Today 14yrs ago: Pride Final Conflict 2004

Lol at Fedor and Aleks playing cards before fight xD russians..
 
One of many Pride events that were just fucking BONKERS good.

Some of the fighter entrances and pre-fight introductions still give me chills when I re-watch them.
 
Breast feeding and gratuitous violence are the GOAT
 
Buffmeister said:
...could be...i dont remenber it.

But if the semi match ups had been voted by the fans...that would explain why Sergej/Fedor ...and Ogawa/Nog didnt happen...like it should have, if you go by the bracket...
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It was supposedly what happened, but you never know the way Pride was run.
Fedor/Ogawa was a humongous fight so it makes sense Japanese fans would vote for it, but would also make sense that the brass wanted to put it on.

I wonder were they also hoping for Sergei/Fedor in the final?
 
Buffmeister said:
Kazuhiro came into Pride as a Rookie...and got thrown into the big fights right away:
Loss 11–8 Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou TKO (leg injury) UFC 84 May 24, 2008 1 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Loss 11–7 Lyoto Machida Decision (unanimous) UFC 76 September 22, 2007 3 5:00 Anaheim, California, United States
Loss 11–6 Maurício Rua Decision (unanimous) Pride FC - Shockwave 2006 December 31, 2006 3 5:00 Saitama, Saitama, Japan
Win 11–5 Travis Galbraith TKO (knee and punches) Pride 32 - The Real Deal October 21, 2006 2 1:16 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 10–5 Yoshihiro Nakao Decision (unanimous) Pride FC - Final Conflict Absolute September 10, 2006 3 5:00 Saitama, Saitama, Japan
Win 9–5 Evangelista Santos Submission (americana) Pride FC - Critical Countdown Absolute July 1, 2006 1 4:49 Saitama, Saitama, Japan
Loss 8–5 Josh Barnett Submission (rear-naked choke) Pride 31 - Dreamers February 26, 2006 1 8:10 Saitama, Saitama, Japan Heavyweightbout.
Win 8–4 Yuki Kondo Decision (unanimous) PRIDE Shockwave 2005 December 31, 2005 3 5:00 Saitama, Saitama, Japan
Win 7–4 Igor Vovchanchyn Decision (unanimous) PRIDE Final Conflict 2005 August 28, 2005 2 5:00 Saitama, Saitama, Japan
Loss 6–4 Wanderlei Silva TKO (punches) PRIDE Critical Countdown 2005 June 26, 2005 1 5:24 Saitama, Saitama, Japan PRIDE 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix Quarterfinal.
Win 6–3 Kevin Randleman Decision (unanimous) PRIDE Total Elimination 2005 April 23, 2005 3 5:00 Osaka, Japan PRIDE 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix Opening Round.
Win 5–3 Stefan Leko TKO (punches) PRIDE 29 February 20, 2005 1 0:54 Saitama, Saitama, Japan
Loss 4–3 Dan Henderson TKO (shoulder injury) PRIDE 28 October 31, 2004 1 1:15 Saitama, Saitama, Japan
Win 4–2 Murilo Bustamante Decision (unanimous) PRIDE Final Conflict 2004 August 15, 2004 3 5:00 Saitama, Saitama, Japan
Loss 3–2 Antônio Rogério Nogueira Decision (split) PRIDE Bushido 4 July 19, 2004 2 5:00 Nagoya, Japan
Win 3–1 Chalid Arrab Submission (armbar) PRIDE Bushido 3 May 23, 2004 1 4:45 Yokohama, Japan
Win 2–1 Dos Caras, Jr. Decision (unanimous) PRIDE 27 February 1, 2004 3 5:00 Osaka, Japan
Win 1–1 Daniel Gracie Decision (unanimous) PRIDE Bushido 1 October 5, 2003 2 5:00 Saitama, Saitama, Japan
Loss 0–1 Antônio Rogério Nogueira Submission (armbar) PRIDE 25 March 16, 2003 2 3:49 Yokohama, Japan
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He was a crazy fucker man, I hope he got paid well for what he did.

He was a chubby MW fighting legit HW's at times

I mean, who makes their debut at a huge show against a Nogueira for fuck sake?

By the time he was 10 fights deep he'd fought little Nog twice, a Gracie, a guy in a mask, a former UFC HW champ, a former UFC MW champ, a K1 GP winner, a future K1 GP winner and one of the most violent men to ever walk the earth

And won 6 of them!

What a fucking loon!
 
HughPhug said:
He was a crazy fucker man, I hope he got paid well for what he did.

He was a chubby MW fighting legit HW's at times

I mean, who makes their debut at a huge show against a Nogueira for fuck sake?

By the time he was 10 fights deep he'd fought little Nog twice, a Gracie, a guy in a mask, a former UFC HW champ, a former UFC MW champ, a K1 GP winner, a future K1 GP winner and one of the most violent men to ever walk the earth

And won 6 of them!

What a fucking loon!
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I hope so too...since he was with Yoshida and not with Takada...he might gotten a couple bucks...
 
HughPhug said:
It was supposedly what happened, but you never know the way Pride was run.
Fedor/Ogawa was a humongous fight so it makes sense Japanese fans would vote for it, but would also make sense that the brass wanted to put it on.

I wonder were they also hoping for Sergei/Fedor in the final?
Click to expand...
I think the brass wanted the 2 #1 guys in their HW Div. to meet in the finals...no idea how much the fans were actually involved...

But looking back at it...and how the fights played out...i cant complain...
 
JohnMandick said:
Thanks, that was fun. I remember watching the main event live on some terrible stream where I could barely tell what was happening.



View attachment 421745
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Jimmy McGill said:
this ?



<mma1> I could cry remembering those days, getting Pride events that a training partners had downloaded, while being in the best shape of my life.
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Yeah guess I had the wrong gp. Then I really don’t know why they had a baby breast feeding as a poster lol
 
Blayt7hh said:
Yeah guess I had the wrong gp. Then I really don’t know why they had a baby breast feeding as a poster lol
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I think they are kinda trying to tell a story with their posters...
Its not like UFC event posters, where they just basicly telling you who is fighting...and you know whats up by just passing by...
But those Pride posters kinda forced you to look closley and think about what is going on...just like we are doing here...they gain more attraction because you actually look close...


Those are the 3 GP posters:
Total Elemination
image.jpg
Critical Countdown
image.jpg
Final Conflict
image.jpg

What i see is:
A fighter with a Pride glove, aiming at "you"...which probably means something powerful, strong and violent is about to happen or about to start...
And a butterfly on top of the glove...butterfly probably stands for something beautiful

So, i would think they are trying to let us know, that something powerful, strong and violent is about to start...that is beautiful at the same time..


Then i see footprints...
Which probably means that there is a clear path/a direction/a goal at the end...the path probably stands for the advancing fighters...
And a skeleton...which probably stands for the fighters that lost, since the path next to it, is passing by it...


And here we go...
Now i see a tittay...and a baby...
Probably means a new life or something new is about to be born or a new era...

Since it is the poster for the finals...
The Baby probably stands for a new, to be crowned king (GP Champ)...

Maybe the tittay stands for the GP himself...?



Who fucking knows dude...
 
Buffmeister said:
Yep...and didn't he also had some ties to Team Quest or Randy new team or so???


Akihiro Gono was another one
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Ryo was hanging out with that knuckle head Mayhem Miller when Triumph United was a thing. Ryo went downhill at that point.
 
This right here. Punching each other in the balls. Ryo should have been with a better team.
 
FinalConflict2005 said:
Ryo was hanging out with that knuckle head Mayhem Miller when Triumph United was a thing. Ryo went downhill at that point.
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Ah, ok...somehow i thought he was also with Extreme Couture at some point in the UFC...

Totally forgot he was with Mayhem
 
Buffmeister said:
Event: Final Conflict 2004
Location: SaitamaSuperArena (Saitama,Japan)
Attendance:47.629
Date: August 15th 2004
View attachment 421683
View attachment 421679
Yes, 14 years ago...
Kinda makes me feel old...
But you are never old enough to remember cool stuff from the past right?

(After being live at FN Hamburg, i need to get back some love for MMA...yes the last events weren't bad and had some awesome fights...but i was still salty like a bitch, while watching them lol...so why not remember this one)

Pride finished off their the HW GP '04 with this very event...well not really...i would be officially finished at the upcoming Shockwave 2004 Event...with everything on the line...GP belt and the HW belt...the 2 biggest belts to hold at this time.


Card:
Fedor Emelianenko vs. Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira No Contest - Accidental Cut 3:52

Wanderlei Silva def. Yuki Kondo KO (Stomps) 2:46

Mirko Cro Cop def. Aleksander Emelianenko KO (Head Kick and Punches) 2:09

Ron Waterman def. Kevin Randleman Submission (Keylock) 7:44

Fedor Emelianenko def. Naoya Ogawa Submission (Armbar)0:54

Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira def. Sergei Kharitonov Decision

Kazuhiro Nakamura def. Murilo Bustamante Decision

Card kicks off with Nakamura x Bustamante
A classic matchup in MMA...
Judo vs BJJ
Nakamura was still kinda green, with just 6 fights under his belt...while Murilo being a former UFC MW Champ.
A not so highly entertaining fight, that had its moments here and there...

Murilo Bustamante...man...i think he was actually the best and most well rounded guy from BTT...


And then the Semi's start:
Big Nog x Sergej
And what a fight they put up...!
One of the best HW fights you can watch!
It was a back and forth fight with both guys having great moments...
They fought this fight like it is already the final fight of the GP...no lay'n'pray or looking to save energy for the last big one...
Both guys boxed each other for the first 3mins.
Sergej was bigger than Nog and super fast with his hands...but Nogueira too!
And then they went at each other with ground and pound, triangle attempts, TDs, jabs, body shots...in a high paced first 10min round.
Which Nog ended in full mount and some gnp..

The 2nd RD was just the same...and in the end Big Nog's better positions on the ground, where he could score more damage and sub attemps, overall, than Sergej...got him the edge in the decision...

Can't say it enough...fucking good fight!


Fedor x Ogawa
Before the Event started, Mauro asked Bas:"What should be the strategy for Ogawa, Bas Rutten?"
Bas: "Take this fight to the ground as soon as possible strategy!"

Did nobody told Ogawa that you better shake Fedor's hands before the fight, when he is offering it to you?
Obviously not...and Fedor was pissed man!
Coming out on fire and throwing power punches...left right left right...Ogawa is trying to cover up and they end up in a clinch.
Mr. Olympic Silver Medal in Judo smelled his opportunity and tries to take Fedor down but ends up on the bottom, after Fedor spins around with such a force that Ogawas TD gets reversed midway through the air...bad news and there might be a red phone used in Gotham...
Fedor pounding on Ogawa who just tries to hold on, while being mounted.
Not even a minute in and Fedor goes for Ogawas arm and subs him under a minute!


Before the grand finale...we got to see 3 fights:

Randleman x Waterman
(Reserve Match)
The H2O-Man is freaking huuge!

Randleman was outsized, big time...

Fight starts and Kevin hits a big takedown, lifting Ron through the air!
Bas (calmly):"picked him up like nothing.."
There wasn't happening alot on the ground and Ref says: "don't move! ...stand up!"
And another sweet TD by an not so fresh looking Kevin, by a trip from a bodylock...
A botched back-take by Kevin and he ended up having Ron on top...
and it didn't play into Kevin's cards that Ron was fresher and knew some things about submissions...
H2O got side control and secured a keylock...Randleman tried to bridge out of it but no success...
The Monster had to tap out 7:44 into the fight...


Here comes CroCop x Aleks

And somehow i remember this fight being before the Fedor Ogawa fight...but it wasn't...

Pre-fight interview and Mirko revealed his new secret training partner: Fabricio Werdum!

Aleks is 6ft3...can Mirko kick that high?...that was the question...

And we all know what happened and who was watching on screen, backstage:
Aleks got highkicked...and Fedor kinda screamed: Stop, Stop!...and then some russian insults...lol
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_PGOPXt8OJA
(Any russian's in here to translate?)

Wand x Kondo
For the MW Champoinship...
Rampage would face the winner...

And Jackson joined Bas and Mauro on the mic...

Whoever considers Kondo a can...should know better...
Kondo was tough, very skilled and fearless...took on everybody...just ask Sem Schilt, Frank Shamrock or Mario Sperry.
He was also the current King of Pancrase and also had 50+ fights at the time...

Kondo came into this fight after a great winning performence against Mario Sperry at Shockwave 03...

But Silva didn't care...
He caught Kondo with a hard punch and did what he does best...doing damage...big time damage...
Kondo got stomped out!
Until there wasn't anymore movement from Kondo...(the only movement Kondo did was inflicted by Wanderlei's foot being in Kondo's face over and over again)...he was just laying there...crushed.
View attachment 421693
Rampage was like: Whoa!
And had a look on his face that looked a little bit scared for a second...i dont think he was scared of Wand...it was probably more because Kondo just got viciously stomped the fuck out...and was just lifeless for a couple of moments...

Wanderlei and Rampage square off...this time no incidents...if you remember Pride 25 you know what i mean...lol

Ok, can somebody help me out with a pic?
I think i have seen it on sherdog...but it was a long ass time ago...way waaaaay before my join date:
It is Kondo's cornerman, kneeing infront of him and holding Yuki's head...crying...

I haven't had success finding this for ages...would be awesome if somebody got this...
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fbJ6styEeV0
And up to the next one...the big one...the GP Final!
Fedor x BigNog 2
Well who wasn't pumped for that, right?
The big rematch...which ending turned out to be pretty anti-climatic.

They started where they ended their 1. meeting..

BigNog playing his full and half guard game...and Fedor just sitting in Nog's guard looking for heavy blows...

Fedor tried to attack his opponents with like, flying/diving punches...from his feet it from his opponents guard or half guard...like Shogun used to...

And here he did it too...most of the time he had great success with it, landing a good blow and improving his position.
But Nog was prepared for this move and when Fedor went for it, from full guard i think, Nog just headbutted him on purpose!...what a cheater he is!
Ok, that is absolutley incorrect...i'm just joking...
Fedor did the punch and Nog at the same time, came up and both guys collided with their heads...and this opened a big cut on Emelianenko's forehead all the way down

Antonio realised Fedor has been cut and aims with punches to this very area...
View attachment 421681
Ref jumps between...and calls the doctor...
Nog is pumped up, thinking he won that shit...but nope...not today:
They ruled it a NC.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=PwN6xH_yclE
Must have been sucked big time for Nog...but it is what it is...

To resume the fight at Shockwave 04, with the GP and HW belt on the line, was a great move! imo


Overall...a great show!


Feel free to add more to this thread and share your thoughts!
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holy shit!
 
Fungoose said:
That was Yoshida.
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...that was Nakamura....
Wand and Yoshida fought 2 times and Yoshida didn't undress himself in both...i think.

I think Yoshidas only fight without his Gi, was against Ogawa
 
Buffmeister said:
...that was Nakamura....
Wand and Yoshida fought 2 times and Yoshida didn't undress himself in both...i think.

I think Yoshidas only fight without his Gi, was against Ogawa
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You’re right, my mistake. Kaz had that blue gi top with shorts.
 
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