Customer Reviews

Pride FC - Grand Prix Opening Round

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

 

 

This is where the MMA (mixed Martial Arts) stars come out to shine. Anyone that has a name in MMA is in this tournament.

Vanderlei Da Silva vs Choke Bob Schlaber, Tachihikari vs Gary Goodridge, Akira Shoji vs Ebenezer Fontes Braga, Kazuyuki Fujita vs Hanse Nijman, Kazushi Sakuraba vs Guy Mezger, Masaaki Satake vs Mark Colman, Alexsander Otsuka Igor Vovchanchyn, Enson Inoue vs Mark Kerr, Nobuhiko Takada vs Royce Gracie.

What you'll see unfold before your eyes in these 8 fights is action action action, with a touch of controversy and a few shocks here and there. Nonetheless this is an awesome DVD much better then the Pride GP finals. Must say though that this and Pride 10 are well worth your investment. If you are a fight fan in anyway what so ever you will enjoy this 6 hours of splender, that is for sure.

Mixed review on this one. Some of the fights were action packed and exciting and some of the fights we just fast forwarded to the end of the match. Vanderlei Silva, Guy Mezger, and Igor Vochanchyn usually make for exciting matches. Some of the Japanese fighters were disappointing. My suggestion would be to just watch the final round. At least the commentary is in English!

First off, this DVD set is 3 hours, not 6 like it is listed!

Overall, this was pretty boring. I am an MMA fan, and there are very little surprises, if any in this. The only fight that was even mildly entertaining was the Mezger Sakuraba fight. The rest were predictable and disappointing. The announcers were pretty bad too. If you are a Pride fan, "Return of the Warriors" and the "Grand Prix Finals" are much better.

The fights included on the discs are: Royce Gracie vs. Nobuhiko Takada, Kasushi Sakuraba vs. Guy Mezger, Igor Vovchanchyn vs. Alexander Otsuka, Mark Kerr vs. Enson Inoue, Mark Coleman vs. Masaaki Satake, Kazuyuki Fujita vs. Hanse Nyman, Tachihikari vs. Gary Goodridge, Akira Shoji vs. Ebenezer Fontes Braga, Vanderlei Silva vs. Bob Schrijver

The Mixed Martial Arts world had waited patiently for 5 years. It was that long since the great Royce Gracie last fought. During his absence the sport grew and knowledge of Gracie/Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu/Submissions became evident in most of todays great fighters. The mixture of striking and grappling once thought rare, had become the norm. So, it was Gracie who had nothing to lose, except his great mystique, to step up to the ultimate challenge. This tournament he was to enter was unlike any other; the Pride Grand Prix 16-man tournamnet.

The tourney was to take place over two different shows. The Opening round in one show and the 8 remaining fighters on a later show. The opening round had some solid matchups, with some controversial and lackluster results. But the buzz was on Royce Gracie who would fight last against pro-wrestler Nobuhiko Takada.

The card read as following:

Vanderlei Silva vs. Bob Schrieber (non tournament fight)

First Match [15mins1R] Tachihikari (Japan) vs. Gary Goodridge (Canada)

Second Match [15mins1R] Akira Shoji (Japan)vs. Ebenezer Fontes Braga (Brazil)

Third Match [15mins1R] Kazuyuki Fujita (Japan)vs. Hans Nieman (Germany)

Fourth Match [15mins1R] Kazushi Sakuraba (Japan) vs. Guy Mezger (USA) Fifth Match [15mins1R] Masaaki Satake (Japan) vs. Mark Coleman (USA)

Sixth Match [15mins1R] Alexsander Otsuka (Japan) vs. Igor Vovchanchyn (Ukraine)

Seventh Match [15mins1R] Enson Inoue (Japan) vs. Mark Kerr (USA)

Eighth Match [15mins1R] Nobuhiko Takada (Japan) vs. Royce Gracie (Brazil)

No big suprises, the Braga/Shoji battle would be close. Four dominating fights, and then there was the very controversial Sakuraba/Mezger fight. It is no secret that Pride protects their fighters. Like any promoter, it is the smart thing to do. Sakuraba had earned the nickname "The Gracie Hunter", with his dominating fight against Royler Gracie (Royce's Brother). What the world and especially Pride Promoters wanted to see was a Sakuraba Vs. Royce fight in the following show. So little would they know that american Guy Mezger had a game plan, a good game plan. Mezger made Sakuraba do what few do: make Sak fight his fight. Mezger played it cool and conservative, and lets just say he wasn't properly awarded for his efforts. For the sport and it's many fans the decision was wrong, but good in the build up of the greatest fight in MMA history (Next Show).

As far as Gracie, he won his fight. It was a boring (honest) one sided/strange fight. Takada while not known for being the best fighter, didn't seem to want to fight. Maybe he knew of his friend (Sakuraba) and his desire to hunt another Gracie.

Good Show, Pride (DSE) really does know how to put on a great show.

Pride Grand Prix Opening Round was a good event for its time. It was an open-weignt tournament featuring some veteran big-name talent.

Grand Prix Opening Round (1/30/2000):
Gary Goodridge vs. Osamu Tachihikari
Ebenezer Fontes Braga vs. Akira Shoji
Kazuyuki Fujita vs. Hans Nijman
Guy Mezger vs. Kazushi Sakuraba
Mark Coleman vs. Masaaki Satake
Alexander Otsuka vs. Igor Vovchanchyn
Enson Inoue vs. Mark Kerr
Royce Gracie vs. Nobuhiko Takada
Non-tourney match:
Bob Schrijber vs Wanderlei Silva

While the event was good, I am only giving three stars for this set since Pride has already released a newer set with both the Opening Round and Finals. Look for that one instead.

Pride is putting out a special edition of this and the Finals in one big 4 or 5 disc set at the end of September. Don't pay the rip off artists on the marketplace $100+ for a used disc. This is a great event, but not worth pay two hundred to get them both.