The Japanese PRIDE Fighting Championships are the premier event of mixed martial arts an extreme sport that incorporates elements of judo karate jiu jitsu kickboxing and wrestling into a no-holds-barred style of fighting. Recorded at Japan's Saitama Super Arena in June 2002 this volume presents eight matches from the DEMOLITION event featuring top fighters Don Frye Fedor Emelianenko and Gary Goodridge in thrilling bouts of hand-to-hand combat.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: SPORTS/GAMES/FIGHTING Rating: NR UPC: 787364683390
Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating: Summary: Not exactly a DVD you would want to get just to see Bob Sapp Comment: Here's the matches.
BOB SAPP vs. KIYOSHI TAMURA-wow, Bob Sapp has to be teh scariest person on the planet. If he could just learn to stop crying and stop curling up and actign dead EVERY tiem he gets hit. In this match, Tamura is a big for a normal person at like 230 but nobody compares to Sapp's size and strength in the martial arts world. This is probably the quickest match ever in Pride.
GARY GOODRIDGE vs. ACHMED LABASANOV-good match, Gary Godridge is real good at talking smack when he is getting beat.
ALEX STIEBLING vs. ANDERSON SILVA-if yoyu can't take a hit, then you had better not go up again Anderson Silva because this guy can seriously strike.
JEREMY HORN vs. GILBERT YVEL-good fight, you can tell that Horn just doesn't have 'it'. He is a great fighter but for some reason I just don't see him ever being on the top.
RENZO GRACIE vs. SHUNGO OYAMO-this was my second favorite match on the card. With a name like Oyama you know this guy will be fun tio watch. Neither fighter knows how tio strike very well but it is a very entertaining round watching Gracie get taken out of his game and then he can't figure out what to do. The announcers spoke of how Renzo is known for his good sportsmanship. Well Renzo gets so mad that he actually spits ion Oyamo in this fight!
FEDOR vs. SEMMY SCHILT-I was really hoping this match was going to be better but Fedor is just too smart to make this an exciting match.
DON FRYE vs. YOSHIHIRO TAKAYAMA-if you have not seen this match then get ready for the greatest brawl ever. This is certianly my favorite Pride fight ever. Very bad match on the technical parts of the sport but man that was a rush to watch. I want to see Don Frye vs. Bob Sapp!
Bonus match has DANIEL GRACIE vs. TAKASHI SUGIRA. These are 2 new fighters and it was a great match. Certainly not what I was expecting from a Gracie fight. Customer Rating: Summary: Pride 21: Demolition Comment: June 23, 2002
Saitama Super Arena, Japan
This is another solid fight card put together by the Pride organization. Maybe the term isn't "put together" so much as it is "allowed" to occur. These are the matchups that make sense and Pride is probably the best organization for allowing these matchups to happen when they should happen.
Bob Sapp v. Kiyoshi Tamura:
Sapp is a beast of a man at 370 lbs. The fighters step in, the bell sounds, fighting ensues for only a moment and a towel is thrown in to stop the action... Very interesting.
Gary "Big Daddy" Goodridge v. Labazanov Arhmed:
This one goes to the ground rather quickly. Arhmed gets the first takedown, but Goodridge reverses the flow of the fight on the ground soon thereafter. The fight gets a bit boring and I don't believe either fighter is a serious threat in Pride competition. This one unfortunately goes to a decision.
Alex Steibling v. Anderson Silva:
This one is stopped just as the action is getting good... Steibling is a mad man and Silva is one of the most precise strikers in the game.
Jeremy Horn v. Gilbert Yvel:
Now, I'm always game to see Gilbert Yvel get beat up on. He is one of the most irritating figures in all of mixed martial arts. Horn starts this fight out with a good, solid slam. He then slowly works for a submission. The rounds get better as the fight progressed, with Horn getting numerous takedowns throughout.
Renzo Gracie v. Shungo Ohyama:
Ohyama showboats and gets taken down by Gracie. The action is slow in this one... The fighters are eventually stood up by the referee, thank God. Ohyama wants to brawl, but Renzo is tentative. Ohyama lands one good kick, but that's about all there is to speak about as he slowly starts to take over the fight. As an odd sidenote, Renzo gets frustrated and actually spits at Ohyama during this fight. Wonderful sportsmanship. It is funny, though, and at least it boosts the level of entertainment somewhat. This one also unfortunately goes the distance.
Emelianenko Fedor v. Semmy Schilt:
Ahhh, the big boys take the stage. Pride heavyweight action is the best in the world. We all know Semmy Schilt, standing 7 feet tall... But we are about to meet Fedor. Fedor gets a quick takedown and totally controls Schilt. Not too much damage is sustained in the 1st round. Schilt is on his back for the duration of the round. As we all know, Fedor is undefeated in Pride Fighting, so I won't consider it a spoiler in telling you that this is where Fedor secures his first of MANY wins in Pride, this time, via decision. This marks the emergence of one of the most exciting athletes in the sport.
Don "The Predator" Frye v. Yoshihiro Takayama:
Frye was set to fight Mark Coleman, but Coleman pulled out of the bout due to an injury suffered in training. Oh well. This fight is no doubt better than a Frye/Coleman fight could ever be in terms of excitement. Frye lands good punches right away. They then stand, holding each others' heads, trading right hands. A knee is landed and they trade again. This is frenzied action and Takayama's face shows the due wear. Frye's mouthpiece goes flying... This is an awesome standing battle and the crowd goes wild for it in the first round. A winner is then clearly defined and identified, beating his opponent to a referee stoppage. Great fight!
This is another keeper in the collection! Check it out. Customer Rating: Summary: Very good disk Comment: All of the fights were pretty interesting, and the Frey vs Takayama fight may be the most intense 6 minutes of fighting I've seen on a Pride DVD.
