-up striking to the sport of MMA. No longer could a great grappler use strikes to merely set up the takedown, from then on a fighter had be able to handle himself standing or he would lose.

2) Nogueira/Herring - This is when Antonio Nogueira won the heavyweight belt. Nogueira is considered to be the greatest heavyweight in MMA history, and although he has since lost his title, his run of wins immediately following this event will go down in history as one of the great all-time streaks.

Also on this event is Henderson/Rua, which is an exciting throwdown complete with a controversial judges' decision.

With those three fights you're probably wondering why I don't consider this event to be the best. That's because, true to Pride's history, this event also includes some terrible mis-matches.

1) Renzo/Ohara - Ohara is a pro-wrestler with no business being in the ring with a legend like Renzo Gracie. He probably knew that himself as he spent the entire fight stalling, playing defense, and generally avoiding Renzo altogether. Most boring fight ever in my opinion.

2) Jackson/Ishizawa - Ishizawa was outmatched in every facet of the game and got beaten down quickly. Complete mismatch.

There you have it. Those are the important fights on this DVD, take it for what you will.

I really enjoyed this one! The headline fight of Sakuraba and Silva was great! The undercard fights were also interesting and exciting. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira v. Heath Herring was an excellent fight - belongs on a greatest fights dvd! Also always enjoyable to watch Vovchanchyn, Henderson, Gracie, and Sperry.

This is an excellent event. We see Quinton Jackson continue to entertain MMA fans with his incredible skill and charisma. He takes on Yuki Ishikawa in this Pride event and Jackson explodes all over him with strikes and one of his slams. Jackson is a star on the rise, no question, and we see some of his skills on display in this fight.

Dan Henderson v. Murilo Ninja. This is a good fight. The first two rounds are controlled on the ground by Murilo Ninja. The third is a very exciting round, as Henderson makes it to his feet and begins to turn the tide of the fight in his favor. This one goes to a somewhat shocking decision after three solid rounds.

Semmy Schilt v. Masaaki Satake. Schilt has a huge reach advantage over Satake, which plays a large part in this fight. It's all over in the first round. Not a very interesting bout.

Renzo Gracie v. Michiyoshi Ohara. Ohara is one of the least technically-graceful fighters I've ever seen. He looks terribly uncomfortable on his feet and he barely does anything in this fight. This makes for a very boring matchup.

Igor Vovchanchyn v. Mario Sperry. This one ends abruptly and shockingly, not necessarily the way you might expect, given the 2 fighters involved.

Matt Skelton v. Tom Erikson. This is another fight that ends quickly.

*Heath Herring v. Antonio Nogueira for the Heavyweight Championship. This is by far the standout bout at this Pride event. Nogueira is technically superior to Herring, but Herring has amazing drive and heart. This is an outstanding fight that goes the distance, with great action throughout. These are two of the brightest stars in Pride Fighting and I look forward to seeing a rematch.

Wanderlei Silva v. Kuzushi Sakuraba 2. This is the highly-anticipated rematch between these two combatants. The first time they met, Sakuraba suffered an embarassing battering at the hands of Silva. This time, the fight takes a different route, but ends prematurely due to a broken bone... Awesome matchup between these two fighters - can't wait to see them go at it again.

This is another solid Pride event. The matchups are awesome and the fights are exciting. Good interviews and commentary between and after the bouts. Highly recommended.

1.Kazushi Sakuraba VS Wanderlei
Great match,but the end will not.****

2.Dan Henderson VS Murilo "Ninja" Rua
The match was kind of boring, but alot of takedown and couple of punches at someones face.**

3.Semmy Schilt VS Masaaki Satake
This was a okay match. Two guys fighting it off and one is about 7 feet tall. Damn.. ***

4.Renzo Gracie VS michiyoshi Ohara
Boring match. *

5.Mario Sperry VS Igor Vovchanchyn
Good Match with alot of blood. Cool............. ***

6.Quinton Jackson VS Yuki Ishikawa
What a match.You will see someone do a piledriver. But this match was pretty short.****

7.Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira VS Heath Herring.
Awesome match. I can't believe it. Very intense with alot of takedown and reversals and some hard punches.*****