12/23/02 – Pride 24: Cold Fury 3
Some things about MMA never change. The rules still don’t really make sense, the fights aren’t always scored correctly, and the cards that get announced don’t always end up being the cards you actually see.
Pride 24 was supposed to have a pretty huge main event, with the rising Fedor Emelianenko challenging heavyweight champ Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in Fukuoka, Japan. It would be a sudden but also justified push for the Russian, who had mauled UFC alum Heath Herring just a month prior.
But a “major injury” in training, coupled with the fact that he wanted more time than just a few weeks to prepare for a title fight (how dare he?), meant that the bout ended up being taken off “Cold Fury 3.”
The small late-2002 card really needed the star power of someone like Nogueira in the main event. There were some notable names lower on the card, but nobody was nearly as established as him. So, with little time to spare, they looked for a new opponent.
Considering they had just a few weeks to find someone for Nogueira to face, it would be justified to have your expectations low. A professional wrestler in need of a payday? An inexperienced up-and-comer with too much optimism regarding their skill? That’s sort of what I have come to expect in the can-crushing Pride matchups.
But the promotion went above and beyond. They tracked down Dan Henderson, the one man who had recorded a pro win over Nogueira by that point, to meet him in a rematch a little under three years past the time they first collided.
Their first fight was as part of a tournament hosted by RINGS in early 2000. Media reports from around the time called it boring, but more importantly close. Henderson snagged a split decision which many saw go Nogueira’s way, ending the Brazilian’s undefeated run.
Henderson kept his record in good shape since that loss. Apart from a late 2000 defeat to Wanderlei Silva (understandable), he had attained three victories in Pride. He was undoubtedly a massive underdog against Rodrigo, who seemed to be the unanimous pound-for-pound top fighter by this point and was soon to win many “Fighter of the Year” awards for 2002. But, there was a clear storyline to market here nonetheless.
Given how much of a killer Nogueira had proven to be over the past year or so, and being just a few months removed from disposing of the beast known as Bob Sapp, it seems like everyone knew he was going to win this. However, the surprise was less the result and instead the way we arrived at that point.
“A lot of people wrote this as a shut-out for Nogueira,” a surprised Stephen Quadros said, as he commentated on a fight that was much more competitive than he expected.
Henderson wasn’t winning, but he sure as hell was fighting. Nogueira would get the fight down and attempt submissions, one after the other. But throughout the fight’s gruelling 10-minute opening round, Henderson would escape out of each and every worrying position. Even better, when in a controlling position on the ground he would even find a chance to score with hard, impactful punches.
The headline, up until that point, was about Henderson. However, as commentary noted, you don’t win fights simply by defending submissions. He would need something bigger if the fight were to go to a decision.
Somewhat expected, the fight did not go to a decision. After more than 15 minutes of surviving Nogueira’s onslaught, an armbar the Brazilian found from a full mount position caused an end to the fight.
Fukuoka didn’t get the high-level heavyweight clash between Emelianenko and Nogueira that they originally hoped for. But, what they got was pretty great anyway. It was a fight that showed how lethal Nogueira was, showed the grit and heart of Henderson, and made people keep looking forward to a title fight that will take place in the new year.
Randleman Passes First Actual Pride FC Test
Pride FC took it easy on Kevin Randleman for the first few months. The former UFC champ got a pair of lay-ups in late 2002, trying to put together some wins as he started the next chapter of his career. However, the easy opponents were done coming his way by late 2002.
In the first big assignment of Randleman’s run in Japan, he was given Murilo Rua. The Brazilian was maybe just one step below the top level of talent at this point: He could beat names like Mario Sperry and Daijiro Matsui but stopped short of ever getting past a name like Dan Henderson or, most recently by this point, Ricardo Arona. This wasn’t some huge fight, but it was absolutely bigger than what they had Randleman doing before.
Randleman made a statement with his performance, showing that he is ready for Pride’s top heavyweight names. He had crisp striking, dropping Rua at one point with a right hand in the opening frame. He held his own on the ground and was clearly leading the dance in the opening 10 minutes.
He continued to succeed as the fight went into the final round. It was by this point that a cut opened on Rua’s head just 20 seconds into the round, seemingly due to a punch. The ringside doctors, who are always squeamish about blood in Pride, were quick to end the bout.
For the first and only time in his career, Randleman was on a five-fight winning streak. He had some undeniable momentum going, something he probably craved after his UFC exit included back-to-back finish losses against Randy Couture and Chuck Liddell. He’s gonna start getting the big fights in Pride next year, however, the momentum that he had before won’t continue – at all.
Waterman & Overeem Step Into The Pride Ring
A pair of newer faces to Pride competed earlier on the card.
Alistair Overeem, who was baby-faced and significantly thinner in 2002, put away Bozigit Ataev late in the second round with a brutal knee to the body. The fight was his second Pride appearance, returning after a 44-second win on “Pride: The Best, Vol. 2” in July.
I cannot stress how odd it is to look at the Overeem seen in 2002. He is a thin, skinny guy who would get ID’d if he tried to buy booze. All of the lasting images of Overeem see him as this jacket monster of a human. So, seeing him like this was wild.
The fight was a good performance for him, scoring a slick finish to add to his strong record. He’ll pop up in Pride again by mid-2003, taking part in the promotion’s incredibly notable middleweight grand prix.
Following a brief UFC run, Ron Waterman was picked up by Pride in late 2002. The “H2O Man” absolutely ran through Valentijn Overeem as part of the undercard for this show, catching him in just over two minutes with a keylock. Despite the strong showing, we’re actually not going to see him again in Pride until 2004. He’ll spend 2003 fighting around the MMA world, making appearances in WEC, IFC and Pancrase. As for Valentijn, this is the last time we’ll see him in Pride, although he’ll continue chugging along for another decade.
A Goodbye To Mezger
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, the little brother of Rodrigo, returned early in the evening against veteran talent Guy Mezger. Nogueira, who was making just his sixth MMA appearance, was the clear a-side of this fight, as his sibling was the hottest name in the sport at this time.
The fight was pretty close through the first 15 minutes, with lots of close grappling exchanges on the ground. In what seemed to be a dodgy referee call, Mezger was given a yellow card early on due to inactivity despite it not being clear why Nogueira escaped scot-free. In the end, Nogueira won via split decision, keeping his streak going but also not lighting the world on fire.
While the fight was boring, it had significance due to it being the last major MMA appearance for Mezger. While briefly scheduled to face Tito Ortiz at UFC 50 in 2004, he pulled out of the fight after suffering what he told Boxing Insider was a brain injury with “the same symptoms of a stroke.” He later retired following that medical scare.
“The Sandman” was a highly important name in MMA’s early years. He fought on early UFC cards and was a mainstay in Pancrase throughout the late ’90s. Most notably he won a one-night tournament at UFC 13 in 1997, overcoming Christophe Leninger and submitting a young Tito Ortiz.
He remained in the sport as it started to adapt more formal rules, facing names like Wanderlei Silva, Chuck Liddell, and Kazushi Sakuraba. He wasn’t the best, but he certainly could hang with the best.
Nowadays, Mezger runs the Mezger Martial Arts Gym in Richardson, Texas. It looks to be a pretty massive location that has been open for more than a decade. Safe to say, it looks like retirement is treating him well.
Next Week: Hello 2003! Back To America We Go
After a two-week residency in Japan watching Pride FC events, we’ll head back to the U.S. to kick off 2003. Our first event of the year will be UFC 41: Onslaught from Atlantic City, New Jersey.
It’s a pretty stacked card to kick off the year. Fresh off his highly talked about war against Wesley Correira, undefeated Tim Sylvia got fast-tracked to a heavyweight title fight against Ricco Rodriguez. Lower on the card, a four-man tournament to crown the next lightweight champ concluded with BJ Penn vs. Caol Uno.
Also, Tank Abbott was booked to return for a one-off fight against Frank Mir. Following the high-profile return of Ken Shamrock in 2002, some scribes noticed that UFC was attempting a similar old-school return of sorts with this fight. “UFC is bringing the cool things back,” Sherdog’s Jeff Sherwood wrote at the time.
There’s quite a bit to tackle with that card, and we’ll get to all of it next week. See you then!
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