Review: PRIDE FC Final Conflict Absolute 2006: Open-Weight GP Tournament Finals
INTRO
I watched the show on PPV yesterday. I avoided all the spoilers, and so I got to enjoy the fights with the added frisson of not knowing who was going to win until I saw it happen. I’m glad I watched the card that way, but it is possible that I’m going to overrate some of the bouts because they were so exciting and I had such a good time watching them.
In the extremely unlikely event that you haven’t yet seen the show nor heard the results, I’d suggest that you do so first, then come back and read my review later. I’d hate to spoil this show for you. If you have seen the show, please take a moment to write to me here (that’s mr.gordi at gmail dot com). I’d like to hear what you thought of the show.
You can also check out my preview of this event by clicking here.
This shot is actually from the first time these guys met, in 2002… but you get the idea.
THE UNDERCARD
Yosuke Nishijima vs. Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos
My Prediction: Santos will take the boxer down and tap him out. Cyborg by Submission, Round 1.
What actually happened: Cyborg came out aggressively, swarmed Nishijima, took him down, and effortlessly gained the mount. Nish was hopelessly overmatched on the ground, and Cyborg worked him over methodically until the boxer gave up his back. Santos then choked Nishijima out.
Lee Tae-Hyun vs. Ricardo “The Mutant” Morais
My prediction: It would be a huge surprise if this turned out to be a decent fight. Mutant by Submission, Round 1.
What actually happened: It was Mutant by KO in round 1. The fight didn’t air, but I’ve heard it described as “Two Brad Imes slugging it out.” That cracks me up. I am glad that this presumably sluggish brawl was left off of the North American PPV broadcast.
Yoshihiro “Kiss” Nakao vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura
My prediction: Nakamura by 1st Round submission.
What actually happened: Nakamura took the decision in another fight that wasn’t aired over here. Apparently the Japanese crowd booed both fighters loudly for their lack of intensity once this match had dragged to its conclusion.
Ricardo Arona vs. Alistair “Demolition Man” Overeem
My prediction: I’d guess that Arona is hungry for a win after following up his biggest victory with consecutive losses, but I think he’s smart enough to avoid taking unnecessary chances against Overeem. Arona by Decision.
What actually happened: Arona won decisively without taking any chances, when Overeem tapped out in the first round. Arona took the Dutch fighter down almost immediately with a single leg kick, went into Overeem’s guard, and passed beautifully into the side mount. Overeem made the classic mistake of giving up his back, and Arona methodically worked his way into a dominant position. Trapped in a body triangle, with Arona picking his shots and landing most of them, Overeem chose to tap out. This did not seem like the most manly of ways to finish the fight, and I think it is going to do real damage to Overeem’s reputation in Japan.
Mauricio”Shogun” Rua vs. Cyrille “Snake” Diabate
My Prediction: If Shogun is completely healthy, he should have no problems taking care of the Snake. Rua 1st Round KO.
What really happened: Rua, who is rapidly earning a reputation as one of PRIDE’s elite middleweights, came across as very humble and personable in his taped interview segment. Diabate is a rather unique physical specimen, with freakishly long arms. Snake’s considerable reach advantage gave Shogun some trouble in the early moments, so Shogun took him down and executed a graceful somersault pass to gain positioning advantage. Diabate escaped his predicament, got taken down almost right away, showed some very nice submission defense, escaped again, and ended up on the ground for a third time. Rua then used a little ground and pound before bringing the fight to an end with classic Chute Box stomps and kicks, ending the best non-tournament bout of the evening in decisive fashion.
THE TOURNAMENT MATCHES
Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic vs. Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva
My prediction: Both Cro Cop and Silva have been in classic form in their tournament bouts so far. It’s very likely that this rematch will be an all-out stand up war. Both men have knockout power, but I’d give a slight edge to Cro Cop because he is a more precise striker, and Silva’s wide, looping punches can leave him open against that type of fighter. This really could go either way, but I’m calling for Cro Cop by KO in Round 2
What actually happened: Even though this fight pretty much went down the way that I called it, it was shocking to watch it happen. Cro Cop took Silva apart with surgical precision, dominating the fight, taking Silva down, and hurting him with a hard straight left punch that really did some damage. The doctors took their time tending to Silva, who fought maniacally from underneath when the fight was re-started.
Silva’s right eye, though, was badly swollen, and it was only a matter of time before Mirko ended the fight by sending a left high kick crashing into Silva’s blind side. When it came, as Silva dropped his hands for a split second, the KO was stunning in its swiftness and ferocity. So often in the past it has been Silva’s opponents who were helped, limping, back to the dressing room. This time The Axe Murderer was the fighter who ended up badly beaten, the victim of a classic first round Filipovic KO.
Josh “The Babyface Assassin”Barnett vs. Antonio Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira
My prediction: Minotauro has never been submitted in a Mixed Martial Arts match. Unlike many submission specialists, Big Nog is also a top boxer. There is no advantage to Barnett in the stand-up. His only hope is to take Nogueira down and stay on top long enough to earn a judges’ decision. I don’t see that happening, but I can imagine that Barnett will be good enough to keep the action going for two rounds. I see Nogueira winning by Judges’ Decision.
What actually happened: Barnett was not only good enough to avoid being beaten for two rounds, he was actually able to match Nogueira on the ground, hold for hold and escape for escape. Barnett tagged Minotauro early with a fast left hook. Big Nog took the punishment, remained calm, and fought back from the bottom. The fighters got back to their feet, only for Nogueira to execute a takedown of his own. Barnett got to his feet, and quickly sunk in a guillotine choke, which Nogueira then managed to escape. The momentum of the match kept switching, as Nog took Barnett’s back, only to have Barnett grab an ankle lock, which Nogueira escaped with such grace and alacrity that he ended up on top and rapidly obtained the mount. Stunningly, Barnett fought through Nogueira’s attempted arm bar, and ended up back on top as the first round came to a close.
The second round saw still more exciting back and forth action, with Barnett sprawling beautifully to avoid another takedown, and ending up on top himself. Nogueira regained control and smoothly worked his way into full mount, only to be swept by the American wrestler. ARN pulled off a sweep of his own, combining it with a picture-perfect arm drag that put him into position to take Barnett’s back. Barnett reversed him again, however, and took half mount. From there, he worked his way into position for a knee bar, which he finally locked in just as time expired.
This was an amazing, technical, back and forth battle that was as even and exciting as a fight can be while still ending up in the judge’s hands. I wouldn’t have wanted to be one of the people deciding which of these warriors would be eliminated from the tournament. This was truly a decision that could have gone either way.
In the end, two of the three PRIDE judges ruled in favour of Josh Barnett. I would say that their decision was justified. Barnett got a knockdown off the left hook, and he had two submissions sunk in, however briefly, with the guillotine and the knee bar. He also successfully fought off Minotauro’s best chance at victory, that being the arm bar in the first round.
Although I can understand that it must have been tough to lose such a close fight, I was bitterly disappointed to see that Minotauro left the ring in disgust without sticking around to properly honour the winner. Nogueira has always seemed to be a true class act, and this display of poor sportsmanship seemed entirely uncharacteristic.
Reserve Match: Aleksander Emelianenko vs. Sergei Kharitonov
My prediction: If he has sufficiently healed since February, Kharitonov will take this one by TKO in the 1st.
What actually happened: Aleksander surprised me by circling and bouncing like a trained boxer, rather than charging straight at Kharitonov, as most had expected him to do. Still, Sergei got the first good shot in, knocking Aleks down and ending up on top. After a few minutes of limited action, the referee stood both men back up. Aleks looked gassed and Kharitonov got cocky, waving for Aleks to try and hit him on the chin. Emelianenko obliged, catching Sergei, then laying in some fierce ground and pound. He topped it off with a couple of heavy knees that left the referee no choice but to stop the fight and award the victory to Aleksander.
THE FINALS
I predicted a rematch, but it wasn’t meant to be
My prediction: I’m guessing that Cro Cop will face Big Nog in the finals, and I really hope that’s how it works out. Their first meeting produced one of the greatest MMA battles of all time, as Nogueira weathered the storm of Mirko’s offense, absorbing huge amounts of punishment as he worked himself into position to sink a submission. If they meet again here, I’d give Minotauro the likely advantage, since he’ll probably take less punishment from Barnett than Cro Cop does from Silva. This could also end up being the best fight of the year.
What actually happened: Cro Cop met Barnett in the finals. Filipovic was the probably fresher of the two fighters, since Barnett had fought fifteen hard minutes against Minotauro. Cro Cop and the Babyface Assassin matched up against one another very well, and they indeed managed to put on one of the better fights of the year.
The atmosphere, the introductions and entrances, and Nobuhiko Takada reading the fight proclamation all added to the big event atmosphere that had me, literally, on the edge of my seat for this bout. The action started out with some very fast stand up exchanges. Barnett opened up a little cut over Cro Cop’s eye. The fight stalled briefly once they went to the ground, but after the ref stood them up they went back to rapidly trading strikes. This was one of the fastest Heavyweight MMA fights I’ve ever seen. After some crazy back and forth action, Cro Cop caught Barnett and proceeded to lay in some withering ground and pound. Barnett, amazingly, managed to weather the initial storm. Mirko kept pounding away, however, and eventually he caught the Babyface Assassin with a punch to the eye that forced Barnett to tap out.
The notoriously stoic Filipovic then topped off his triumphant run through the tournament, and his 32nd birthday, by breaking down in a show of overwhelming emotion. It was a great moment and a fitting end to a tremendous night of mixed martial arts action.
MORE INSIDE FIGHTS
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Why not check out our TUF coverage with a look at how one fighter threw it all away… or take a look into the world of boxing, and read about another big fight that lived up to the hype. Big gloves or little, fight writer Trent Pusey has got you covered!
The always-insightful Scott Newman has a review of UFC 18 posted. That’s the card that saw Bas Rutten make his UFC debut!
Also, you can read Shelly and Sick as they each tear into Stephan Bonner for being an idiot, and rightfully so.
