Pride 20 was Broadcast around the world "Almost Live" and for the second show in a row and for that I am thankful. The fans got to see the show without having to resist looking at on the web for the results for too long and it looks like Pride is getting on track. Looking at this Pride on paper was a little depressing after a stronger looking Pride 19 but I was in for a surprise. This show had more good fights then a lot of other shows have had and made up for a couple of poor fights with a couple of fights that will go down as some of the greatest ever.

Pride 20 was Broadcast around the world "Almost Live" and for the second show in a row and for that I am thankful. The fans got to see the show without having to resist looking at on the web for the results for too long and it looks like Pride is getting on track. Looking at this Pride on paper was a little depressing after a stronger looking Pride 19 but I was in for a surprise. This show had more good fights then a lot of other shows have had and made up for a couple of poor fights with a couple of fights that will go down as some of the greatest ever.

Vanderlei Silva Vs Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic
Vanderlei showed some of the less barbaric, thinking man fighting skills that we have not seen from him before. for all intents and purposes, He looked ready to rumble, and the stare down at the beginning of this fight was worth the price of admission alone.
Round one started of with both feeling the other out, Vanderlei whiffed on a couple leg kicks and a looked a little tentative, Cro Cop didn’t look all too comfortable either but managed to land a solid Body kick that stung, but Vanderlei showed no pain and drove forward none the less. A take down in the middle of the first round was what Vanderlei was looking for and he got it, but he was unable to apply any submission or mount any significant offense from his guard. Much of the fight followed a similar pattern with Cro Cop catching Silva with several very tasty body kicks that could have changed the tide of the fight if they were strung together with more strikes. When taken down, Mirko defended fairly well for someone who is not known for fighting from his back. I felt that Silva dominated the boxing exchanges and Silva used the famous straight punches to get in close for the clinch, most of the fight, but the fight was exciting overall. Silva’s boxing controlled Mirko at times and Mirko showed off some artistic tendencies showing that he must be an artist, because his body kicks were as good as advertised, painting a foot print onto Silva’s ribs. Silva used his striking to get inside but never really went straight for the takedown, although the fight went the distance of 5x3 minute rounds, the fact that no KO took place was a little unsettling. Vanderlei impressed me more than Cro Cop did considering the rules favored the K-1 veteran he showed some impressive skills as both fighters closed the show with a solid bout. Draw after five rounds.

Sanae Kikuta Vs Alexander Otsuka
They did not show this fight in the entirety so I cannot speak for the whole fight but from what I saw in the third round and the bumps and bruises that were plentiful on Otsuka’s face, it was Kikuta that was in full control the whole fight. In round three Kikuta applies a trip take down into the half guard and after passing to full mount he punches a couple times to the heard and takes the arm of Otsuka. He applies what looked to be a tight armbar on Otsuka, but Otsuka showed the heart of a Lion and did not tap. He stayed in the Armbar position, unable to escape the position for about a minute, This was difficult to watch, (as I have been there before) and I felt like Kikuta was ready to take Otsuka’s arm home with him for a trophy. But in the end it, Kikuta dominated, though he was unable to finish and Otsuka was able to go the distance with another good fighter.
Otsuka gets to keep his arm although, from what I saw I don’t know how useful it will be from here on out. Kikuta by Decision after three rounds.

Murilo "Ninja" Rua Vs Mario Sperry
This was the fight of the night on a solid night of action and this fight is an early candidate for fight of the year. The 21 year old Ninja Rua was in against the 35 year old Jiu Jitsu master and Top Team leader and the fact that neither fighter liked each other, because of a Rivalry was something to watch.
Round one started with a flurry of punches early after the clinch, Ninja cracked Sperry with a shot that dropped him to the knee’s and looked like the fight may have been over. Ninja blocked the takedown attempt that Mario attempted right after he was dropped and threw multiple knee’s to the head and looked close to closing the deal. Mario was able to weather the storm and worked his way to getting to his feet, securing the takedown to safety and Murilo’s half guard. Ninja stood up out of the guard and Sperry was able to trip him and get the top position again. Sperry worked for the arm and looked like he almost took the reverse figure four armbar but Ninja was able to dodge a bullet and sneak out the back. After a restart, Sperry came at Ninja with a flurry of punches and after a clinch another flurry where they both caught each other with shots that staggered both of them.
Round two started with a flying knee by Rua and another exchange of punches that ended with a scramble and Sperry almost getting a knee bar on Rua. He missed and Rua dropped knee’s to the head and side then went to a choke against the Zen machine. He then went of the Kimura from the bottom position but failed then went for a futile side arm triangle against Sperry. Sperry waited patiently and almost re-secured the figure four reverse armbar. After the standup, a clinch and Rua taking it to the ground and dropping great knee’s into Sperry’s head and side to end the second round.
Round Three started with a Rua left hand that dropped Sperry and a stomp to the head of Sperry still could not stop him, several left hooks caught Mario and it looked like Sperry’s age would catch up to him as he looked depleted to start the round. He could must precious little offense from his back and a cut on his right eyebrow gave him a breather but it was far too little as Murilo jumped on top and continued to dominate from the top position.
I was very impressed with many aspects of both fighters but in the end it was the younger and stronger Ninja that took home the gold for the night. Ninja looked confident in his submissions, he went for many during the bout and Sperry surprisingly boxed with Ninja on several occasions. At times it looked like a bizarre reversal of identities but the Drive and will to win were equal to the task. The rivalry between the two teams was a great story line but it seems to be turning out to be much more. I look forward to Chute Boxe Vs Top Team 2. Ninja by decision after three rounds.

Dan Henderson Vs Ricardo Arona
This was a great fight and was a back and forth affair for most of the fight. In the first round we saw Henderson land numerous knee’s from the front headlock position, but his takedown defense looked like it could have used some work as Arona’s work from the clinch seemed stronger than Henderson’s. Henderson’s Greco Roman Wrestling was supposed to dominate the clinch and the transitions between the clinch and other positions. Arona on the other hand Mounted Henderson multiple times but was unable to mount an effective offense throughout the fight with the exception of flurries in the final round. Henderson’s beautiful Greco throw, headlock roll over to reverse the mount and some solid right hands and nice knee’s from the headlock position were the highlights for Hendo in round one. Getting the mount and fighting from the top position were the best from Arona in round one.
Round two was a bit slower than round one, highlighted by Henderson almost taking Arona’s head off with guillotine choke and knee’s to the head that actually cut Arona’s head. A bloody cut over the eye of Arona was the best shot of the round but for the most part a couple takedowns and ground control by Arona were enough to give the slight edge to Arona in that round.
Round three was almost all Arona as Arona clinched and took the fight to the ground and control from half guard and mount for much of the third round. He was unable to apply a finishing hold despite taking Henderson’s back at one point and almost sinking a choke after blocking a reversal attempt by Henderson. Henderson just clinched the head of Arona keeping him close, but was unable to throw him off or mount any type of offense. Arona Takes the fight by decision after three rounds.

Rogerio "Minotoro" Nogueira Vs Yusuke Imamura
In the shortest fight of the night at :35 seconds Nogueira continued the winning traditions of the Nogueira name and won by Guillotine choke early in the fight on the first take down attempt by Imamura. He caught him under the chin, but could not go to full guard. He went to half guard, and although Imamura had his right arm in, I guess the choke was in tight because he tapped out in under a minute. Imamura got his chance to fight in Pride by competing in, and winning in the PRIDE "B" league against Joe Son.
I guess that chance has passed him by because he did not do a lot to prove that he has the same type of heart that fellow Perpetual losing machines, Daijiro Matsui, Alexander Otsuka, and Masaake Satake have. Nogueira by Choke Submission at 35 seconds of round one.

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson Vs Masaake Satake
Rampage was upset at the outcome of his last fight in Pride against Daijiro Matsui, and he was looking to take out his frustrations against the K-1 veteran, with a Pride record of 1 and 6. Looking trim and ready, compared to some of his fights of past Pride’s, Satake looked svelte and ready for a war. Jackson came into the ring with war paint on his face and he looked like he was ready for to battle himself. A quick clinch in the corner gave way to knee’s to the legs by both competitors, and a couple low blows for good measure. In an ironic twist of fate it was Quinton who was taking the groin shots this time around so I guess that Satake was paying him back for what he did to Matsui. A beautiful high crotch takedown by Quinton Jackson took Satake high in the air and almost on his head on the ground and from there he worked well from side mount dropping huge knee’s and numerous punches onto his head and body. He controlled the fight from beginning to end and there really was no doubt as the out come of this fight.
Satake came out to the theme of Godzilla but in the end it was he who got stomped.
A huge Side suplex by Quinton dropped Satake straight on his left shoulder and back,after he fell his right leg whipped over in a painful looking mess and the night was over for Satake. Satake, looked like his back was injured on the beautiful slam by Jackson. Godzilla was grounded, at Pride 20.

Bob Sapp Vs Norihisa Yamamoto
Six foot four, three hundred and fifty pounds of pure muscle is a big package to handle, Yamamoto was willing to take the package on, and was hoping to deliver. You have to give this guy credit because he had the guts to step in against a much bigger guy, a weight difference of 150 pounds is nothing to sneeze at. In fact the only one who was sneezing was Yamamoto because I think he caught a cold from the wind of Sapp’s punches flying by his head. From the outset it was obvious that Sapp’s strength and power would be too much for Yamamoto and his leg strikes and punches were futile.
He could not accomplish anything he set out to do and gets knocked out for his efforts.
Sapp was eating punches and leg kicks from Yamamoto as if they were from his little sister Yamamoto could not muster any offense to speak of and was beaten so badly he could hardly speak when the match was over. Sapp is a monster and I pity the next Japanese pro Wrestler they throw him in against. Sapp wins by ref stoppage due to punishment at 2:44 of round one.

Conclusion
A disappointing Pride on Paper turned out to be much better then advertised. I think all the fighters on the card fought with so much heart and drive that Pride should double what they gave to each fighter for saving their butts. The Pride 20 card turned out to be much, much better than the sum of its parts and an overall impressive show with almost everything you could see in an MMA bout accounted for. Mario Sperry Vs Murilo Ninja Rua was the fight of the year to date in my opinion and showed some of the best back and forth action that I have seen in a long time. The bitter rivalry between the Chute Boxe team and the Top Team is something to keep your eye on, because if this fight was any indication, then we the fans are in for a treat. The K-1 Vs Pride experiment was interesting while it lasted, and Pride proved that They can throw a good show together literally throwing it together at what seemed to be the last minute. A Good showing for Pride overall, now if they could just suck up a couple more weak matches Pride would have double excitement of the fans and the amount of respect they get in one fell blow.
Lets hope that Pride continues to improve and give the fans exciting fights to watch.
Hints of the Pride Middleweight championships were dropped by Bas and Quad at the end of the show so I look forward to seeing that come together. Her is to a great Pride 21 and beyond (Pride Middleweight Tournament).

This was "The Sushiboy" Arnold Lim
If you have any questions or comment please feel free to reach me at
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it