mma / Columns

The History Of Pride FC: Pride Bushido Vol. 10

October 1, 2009 | Posted by Jeffrey Harris


-Greetings everyone. It’s been a few months since my last MMA DVD review, and I’m sorry about that (if you actually missed them, hah!). I finished reviewing the 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix, and then I just got slammed right after the other with E3, the Anime Expo, and then Comic Con. Now that things have settled down, I want to get back into the Pride FC DVD reviews. So I decided to start with one of my favorite Bushido event cards ever with Vol. 10 featuring 11 fights. I’m planning on doing the 2006 Openweight Grand Prix next and then probably the 2003 Middleweight Grand Prix.

-April 2, 2006. The 10th edition and first of the year for the Pride Fighting Championships’ Bushido event series took place at the Ariake Coliseum in Tokyo Japan. Pride ended 2005 strong, crowning two new champions of two new weight classes for the promotion: welterweight champion Dan Henderson and lightweight champion Takanori Gomi.

-Announcing live in the arena are Mauro Ranallo and Frank “Twinkletoes” Trigg with hair. Ranallo and Trigg run down the featured matches of the card. All the fights tonight are under Pride Bushido rules, meaning all fights will have a first round for the duration of 10 minutes and one 5 minute second round. Red cards can be handed out to an unlimited degree without disqualification. The Pride theme and parade of fighters begins for the event. This is the PRIDE FIGHTING CHAMPIONSHIPS!

Yves Edwards (Pride Record: 1-1) VS. Seichi Ikemoto (Pride Record: Debut)
Ikemoto is a veteran of Shooto and DEEP making his Pride debut for this fight. Edwards is coming off two straight losses going into this fight, losing to Joachim Hansen in the first round of the Pride Lightweight GP at Bushido Vol. 9 and then losing to Mark Hominick one month before this fight at UFC 58. Ikemoto dropped 17 pounds to make weight for this fight.

Round 1. Slow to start and Ikemoto tries for a high kick early, but Edwards blocks it and gets a nice outside legkick. Ikemoto keeps going for the high kick. Edwards comes in with some good punching combos that connect. Edwards dodges a flying knee strike and gets an inside legkick and comes in with some more punches but whiffs on a kick and trips himself up on the ropes and recovers quickly. They trade on some legkicks. Edwards slips by an overhand right by Ikemoto. Edwards lands another good punching combination and hits a roundhouse kick, and Ikemoto clinches to stop the coming onslaught. Edwards goes in again and lands a big left that sends Ikemoto bouncing off the ropes. Ikemoto starts using some front push kicks to create some distance. Ikemoto tries for the takedown, but Edwards stuffs it and lands into Ikemoto’s guard. Edwards passes into side mount and just as gets full mount, Ikemoto explodes out and pops up. Ikemoto lands some good kicks on Edwards. Ikemoto continues to pepper Edwards with some legkicks. Edwards answers with a big overhand left. Ikemoto continues to try and keep Edwards at bay with his kicks that don’t seem to be doing much damage. Edwards comes in a good striking combination followed by a Thai clinch and a knee to the head. An uppercut by Edwards sends Ikemoto reeling back. Edwards lands some more punches as the round ends.

Round 2. Ikemoto tries more of his ineffective push kicks and Edwards simply goes in and dirty boxes Ikemoto. Ikemoto tries to shoot, but Edwards hooks Ikemoto’s arms and lands a nice series a knee strikes to Ikemoto’s head. Ikemoto escapes and clinches and gets in some good knees to the body and punches in the clinch. Edwards comes back with a knee to the midsection and some more good left and right punching combos. Edwards continues to push the action on Ikemoto with his superior striking. Ikemoto tries to clinch, but Edwards just smacks him flat to the ground. Edwards lets Ikemoto get back up. Later, Ikemoto goes to the ground trying for a leglock, but Edwards has it well scouted and drops into Ikemoto’s half-guard. Edwards stands and puts his hands on his hips, wanting the fight to go back to the feet. Ranallo acts like the fight could be up for grabs. C’mon Mauro. Ikemoto tries to strike more aggressively in the last minute. They dirty box in the clinch, but Edwards lands some uppercuts in the clinch as the round ends. Ranallo and Trigg act like this was a close fight, oh please.

The Winner: Edwards gets the academic unanimous decision. This was a good fight for Edwards. Ikemoto did not have an answer for Edwards superior and more varied striking game. His attempts at takedowns and submissions were all shrugged off. Edwards dictated the pace and was more aggressive. Edwards landed more, cleaner strikes. Ikemoto had some decent kicks but that was it.

Mitsuhiro Ishida (Pride Record: Debut) VS. Paul Rodriguez (Pride Record: Debut)
In the pre-fight video, Ishida says he was very excited when he was announced to be on the card but also very serious. Rodriguez talks about what he brings to the fight. Ishida says he wants to take Rodriguez down to the ground and pound. Rodriguez wants to keep the fight standing. Ishida says this fight will be like fireworks and will get a knockout.

Round 1. Ishida misses on a roundhouse kick, but grabs a Thai clinch and lands some big knee strikes. Ishida shoots for the single leg takedown and gets it and is able to pass guard straight to side control and lands a knee strike. Rodriguez is able to defend and pull half-guard and gets Ishida in his closed full-guard. Ishida stands up and starts dropping punches through the guard on Rodriguez. Ishida passes guard again and goes to north/south position and gets a tight front guillotine choke. Rodriguez tries to step out, but that is it. The ref calls the fight and it is done.

The Winner: Ishida gets the win by submission at 2:29 in Round 1. An impressive and dominant performance by Ishida in his Pride debut. Ishida would then go on to win his next three fights in Pride before losing to Takanori Gomi at Shockwave 2006.

-Post-fight interview with Paul Rodriguez in the lockerroom talking about the fight. The interviewer for all these segments is unfortunately Jerry Millen. Rodriguez is dejected and doesn’t know what’s next, but he plans on working harder and working on protecting his neck.

Jens “Little Evil” Pulver (Pride Record: 1-2) VS. Kenji Arai (Pride Record: Debut)
Jens Pulver talks about getting bigger and putting on some more weight that he hadn’t done in a long time and getting back to his old weight which he feels much better about. Pulver’s talking points about the fight are somewhat incomprehensible, but he’s going to go out there and do what he trained to do. Arai stepped up since Pulver’s original opponent was injured. Arai previously fought in Pancrase and DEEP.

Round 1. Pulver catches a kick early and gets a nice inside leg trip and transitions to north/south and hits the knees to the head of Arai. Pulver controls the head and lands more knees. Arai breaks the hold and separates. Arai and Pulver then just start unloading blows and the crowd gets really into it. Pulver throws more knees and pushes the action into the corner. A series of lefts from Pulver puts Arai on his knees to the canvas, and Pulver hits more knee strikes. Arai continues to swing for the fences and exchanges with Pulver. A big left from Pulver rattles Arai. Arai ducks a kick and rolls under, but Pulver has Arai scouted and just lands a nasty ass soccer kick and the ref runs in to end it. Yikes. I hope Pulver grabbed Arai’s wallet and keys while he was at it.

The Winner: Pulver gets the win by KO with at 3:59 in Round 1. This was an incredibly fun scrap. Pulver simply had the heavier hands, but neither guy fought a “smart” fight. But that’s how you sometimes get fun fights like this. And yikes, what a sick finish. Pulver celebrates his win and raises hands with Arai.

-Backstage for the post-fight interview with Pulver and Millen. Pulver talked about watching out for Arai’s kick and fighting a southpaw and wanting to knock Arai out. Pulver talks about his cardio and working up to a bigger weight.

Mark Weir (Pride Record: Debut) VS. Denis Kang (Pride Record: 2-0)
Weir’s a British fighter and UFC veteran that’s also fought in Cage Rage and Pancrase. Kang’s been on a huge winstreak, going 16-0-1-1 in his last 18 fights.

Round 1. Weir snaps off a kick to the head early and lands Kang to the mat with a “spinning drop” (tm, Frank Trigg) straight into side control. Kang quickly pulls a half-guard. Kang stands to his feet and goes straight up banging with the fists, trading left and rights with Weir. Weir is rocked by this exchange, and Kang doesn’t let up and grabs a Thai clinch and starts landing some Pride FC style knees and gets Weir to the ground. Weir pulls full guard and tries to posture, but Kang is able to punish Weir and passes into side control. Kang transitions to full mount, but Weir shuffles, and Kang moves back to side. Kang lands some knees from the side mount and transitions back into the full mount again. Kang hits some hammer fists on Weir from the mount. Weir tries to rally, but Kang pretty much dictates the fight to his pleasure from the top position. Kang works and punches nastily through the guard. Kang rubs the forearm over the face, and Weir taps and starts having his eye. Ref calls it and that’s the fight.

The Winner: Kang is awarded the TKO at 4:55 in Round 1. Kang’s ground game and guard passing was extremely impressive as well as his ground and pound work. Weir started strong but seemed to gas early and wilted after getting hit by Kang and had poor defense on the ground. To his defense, he took some sick knee strikes very early into the fight. Kang would go on to have a strong run in the Pride Bushido series before losing the 2006 Welterweight Grand Prix. Kang gets on the mic and thanks the fans of Pride and how grateful he is to work for the organization.

Joachim Hansen (Pride Record: 2-1) VS. Luiz Azeredo (Pride Record: 2-2)
Hellboy Hansen vs. the idiot that started doing Karate Kid poses in his Lightweight Grand Prix Semi-Final bout with the Gomi? I’m going to really freaking enjoy this. Azeredo says Hansen is strong, but Azeredo will show the entire world that he is number one. Hansen says he needs to keep his chin down. Azeredo says he’s prepared to take the fight standing or on the ground.

Round 1. Azeredo jumps right in with a flying knee strike. Hansen answers with a loud right hand. Azeredo gets knees in the clinch. Azeredo gets the takedown with a single-leg. Hansen defends from the bottom and they get caught up in the ropes. The ref moves the position to the center of the ring. Azeredo picks Hansen up from the guard and slams him down. Hansen moves away and Azeredo lands some striking combos to Hansen against the ropes. Hansen is undeterred and moves ahead and stuns Azeredo with a left. Azeredo gets taken to the mat and Hansen lays in his sick ground and pound game in the open guard. Azeredo attempts and armbar, but Hansen just throws more punches and defends the submission. They eventually scramble, and Azeredo gets out through the backdoor to top position. Azeredo recovers, but Hansen continues to move and pushes Azeredo off and looks to just about pull off an amazing armbar hold, but Azeredo escapes. Azeredo goes after Hansen again in the corner and gets another single-leg takedown. Azeredo stands up and tries just stomping and kicking at Hansen’s head, and Hansen amazingly isn’t knocked unconscious. Azeredo continues to try and punish Hansen, but Azeredo is reprimanded for holding onto the ropes. The ref calls a timeout, and Azeredo gets a yellow card and loses 10% of his purse, hahah. The fight is standing once again and they continue trading strikes. Out of nowhere, Hansen just *cracks* Azeredo cold with a knee type of kick straight on the bottom of Azererdo’s chin. Azeredo goes down and that is it.

The Winner: Hansen with the KO at 7:09 of Round 1. VENGEANCE OVER KARATE KID AZEREDO! My dislike for Azeredo aside, this was a very entertaining fight. Hansen is just a monster and definitely one of the best lightweight MMA fighters of all time. Hansen gets a mic and thanks the fans, “YOU GIVE ME POWER! THANK YOU!”

-More with Millen and Hansen. Hansen said it was a tough fight and he was probably rocked a couple times and he was starting to gas in the fight. Hansen said in the end he tooks his time to aim a little more. Hansen said he and Azeredo are both crazy. Hansen says he wants to fight Gomi next. Hansen didn’t get a fight with Gomi, but would end up facing Shinya Aoki instead. Hansen eventually became the lightweight champion of DREAM.

Paulo Filho (Pride Record: 4-0) VS. Murilo “Ninja” Rua (Pride Record: 6-5)
Rua talks some trash about sending Filho to the hospital and about this being a BTT/Chute Box fight. Filho says Rua is good but he does not respect him in the ring.

Round 1. Here we go in this Brazilian Top Team vs. Chute Box clash. They lock up and fight over a clinch into the ropes. Filho goes hard for the single-leg and gets, but Rua easily stands and defends the takedown. Filho however holds and gets a bigger takedown on Rua to the mat. Rua fights to his feet again and gets some knees and body shots in the clinch. Filho hits a beautiful side headlock takedown into a side headlock. Rua stands back to his feet and gets some shots standing, but Filho again goes right for a takedown straight into side control. Filho then starts hitting some soccer kicks and laying in the punches and goes again for a single leg to keep Rua down. Filho continues to dish out the punishment with the takedowns and controlling Rua on the ground and mounts Rua. Shogun is ringside, not happy seeing his brother get pummeled. Drama! Filho keeps up the dominant mount positions and ground and pound for the remainder of the round. Round 1 totally goes to Filho. Rua didn’t really look in trouble in getting finished, but he was totally dominated on the ground as Filho did not allow any kind of standup war.

Round 2. Rua comes in with a right, but Filho responds with right and left punching combinations and goes right for another big takedown. Filho gets side and full mount, but Rua almost gets a leglock. Filho defends and goes back to side control. Rua continues to get battered on the ground as Filho keeps side control and pounds Rua. Filho smothers Rua on the ground and stays in his half-guard until the bell sounds. All Filho once again.

The Winner: Paulo Filho gets the unanimous decision for the victory. This was a bit of a boring fight, but still a decent performance by Filho. Filho looks like he could’ve done more to Rua who looked powerless on the mat.

Akihiro Gono (Pride Record: 2-2) VS. Dae Won Kim (Pride Record: Debut)
Dae Won Kim is a fighter from South Korea.

Round 1. Kim goes after Gono aggressively and gets a hard takedown and starts delivering some knee strikes. Kim does some damage and strikes the defending Gono in the corner on the ground. Gono is stuck in this position for a while until the referee calls for a break and stands them both up. Gono keeps his hands low. Kim gets a takedown into Gono’s half-guard. Gono stays patient and executes a sweep and gets a top position. Gono misses a stomp but doesn’t let up and lands some continued strikes from the top. Gono tries for a kimura but Kim is able to slip out. Gono tries for an Amerikana, but Kim defends however in doing so, Gono takes up the full mount. Gono swings in with the punches and hammerfists. Kim turns over, but Gono is able to get a textbook armbar. Kim taps out almost immediately and that is all.

The Winner: Gono gets the sub at 9:00 in Round 1. Kim looked impressive at first and was doing well but seemed to gas early before Gono reversed the position and just took care of business until the end. Nice finish by Gono at least who would go on for a short, unsuccessful stint in the UFC.

Phil Baroni (Pride Record: 2-1) VS. Yuki Kondo (Pride Record: 1-4)
DEEP and Pancrase vet, Kondo, had lost his last three fights in Pride, so he decided to move to the Pride Welterweight Division and would be welcomed by the New York Bad Ass, Phil Baroni, fresh from coming off a loss to Minowa. This is supposed to be better for Kondo since 185 is his natural weight class.

Round 1. Baroni comes out swinging and aggressively shoots the punches on Kondo. Left body shot and *boom*, right. Kondo goes down. Baroni punches him down and the ref calls it.

The Winner: And this is why everyone loves and loves to hate Phil Baroni. And the hits keep coming with the 25 second KO victory for Baroni in Round 1. Trigg says no one ever hit him harder in sparring than Phil Baroni. Baroni thanks the fans in Japanese and gives an emotional victory speech. Baroni’s victory celebration is probably greater than the actual knockout.

Paulo Cesar Silva (Pride Record: 1-5) VS. Ikuhisa “The Punk” Minowa (Pride Record: 6-6)
Silva says something about breaking Minowa’s foot and Minowa can’t break his foot. Minowa says he will use his small body as a weapon to take Silva down. In case you’ve all forgotten, Silva is formally Giant Silva of the Oddities in WWE. You know the guy that used to carry the Cartman plushy around?

Round 1. Minowa has grown his mullet back out. Here we go. Pride Freakshow Attraction at his finest. The crowd hotly anticipates Minowa’s forward roll into a single-leg takedown attempt and gets Silva to the mat. Minowa passes if you can call it that and goes back and forth with the knee strikes to Silva. Silva I think says he’s had enough and that is all.

The Winner: As much as I enjoy Pride, this is another reason why I think the Pride marks need to get over themselves. Yes, I get the appeal of Minowa to the Japanese fans and all, but good God. Stop acting like Pride was this freaking perfect organization when they did ridiculous pro-wrestling matches like this. Minowa does his trademark celebration and salutes the fans.

Dan Henderson (Pride Record: 10-4) VS. Kazuo Misaki (Pride Record: 1-1)
In the pre-fight video package, Henderson says he’s looking for the knockout and he’s feeling good and healthy. Misaki says who is the bigger star doesn’t matter in MMA and if someone makes a mistake the fight is over so he has a 50-50 chance. Henderson says he knows Misaki is good but he puts himself at a higher level but doesn’t overlook any fight. Misaki says he will prove his strength and abilities are no different than Hendo’s. Henderson’s newly won Pride Welterweight Championship is not on the line. Meh, that’s another thing about Pride I disliked, constantly putting the champions in non-title bouts when they should be defending their belts.

Round 1. They touch gloves. Ranallo and Trigg anticipate Dan throwing and delivering his trademark overhand right. Ranallo then says Misaki doesn’t even touch gloves right after it happened. Seriously Mauro. Misaki comes in with an inside lowkick. Henderson responds with one of his own. Misaki tries for a takedown, but Henderson does a whizzer and throws Misaki off. Henderson swings in and gets some right shots. Misaki ducks a roundhouse kick, but Henderson gets a spinning backfist. Henderson follows it up with a knee strike. Misaki tries to keep his stance and pace erratic. Henderson again swings in and does another spinning backfist. Henderson knocks Misaki to the ground with a left, but Misaki recovers quickly and goes for the leg. Henderson defends but gives up his back, and Misaki is able to take Henderson to the mat. Dan defends on the ground. Misaki stands up and is able to pass Dan Henderson of all people’s guard into side control. Henderson tries to keep Misaki’s right arm locked up with his legs. Misaki lays in some knees to Hendo’s side. Henderson is able to rise to his feet, and Misaki attempts a guillotine but slips off onto his back. Henderson continues to push the pace and goes for some aggressive exchanges. A big left wobbles Misaki to the other side of the ring. A left and *boom*, Dan’s big right hand sends Misaki down. Misaki stays awake though and goes for a footlock. Henderson escapes and Misaki gets on top position again. Misaki is unable to pass and stays in Henderson’s guard until the end of the round. An impressive performance from a game, tough, and resilient Misaki. Overall I score Henderson ahead in this round mainly for scoring more standing and putting Misaki to the mat and landing more cleaner shots. Misaki almost got a submission, and he was able to get Henderson down on the mat a couple times, but for the end of the round he was unable to do much with that position and that does not guarantee you a win in Pride.

Round 2. Henderson moves forward and gets a right uppercut and later an overhand left. Misaki stays active. Misaki and Henderson trade. Henderson lands a series of two uppercuts and moves back. Misaki gets some peppering shots but nothing major. Henderson lands some straight left jabs. Henderson lands another overhand right. Misaki gets a loud kick to the sternum. About a minute to go now. Henderson continues to push the pace and gets a little wild with his striking. He lands a knee and some big punches and Misaki continues to back up. Henderson gets another knee strike and a left/right punching combination. Bell eventually sounds and that is all. Henderson tries to be a good sport, but Misaki blows it off. Boo to the felon named Kazuo Misaki.

The Winner: Henderson picks up the victory by unanimous decision. This was a great fight, even though Henderson won, and Misaki was being primed as the underdog to get the surprising victory. Misaki does decide to be a good sport after the decision at least. Misaki seemed to have a decent idea with his footwork and trying to avoid Henderson’s big shots, but his standup game looked terrible and had little power at all. Henderson was in trouble a couple times and was put on his back twice in the first round, but he was never really in danger of being finished besides the one submission he was briefly in but escaped. Henderson dictated the pace and was the aggressor and landed more strikes and also made more moves to finish the fight. In Pride scoring, Dan wins again on all the cards. Ridiculously, Henderson would go into the 2006 Welterweight Grand Prix for no reason and would end up losing to Misaki in a rematch in the first round.

-Backstage post-fight interview with Henderson and Jerry “That’s a sellout” Millen. Henderson knew it would be a tough fight and that Misaki was strong. Henderson said Misaki was tougher than he expected and was able to take his punch but Hendo still beat him up around the ring. Henderson doesn’t know what’s next but he felt good this fight and it was a fun fight and is complimentary of Misaki.

Takanori Gomi (Pride Record: 10-0) VS. Marcus Aurelio (Pride Record: 2-1)
Pre-fight Interview: Aurelio says this is a huge chance for him and he’s going to do his best and doesn’t care what happens. Gomi says he will win the fight standing but if it goes to the ground, Aurelio might win. Geez Gomi . . . why would you say that? Aurelio says Gomi makes mistakes and he formed a game-plan from studying tapes. Gomi derides Aurelio’s previous performances in Pride talking about how Aurelio couldn’t finish or submit anyone and couldn’t damage Nakao in their fight at all and wonders how Aurelio could be a challenge for him.

Round 1. Gomi stalks Aurelio at the start and lands a couple good punches. Aurelio ducks a haymaker and shoots and scores a takedown into Gomi’s half-guard. Aurelio controls Gomi from on top and pounds in some shots and locks in a tight arm triangle. Aurelio loses it though. Gomi locks up Aurelio’s arm, but Aurelio lands in some punches with the other. Aurelio passes to the side and transitions beautifully back to an arm-triangle. There’s not getting out of this for Gomi. The crowd is going batcrap insane not wanting to see Gomi lose. Gomi drops his arm, and the ref waits a little too long to call this over (had to make sure Gomi had every opportunity to try and escape). Japanese fans in the arena are stunned.

The Winner: Marcus Aurelio with the huge upset of the year, submitting Pride FC Lightweight Champion, Takanori Gomi, at 4:34 in the first round. Aurelio hands Gomi his first ever defeat in Pride and finished him soundly. ATT enters into the ring and tackles their boy. Aurelio’s celebratory moment is huge and he even apes Gomi’s trademark victory stance of standing on the top turnbuckle after a win. Great win for Aurelio, but it was non-title. When he did get the title shot against Gomi finally, he was unable to get the job done. Gomi takes the loser dog exit as Aurelio celebrates with ATT in the ring with his victory trophy.

-Post-fight interview with Aurelio and Jerry Millen. Aurelio says today was his day and apologizes to Gomi. Aurelio says he was waiting for the moment to take Gomi down and use his ju-jitsu. Aurelio then goes into a rant on how awesome ju-jitsu is and that he did it all for ju-jitsu. Aurelio said he would like a rematch and that Pride is the best.

-Closing credits video montage and that is all.


  • Pre-Fight Press Conference – This is a 7 minute video featuring the card’s fighters introducing themselves to the media and briefly talking about their fights. This was a nice feature that you don’t often see on the Pride DVD’s.
  • Pre-Fight Interviews – This is a 12 minute montage of black and white video interviews with Mauro Ranallo and the card’s fighters talking about their fights and opponents. Some of the footage was used in the pre-fight video packages.
  • Post-Fight Interviews – Some post-fight interviews with some of the fighters that weren’t edited into the main card portion of the DVD. An interview with Yves Edwards shows his foot injury from during the fight. Edwards talks about shutting out the pain and dealing with the fight. Pulver talks about aiming for the punt and getting some teeth from the impact. The best one is Baroni’s post-fight interview talking about Hammer House not getting any respect and how they are always underestimated. Baroni talks about all the hype for Kondo coming down to his weight and he knocked him out. Baroni is sick of not getting his well deserved respect, “if you’re not going to give me the ****ing respect I deserve, I’m going to keep ****ing taking it!” Baroni wants the strap and wants the belt. This is another problem with Pride. They didn’t book Henderson/Baroni so I couldn’t see Henderson knock Baroni’s loud ass block off. All together the interviews run about 5 minutes.
  • Walk-ins Montage – A 4 minute montage video of all the fighter entrances that were edited out of the show. Notably, Marcus Aurelio came out wearing a luchador mask with ATT on it during his entrance.
  • The 411: A highly underrated and incredibly entertaining show with some great fights with some names you might not know, but a lot that you do. Not to mention some awesome finishes from top to bottom and a great upset win by Aurelio. The Henderson/Misaki fight was great, and there's loads of other stuff to enjoy here from some of the more obscure but notable names of the MMA world not to mention some of the bigger current stars.
    411 Elite Award
    Final Score:  8.5   [ Very Good ]  legend

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    Jeffrey Harris

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