Anyone else miss Japan?

Robbie Brawler said:
Excellent summary bro.

What a shame that top athletes today are tied up to the classless, corporatist organization that doesn’t care whatsoever about the culture of combat sports.
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100% agree, if it was a perfect world, the top level talent would be able to test themselves in the PRIDE FC format. The UFC has no honor, no Bushido, no respect and careful thought towards their fight format. It is strictly NASCAR with only their approved sponsors. It makes me sad that we can't see the talent fight in the PRIDE format. The 10 minute first round, strikes to a "downed" opponent, the most real simulation of a fight ever. How is it even a real fight if you can't knee from side control? Knee while sprawling on a wrestler? So many fights would be different. The people that try to shit on it, hilarious. They weren't even around and it shows. Their opinions lack nuance, history, perspective. They've bought into the wolf tickets of PRIDE bad, UFC good. Every real fan back then knows what was up. It wasn't even a question. There's a reason why Dana sent UFC fighters over multiple times. They knew. We knew. And we know.
 
JPW328 said:
We had Pride, then Dream, now Rizin. Quality has gone down in each league but it’s still old school Pride vibes, same owner
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Quality definitely went down in Dream, Dream was good. But it just felt like please watch us, here are the stars. I am always a fan of Dream but it just felt second rate unfortunately. Not to say that they didn't have their own unique talent and put on great shows, but it wasn't the best fighting the best anymore. It was the rest fighting to stay on TV. And I disagree about Rizin 100%. Where Dream failed, Rizin has picked up. It is not PRIDE level yet, but it is definitely a few steps ahead of Dream. Sakakibara is a genius and is able to procure talent that still holds its weight today. Jiri is ex-Rizin. Amir Aliakbari will be fighting for the HW title in ONE soon. And they have some lighter weight Japanese fighters that I'm sure would be competitive in the "BiG LeAgUes." Chihiro Suzuki just walloped Patricio Pitbull. They've had Tenshin and Tadaka kickbox for them. Asakura Bros would give anyone a competitive fight. They've slowly been able to put on good shows with the talent they have and the sky is the limit. I expect Rizin to continue to grow, you should check them out. Feeling much more optimistic than the DREAM era for sure.
 
Killer Kadoogan said:
this, PRIDE oozed classiness, prestige, it really was a global event, a real life Street Fighter 2: Championship Edition where they literally cultivated talent from the USSR, Japan, Brazil, United State of America, Croatia, etc, etc. The clean white ring. The blue gloves with color coordinated slightly off red and lighter blue blue. The lighting, which emphasized the outer space like crowd, the white ring of mt arreat. The delay on the microphone emphasizing the size, magnitude of these high level martial arts battles. It truly was a spectacle to watch and only added to the high level fights. The ruleset too, is by far, the best for MMA and simulates a real fight like no other. You can't stall with wrestling, you will get kneed. Side Control was just as vicious as mount, if not even more so, due to the fact that you will eat knees like a motherfucker if you don't try to regain guard ASAP. The 10 minute first round, which separated the men from the boys. Pride FC was the best.
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{<redford}
 
Killer Kadoogan said:
Quality definitely went down in Dream, Dream was good. But it just felt like please watch us, here are the stars. I am always a fan of Dream but it just felt second rate unfortunately. Not to say that they didn't have their own unique talent and put on great shows, but it wasn't the best fighting the best anymore. It was the rest fighting to stay on TV. And I disagree about Rizin 100%. Where Dream failed, Rizin has picked up. It is not PRIDE level yet, but it is definitely a few steps ahead of Dream. Sakakibara is a genius and is able to procure talent that still holds its weight today. Jiri is ex-Rizin. Amir Aliakbari will be fighting for the HW title in ONE soon. And they have some lighter weight Japanese fighters that I'm sure would be competitive in the "BiG LeAgUes." Chihiro Suzuki just walloped Patricio Pitbull. They've had Tenshin and Tadaka kickbox for them. Asakura Bros would give anyone a competitive fight. They've slowly been able to put on good shows with the talent they have and the sky is the limit. I expect Rizin to continue to grow, you should check them out. Feeling much more optimistic than the DREAM era for sure.
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Solid info.

I’ll admit I haven’t watched near as much Rizin as I did Pride and Dream. I used to watch every show but I just can’t keep up anymore. So many shows with the big leagues every weekend UFC, Bellator, ONE, PFL, Rizin. I try to keep up but it’s tough. KSW was a league I enjoyed watching too.
 
JPW328 said:
Solid info.

I’ll admit I haven’t watched near as much Rizin as I did Pride and Dream. I used to watch every show but I just can’t keep up anymore. So many shows with the big leagues every weekend UFC, Bellator, ONE, PFL, Rizin. I try to keep up but it’s tough. KSW was a league I enjoyed watching too.
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bro, there has never been a better time to tune into a Rizin event. Every PPV is I think 19.99 on fite.tv and it's a quality stream. The US commentating team is a little weak, but not as bad as Big John / Bellator. Rizin has consistently been better than Bellator, PFL, and Apex cards IMO. The spectacle is there, they do have home grown talent and additional procured talent, and there are great fights again. A couple of cards ago had Buakaw vs Anpo in a kickboxing match. I have never left watching a Rizin feeling like I do after Bellator, PFL, or Apex cards.
 
Killer Kadoogan said:
Quality definitely went down in Dream, Dream was good. But it just felt like please watch us, here are the stars. I am always a fan of Dream but it just felt second rate unfortunately. Not to say that they didn't have their own unique talent and put on great shows, but it wasn't the best fighting the best anymore. It was the rest fighting to stay on TV. And I disagree about Rizin 100%. Where Dream failed, Rizin has picked up. It is not PRIDE level yet, but it is definitely a few steps ahead of Dream. Sakakibara is a genius and is able to procure talent that still holds its weight today. Jiri is ex-Rizin. Amir Aliakbari will be fighting for the HW title in ONE soon. And they have some lighter weight Japanese fighters that I'm sure would be competitive in the "BiG LeAgUes." Chihiro Suzuki just walloped Patricio Pitbull. They've had Tenshin and Tadaka kickbox for them. Asakura Bros would give anyone a competitive fight. They've slowly been able to put on good shows with the talent they have and the sky is the limit. I expect Rizin to continue to grow, you should check them out. Feeling much more optimistic than the DREAM era for sure.
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That fool who won PFL HW 2021 tourney was also in RIZIN. Sakakibara knows talent.
 
Royce's Gi said:
I am as well!
150317-ariana-miyamoto-arp-140p.jpg
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Excuse me but Yushin Okami was never a big MW.

Fought half his career at WW never missing weight.

Weighted-in at soft 200lbs with clothes on for a week-notice LHW bout vs OSP.

A below average MW by today standards.

Huge head though
 
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