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Another absolute BANGER of a fight which would have been insane in todays era. A Pride-O El Classico which normies probably don't even know about. I imagine if such a fight happened in U FIGHT CHEAP today it would be electric and with social media the highlights from this fight would go VIRAL. Especially with the UFCs focus on bringing in kickboxers to make things exciting this would be perfect today.
What spectacle and display of the old ULTRA VIOLENCE, what some may call the MAN DANCE. You couldn't put this fight in a bottle labeled as a "professional sports" because anyone watching at home and live at the arena of 60,000 Japanese fans knew it was much more than that. It was a fight to the DAITH.
Wanderlei Silva was the best LHW on the planet at the time and Mark Hunt was a 290lb K-1 HWGP champion with an iron chin and absurd, walk off KO power in both HENDS. He wasn't someone you wanted to bang with.
Hunt was getting walk off KOs in the UFC over 10 years after this when he was old and washed up. Imagine him in his early 30s. Wand was also absolutely surging at the time and coming off a homicide win over Rampage. It looked like Wand murdered heem and left him daid in a puddle of his own blood, hanging on the ropes like lifeless corpose which had just been decapitated. I can't imagine what that fight would have looked like today and how social media would react to it. I'd bet it would be viral as well.
Anyways back to Wand going toe to toe with this version of Hunt. What incredible balls on Wand to spend so much time fighting Hunt standing and taking concussive blows to the head over and over again from Hunt and recovering and continuing to fight like an absolute animal. Hunt hit him with his signature left hook a few times and sent Wand flying across the ring. Anyone else would have been KTFO.
Wand was someone who fought at 185lbs later in his career and there's plenty of footage of Hunt beating the shit out of HWs in the UFC. Plenty of footage of him one shot KOing 260lb men in the UFC. For perspective 45 year old Hunt went toe to toe with Derrick Lewis and beat him like he stole something with relative ease. The same Lewis who fought for a HW title twice in this era of U FIGHT CHEAP.
It's insane that Wand did so well and also agreed to stomps and soccer kicks in this fight considering the weight disadvantage he was faced with. There was a moment in the fight when Hunt tried to stomp on Wands head near the ropes as if he was legit trying to kill heem. Insane footage and insane violence. This fight would have been mega in today's scope of MMA media and social media.
Not only was Wand vs Hunt an absolute BANGER but Fedor fought Big Nog that same night in a Pride FC HW belt and Pride HWGP belt unification title fight. Mirko Cro Cop fought Kevin Randleman in a much anticipated rematch after Randleman shocked the world and knocked Mirko out. Anderson Silva also fought that night and got submitted by Ryo Chonnan via a flying scissor sweep heel hook. Dan Henderson also fought on this card and last but not least Pride gave the olympic sports fans a real treat by adding Olymplic Gold medalist Rulon Gardner vs Olympic Gold Medalist Hidehiko Yoshida to the card. Gardner won the Olympic gold by beating the legendary, all time great wrestler Alexander Karelin and booking an MMA fight with Rulon was a BIG DEAL at the time. Props to Pride for getting it done.
It goes back to what an amazing product Pride was able to cultivate 20 years ago. High level skill, high level violence, incredible personalities and rivalries, Olympic Gold Medalsits before Triple C was a thing in the greatest combat sports atmosphere ever- Japan in an arena filled with beautiful production and pyrotechnics in front of 60,000 of the most intelligent and appreciative fans ever.
Imagine fading Pride-O.
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