PRIDE Fighting Championships

Danzig, a former PRIDE veteran, won the TUF 6 welterweight tournament following a first round submission over fellow finalist Tommy Speer. Danzig then returned at UFC 83 in April, where he submitted jiu-jitsu black belt Mark Bocek with ...

Werdum’s lifetime record in the UFC fell to 2-2 following October’s first round knockout loss against newcomer Junior dos Santos at UFC 90 in Rosemont, Illinois. Word of Werdum’s release surfaced soon after. A former PRIDE veteran, ...

Hardy made a successful UFC debut at UFC 89 on Oct. 18 in Birmingham, England, earning a split decision victory over former PRIDE star Akihiro Gono. Tell someone about this article: ...

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Facing former UFC and PRIDE competitor Ron Waterman, Herman needed just two minutes and 19 seconds to record a first round TKO over the veteran. Herman then headlined a ShoXC event on Oct. 10 against season two veteran of “The Ultimate ...

Aurelio signed with the UFC in 2007 after having earned a reputation as one of the top lightweight fighters in the world while competing for PRIDE Bushido in Japan. During his PRIDE tenure, Aurelio recorded the most notable victory of ...

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Filho’s middleweight title had been scheduled to be at stake but the fight was changed to a non-title affair after the native Brazilian weighed in at 192.5 pounds during his initial weigh-in attempt. The former PRIDE Bushido standout ...

The UFC returned to Columbus and the Nationwide Arena earlier this year for “UFC 82: Pride of a Champion” and featured a title unification match between UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva and PRIDE welterweight champion Dan ...

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By Sam Caplan There are indications that Ricardo Arona, once considered a consensus top ten light heavyweight, could be on the verge of ending his extended hiatus from competitive mixed martial arts. Arona has not competed since April 8, 2007, when he suffered an upset loss against Rameau Thierry Sok...

Former PRIDE middleweight competitor Denis Kang has signed a four fight contract, American Top Team officials revealed Monday. “Denis has always expressed a desire to fight in the UFC and we are very happy he will finally get the chance ...

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Diaz submitted Gomi with a gogoplata at 1:46 of round 2 during PRIDE’s second and last event held on U.S. soil but NSAC ruled to declare the result a no contest in the weeks that proceeded the bout after Diaz tested for an abnormally ...

By Sam Caplan A new mixed martial arts star may have been born Saturday night in Tokyo, Japan during World Victory Road’s Sengoku 5 at the National Yoyogi Stadium. Replacing an injured Roger Gracie against former PRIDE and UFC veteran Travis “Diesel” Wiuff on less than a week’s notice, former NCAA Divi...

By Sam Caplan Former PRIDE veteran welterweight and middleweight Ryo Chonan is expected to return to the Octagon at UFC 92 on Dec. 27 in a 170 pound encounter vs. former IFL veteran Brad Blackburn. MMA Weekly was the first to report the news, which is citing sources within the camps of both fighters as confi...

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By Sam Caplan Former PRIDE USA Vice President Jerry Millen is one of the most maligned individuals in mixed martial arts. But whether you like him or not, he has an insight into the business of MMA that very few individuals possess having worked for PRIDE both in Japan and in the United States. After his ten...

By Sam Caplan Former PRIDE heavyweight and current UFC interim heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is only 32 years of age but is already a legend in the martial art of Brazilian jiu-jitsu and the sport of mixed martial arts. Despite an amazing resume that includes a 31-4-1 record with notab...

By Sam Caplan Former UFC and PRIDE veteran and YAMMA Pit Fighting heavyweight champion Travis Wiuff has been announced by World Victory Road as the opponent for undefeated heavyweight sensation Roger Gracie at Sengoku 5 on Sept. 28. Wiuff is 53-11, according to Sherdog’s fight finder, and is currentl...

By Michael Huckaby Yesterday Strikeforce sent out a press release officially announcing that PRIDE and DREAM veteran Mitsuhiro Ishida would make his US debut at their Strikeforce at the Mansion II event on September 20th against Justin Wilcox. Ishida, a strong wrestler who is constantly ranked as a top te...

By Sam Caplan PRIDE veteran James Lee has reportedly pulled out of his UFC 88 fight vs. Tim Boetsch, according to MMAjunkie.com. While the UFC has yet to make an official announcement, MMA Junkie indicated that Lee was scratched from the card last week after sustaining an arm injury. A replacement also app...

By Michael Huckaby Look, no one is asking for a Yoshida/Thompson murder match. Speaking of which that referee still needs to be charged. Just give these guys that have given so much to the sport the respect of making sure they’re out before you say they are prematurely. Look at Herring/Nogueira. That fight could...

By Sam Caplan The debut event will feature the first round of the new promotion’s lightweight Grand Prix and there are some awesome bouts lined up. The full card is as follows: Fight 1 (non-tournament): MINOWAMAN vs. Kwan Bun LeeFight 2 (non-tournament): Hayato Sakurai vs. Hidetaka MonmaFight 3 (tourn...

By Sam Caplan Silva is not an opportunistic fighter. He’s the king of the deepest middleweight division in all of MMA. His reign is legit. Parity is an element that exists in most of the UFC’s weight classes, except for 185 lbs. But how can the UFC remedy the situation?

By Ram Maramba Still unscheduled are hopeful entrants Gilbert Melendez, Dida Amade and Mitsuhiro Ishida. DREAM’s been dusting off the verbal contracts again, so who knows if these fights and hopeful fighters are more fantasy than fact (or booked). Luckily none of these guys are new to the Japanese figh...

By Sam Caplan If Anderson Silva defeats Dan Henderson for the PRIDE welterweight title on Saturday night at UFC 82, a strong case could be made that Silva is the most decorated fighter in the 183-185 lbs. division ever in MMA. In Henderson’s video he says he’s a bad matchup for a lot of fighters, especially...

By Sam Caplan Sam Caplan: There was some talk that maybe you would be involved with the seventh season of “The Ultimate Fighter” as a coach. Obviously, Forrest Griffin and Quinton Jackson got the coaching slots. But was that ever something that was discussed with you?

By Ram Maramba Wait. Oh. Huh? Hahahahahahaha! The MMA landscape in Japan continues to contract and shift after the demise of PRIDE, arguably the most high-profile Japanese promotion to date. The confusion leading up to PRIDE’s implosion was mish-mash of innuendo, legalese, finger-pointing and hare-...

By Sam Caplan Numerous times have I read mister White’s statements on Internet concerning myself. In my opinion, allowing yourself to say those things is not a sign of a gentleman or a grown man at all! If he candidly wants to prove himself right then let my fight with Randy happen or let me face the reignin...

By Adam Morgan There is one word that can describe what happened in the Octagon last night: Epic. Wanderlei Silva vs. Chuck Liddell was everything we’ve waited for, everything we hoped for, and it turned out to be one of the most epic and entertaining fights in the UFC’s short history.

By Sam Caplan I was surprised during the weigh-ins to hear just how much support Wanderlei Silva got. You know, the UFC is viewed as a hometown sports team here in Vegas and Chuck Liddell is one of the faces of the UFC. You’d think that Silva would be treated as an outside and get booed. Not so. The crowd was excit...

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By Adam Morgan The UFC will only cross promote when it’s in their best interest to do so. When they sent Chuck Liddell to PRIDE in 2003, there was a real possibility that Chuck would eventually fight Wanderlei Silva and that he would beat him, thus ending the debate about PRIDE fighters vs. UFC fighters. Even...

By Paul Balsom Dave Meltzer is reporting, in a recent print edition of The Wrestling Observer, that Rich Franklin and Travis Lutter will be squaring off in the Octagon as a part of UFC 82 in Columbus, Ohio. In addition to this, Meltzer is also reporting that the fight will be a co-main event along with the UF...

By Adam Morgan It continues to get harder and harder to defend Emelianenko as the best fighter in the world. Rizzo was badly beaten by Sergei Kharitonov at PRIDE Critical Countdown 20005 and I expect a fight with Fedor to go the exact same way. Standing up, Rizzo eating bombs, and eventually going down hard...

By Sam Caplan I think this is the fiasco most of the others follow from. Ironically, as much as Dana disses internet fan boys, he’s one himself. Only a fanboy would pay what Zuffa shelled out for a mortally wounded promotion whose scandals had already cost them their TV deal. Only a fanboy would be so threate...

By Sam Caplan At one point during the interview, Altavilla even revealed that a meeting took place between Spike TV and PRIDE executives following the first season of The Ultimate Fighter: Q: Reality TV really changed the game for the UFC. Did Pride ever make a strong pitch to do a reality TV show?

By Sam Caplan McCrory, who is featured in FiveOuncesOfPain.com’s “MMA Prospects” section, will be taking on Shooto and PRIDE veteran Akihiro Gono in a match I really wish was being televised on the main card. “The Barn Cat” is just 21-years old and apparently has only been training for a year and a half. He...

By Gary Herman “It is just coincidence as I have read some things on some websites talking about this subject. That UFC fighters were always better than PRIDE fighters but those people forgot Quinton Jackson. I think that the guy came to the UFC after 3 terrible defeats in PRIDE (to me and Wanderlei Silva tw...

By Sam Caplan The Bubba the Love Sponge Show can be heard every Monday through Thursday from 3-7 p.m. ET and on Friday from 6-10 a.m. ET on Sirius Channel 101. Bubba the Love Sponge mentioned on his Sirius Satellite Radio show today that he ran into PRIDE welterweight champion Dan Henderson during a weekend tr...

By Sam Caplan You can click here to read Dann’s entire article, which I highly recommend. In Dann Stupp’s latest article in the Dayton Daily News, he discusses potential challengers for the UFC middleweight title that’s currently held by Anderson Silva. Ricardo Almeida, David Terrell, and Thales Lei...

By Sam Caplan To ready the entire article, click here. In Steve Sievert’s latest “MMA Notebook” on the Houston Chronicle website, PRIDE welterweight champion Dan Henderson is the latest fighter to speak out against the UFC’s negotiation practices when it comes to compensation: Couture is not alone...

By Adam Morgan Diaz had a pretty big fan following in the UFC and now has an even larger one due to his decisive and stunning submission victory over Takanori Gomi at PRIDE 33. Diaz is charismatic, not afraid to say what he feels, and is a very marketable guy. He trains hard, he fights hard (that’s an understat...

By Sam Caplan “First off, I want to state that I still believe (UFC light heavyweight champion) Quinton Jackson is a PRIDE fighter,” said Millen. “Quinton has improved as a fighter but in my heart, Quinton Jackson is still a PRIDE fighter. He came over to the UFC and he’s kicked some ass.”