Why Create a Pride Fighting Tribute
Mixed Martial Arts in America today is just not the same as Pride fighting used to be 5+ years ago. To me, watching Pride fighting was like that really hot girlfriend you used to have, and the sex was great. Now with today’s MMA (UFC and other American organizations), it’s like you just have an okay girlfriend, and the sex is just okay. You still get off, but… You will always think back on how awesome the sex was with that hot girlfriend you used to have.
That is what Pride fighting was to me. And this is why I don’t really enjoy modern MMA, the fights are not as realistic as Pride and they clearly have a more blue collar/trashy image than Pride ever had.
And unfortunately in this situation, you can’t just go out and get a new hot girlfriend. You are stuck with the average girlfriend. This is because Pride fighting rules are not coming back anytime soon. At least not in America.
It was necessary to create this website to honor what a great and exciting organization Pride Fighting Championships was and to show newer MMA enthusiasts (Post Pride era fans) how awesome, large scale, and brutal Mixed Martial Arts used to be.
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The first time I ever saw a Pride fight, it was shocking.
Those shots are landing!
I thought, "OMG, this is REAL!"
At the same time I realized that this was skilled fighting, and not some bar room type brawl by drunken idiots. The moves and techniques I saw the fighters using definitely required some training. Not to mention the endurance required to fight ten minute opening rounds. This all fascinated me.
Now as a boy, I grew up watching the early UFC's 1-10 with friends. Those are historically important to mixed martial arts as well, but in a different way. The skill level of the fighters on those early UFC's was nothing to what I was seeing in these Pride fights.
Pride was something different from those early UFC's. I don't exactly consider the early UFC's a "sport" per se because of the rules, but not completely barbaric either (no biting, eye gouging, etc). Aside from the skill and speed level of the Pride fighters, Pride just seemed more professional, more white collar, and more popular. And it was.
Pride fighting was the most violent thing I have ever witnessed and still be considered a sport. It was an ultimate test of manhood. The rules of Pride took it to the most extreme limit of being called a sport. Stomps and soccer kicks to the face where allowed. Knees to the head of a grounded opponent were allowed. Up-kicks from the man on bottom were allowed. This completely changes the strategy of a fight. In American MMA rules, these are not allowed.
I have nothing but respect for the fighters who stepped into the Pride ring under those rules.
The spectacle of Pride was unlike anything ever seen before or since for mixed martial arts. Events were a huge production, every event had sold out arenas with anywhere from twenty thousand to sixty thousand people. I think this is the closet thing to ancient Roman gladiatorial combat, which was wildly popular back then. Fighters in Pride were given lavish entrances before entering the ring.
I must point out though, Pride definitely had some bad/shady aspects to it, and we'll talk about those as well on this site.
And Pride fighting is not coming back. At least not in America. It really is too violent for American audiences if the sport wants to go mainstream.
Anyway, please look around and enjoy this site. I hope you find the articles and fight analyses interesting and informative. Thanks for visiting.
Mixed Martial Arts in America today is just not the same as Pride fighting used to be 5+ years ago. To me, watching Pride fighting was like that really hot girlfriend you used to have, and the sex was great. Now with today’s MMA (UFC and other American organizations), it’s like you just have an okay girlfriend, and the sex is just okay. You still get off, but… You will always think back on how awesome the sex was with that hot girlfriend you used to have.
That is what Pride fighting was to me. And this is why I don’t really enjoy modern MMA, the fights are not as realistic as Pride and they clearly have a more blue collar/trashy image than Pride ever had.
And unfortunately in this situation, you can’t just go out and get a new hot girlfriend. You are stuck with the average girlfriend. This is because Pride fighting rules are not coming back anytime soon. At least not in America.
It was necessary to create this website to honor what a great and exciting organization Pride Fighting Championships was and to show newer MMA enthusiasts (Post Pride era fans) how awesome, large scale, and brutal Mixed Martial Arts used to be.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The first time I ever saw a Pride fight, it was shocking.
Those shots are landing!
I thought, "OMG, this is REAL!"
At the same time I realized that this was skilled fighting, and not some bar room type brawl by drunken idiots. The moves and techniques I saw the fighters using definitely required some training. Not to mention the endurance required to fight ten minute opening rounds. This all fascinated me.
Now as a boy, I grew up watching the early UFC's 1-10 with friends. Those are historically important to mixed martial arts as well, but in a different way. The skill level of the fighters on those early UFC's was nothing to what I was seeing in these Pride fights.
Pride was something different from those early UFC's. I don't exactly consider the early UFC's a "sport" per se because of the rules, but not completely barbaric either (no biting, eye gouging, etc). Aside from the skill and speed level of the Pride fighters, Pride just seemed more professional, more white collar, and more popular. And it was.
Pride fighting was the most violent thing I have ever witnessed and still be considered a sport. It was an ultimate test of manhood. The rules of Pride took it to the most extreme limit of being called a sport. Stomps and soccer kicks to the face where allowed. Knees to the head of a grounded opponent were allowed. Up-kicks from the man on bottom were allowed. This completely changes the strategy of a fight. In American MMA rules, these are not allowed.
I have nothing but respect for the fighters who stepped into the Pride ring under those rules.
The spectacle of Pride was unlike anything ever seen before or since for mixed martial arts. Events were a huge production, every event had sold out arenas with anywhere from twenty thousand to sixty thousand people. I think this is the closet thing to ancient Roman gladiatorial combat, which was wildly popular back then. Fighters in Pride were given lavish entrances before entering the ring.
I must point out though, Pride definitely had some bad/shady aspects to it, and we'll talk about those as well on this site.
And Pride fighting is not coming back. At least not in America. It really is too violent for American audiences if the sport wants to go mainstream.
Anyway, please look around and enjoy this site. I hope you find the articles and fight analyses interesting and informative. Thanks for visiting.
