Date: March 16, 2003
Event: Pride 25: Body Blow
Heading into 2003, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira was on top of the world.
An unreal 13-fight winning streak took him to the top of Pride FC, where he held a heavyweight title. In a time where Pride was snagging some of the more elite heavyweight names and arguably building a more stacked roster in the division than what UFC had at the time (wild nowadays to imagine a world where a competitor brand would be able to do that), this made “Minotauro” easily one of the best fighters in the game.
Nogueira was the obvious pick for “Fighter of the Year” in 2002. An impressive five fights in one year saw him get past names like Bob Sapp, Semmy Schilt, and Dan Henderson. He was unstoppable. Was.
A new challenge was on the horizon as the MMA world turned the page and welcomed the new year. Russia’s Fedor Emelianenko had quickly emerged as a strong challenger for the heavyweight title, putting together impressive performances in Japan that quickly established him as a high-level fighter.
After attaining numerous wins in the lesser-known Rings promotion, Emelianenko debuted under the Pride banner in mid-2002 with a victory over past Nogueira opponent Schilt. Later that year he had an incredibly one-sided 10-minute performance against Heath Herring, a victory we discussed as a fight that really came off as his proper arrival in Pride.
This was easily one of the best fights to make in the sport at the time, and justifiably served as the main event for Pride 25: “Body Blow.” From the packed Yokohama Arena, the heavyweight title clash sat atop an incredibly stacked (and noteworthy) card. At light heavyweight, rising American Rampage Jackson met former UFC champ Kevin Randleman in a clash between explosive fighters in the co-main event. Lower on the show, an all-star cast including Kazushi Sakuraba, Dan Henderson, Anderson Silva, and Carlos Newton were in action.
Fedor Reaches The Top
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira had faced an absolute killers row of heavyweights in the past, but something about Fedor Emelianenko felt different. It wasn’t just the fact that he was winning, but the absolute ease in which he cruised to victories that made him such a legitimate challenger. The respect that Nogueira had for Emelianenko’s skill was clear in the build-up to their meeting, admitting in a pre-fight interview that he felt a noticeable amount pressure heading into the bout.
Once the fight started, it became clear that Nogueira had fair reason to be intimidated. Emelianenko absolutely had his number through their 20 minutes of action, most of which took place on the ground.
Emelianenko had dominant ground and pound throughout the fight, nailing Nogueira with impactful and hard shots. While the bout never got super close to a stoppage, there were times where there was fair reason to wonder if it would become too much for the defending champ.
Nogueira would slow down Emelianenko’s beatdown with hand fighting and the threat of submissions, but he never did enough to get ahead in the fight. “It’s a cat and mouse game, and unfortunately Fedor is the cat,” commentator Stephen Quadros.
Much like the Emelianenko fights that were seen before, the bout was not just a win, but a near shutout. And just like that, he became one of if not the biggest heavyweight MMA fighter in the world. There’s something to be said that the impressive win not only came in dominant fashion, but emerged from ground positions that had been the bread and butter of Nogueira wins up until that point.
Nogueira suffered only his second pro loss, and his first defeat that he hadn’t avenged by that point (by late 2002 he won back his 2000 defeat to Dan Henderson). While he had nearly nothing for Emelianenko, it’s worth noting that he was easily still a top heavyweight. This was not, as they would say these days, a “fraud check.” Emelianenko was just that good.
These two will meet again in the future, with a pair of fights going down next year. We’ll see both of them in 2003 as well, building up the momentum to their eventual next meeting.
‘Rampage’ Smashes Randleman, Kicks Off Silva Rivalry
By early 2003, Pride FC was just around the corner from hosting their middleweight grand prix. It was, honestly, a great time for them to make the tournament. Wanderlei Silva was established as the clear top name in the division, but many other fighters were just slightly behind him in the rankings. A young Alistair Overeem was just coming onto the scene. Kazushi Sakuraba, while his skills were diminishing, had huge star power and was a clear fan favorite in Japan. In a clash between two names who were hot talents in the mix at 205 pounds, Rampage Jackson and Kevin Randleman were matched for the co-main event of this card.
A little over a year removed from the end of his UFC run, Randleman had settled into his Pride run. He won a pair of gimmie fights in 2002, then finished off the year with a stoppage victory against Murilo Rua. Jackson had similarly settled into a rhythm around this point, entering Pride 25 with a trio of victories in the promotion. He most notably was just coming off a victory against Igor Vovchanchyn, a legendary Pride talent who by that point was slowing down.
This was a stellar fight to make for the division, so much so that the commentary team was under the impression that this would determine who gets next a shot at Silva (this did not happen, as the grand prix was just months away launching). This was not only a big fight for the weight class, but also a fan-friendly clash. Randleman promised that the bout wouldn’t go the distance no matter who won, and Jackson had a reputation for bringing violence into the cage.
Randleman’s bet was correct: The fight did not last long. After the fight started with a slow pace – with the 205-pound talents understandably wary of each other’s power – a knee followed up from a series of punches from Jackson knocked Randleman down. Jackson kept scoring with hard shots against a grounded Randleman, seemingly putting him out with the strikes and forcing a finish. This was one of those finishing sequences that was so violent that it made me let out a deep breathe. Whew, glad I picked a different line of work. In a matter of seconds, Jackson completely destroyed the once-UFC champ.
As much as the fight was big, arguably the most memorable moment came afterward when Jackson called out Silva. If you know anything about either of these explosive characters, you knew a face-to-face between them wasn’t going to end well. What looked to be over a dozen staff, coaches, and others got in-between these two, who seemed ready to clash in that moment. This professional wrestling-esque moment continued for minutes on end, carrying on even as the broadcast was showing replays of how it started. A fight between Jackson and Silva sold itself, as the two were incredible fighters who people wanted to see collide. But even if you had no knowledge of their performances, the genuine tension between in this segment them would convince you to tune in.
We won’t see Silva and Jackson face next, but they’ll be meeting down the line and will craft a memorable rivalry.
Bad Gets Worse For Sakuraba
Kazushi Sakuraba was hoping to turn things around following a pretty bad 2002. After a brutal eye injury caused him to lose a fight against Mirko Cro Cop, a lousy and drawn-out performance against the inexperienced Gilles Arsene didn’t restore much momentum for him. That, plus a long stretch of injuries, meant that he had some unfortunate months as a fighter.
In an attempt to possibly restore some energy regarding Sakuraba, he was thrown another softball on this card by facing Antonio Schembri. The Brazilian fighter had little MMA experience at the time, and importantly carried atrocious striking abilities. The matchup provided a chance for Sakuraba to destroy him on the feet, score a big win, and restore some faith in him before the upcoming middleweight tournament.
Early in the fight, it seemed like the plan would work for Sakuraba. Punches from Sakuraba busted up the nose of Schembri and gave him a significant advantage in the opening minutes. He was totally unloading with shots, and it became hard to believe that this was a fight that he would actually end up losing.
As he was ahead in the fight and his guard was down, Sakuraba simply got caught. A sneaky knee to the head from Schembri in a clinch position rocked Sakuraba, and a follow-up knee to him as he was down on the ground absolutely put his lights out. It was hard to believe that a guy which such green striking skills could earn such a violent win.
This was a brutal defeat, and one which would only further worries about Sakuraba’s abilities. Sakuraba will eventually climb out of the hole that he’s in, but it’s going to get worse before it gets better.
Silva Adds Highlight-Reel To Early Career
When looking at Anderson Silva’s career as a whole, his time in Pride feels like a bit of a footnote. Fighting just five times under their banner from mid-2002 to 2004, the bouts were just a small part of his lengthy career. Yet, there’s certainly some interesting things to discuss from this portion of his career.
The most intriguing clash in his career thus far came on this card, as he was matched against Carlos Newton. This fight was a return to Pride for Newton, who had failed to regain the UFC welterweight title in 2002 against Matt Hughes. While his record reflected that he was flipping between wins and losses in these years, he was clearly one of the toughest outs in the division and a real test for Silva.
Silva had 10 pro wins by this point, many of which came on smaller cards. He beat Alex Stiebling and Pride vet Alexander Otsuka, but neither were as big of a fight as Newton. Broadcasters saw this as a clear clash of styles, as the striking of Silva met the grappling of Newton.
Unsurprisingly, Newton got the fight to the ground early with a takedown after entering with a punch. He was able to connect with some shots from full mount before getting put into a full guard position. Newton had a good start to the fight, but a decision by the referee to stand the fighters up due to inactivity suddenly took his control away.
Back on the feet, a perfectly-timed knee to the head from a charging-forward Silva completely floored the Canadian, causing the fight to suddenly come to an end. Silva has so many big finish wins in his career, so much that a brutal victory like this doesn’t often come up in discussions. But for any fighter who doesn’t have a Mount Rushmore-level of accomplishments in MMA, this would probably be one of their best moments.
The victory further boosted the profile of Silva, who was still three years away from finally breaking into the UFC and building a reputation for himself there. As much as the finish was huge for him, part of me wished it didn’t happen. Newton was giving Silva trouble and was, in my opinion, winning the fight before taking a knee to the head. I’d be curious to know how this fight would play out if not for the finish.
Henderson Dominates Oyama, Plus Other Performances At ‘Body Blow’
Here’s a quick rundown of the four other fights that took place on Pride 25.
Dan Henderson ran through Shungo Oyama like a buzzsaw with a first-round finish, landing a slick takedown and putting together ground and pound to force a stoppage. This matchup came just months after a gutsy performance that Henderson had against Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in late 2002, a fight that was a good look for him despite being a losing effort. This win was the start of what will end up being a substantial winning streak for him in Pride.
Akira Shoji, whom the English broadcast loves to call “The Energizer Bunny,” got past Alex Stiebling in a competitive fight that the commentators were convinced would go the other way. This fight had an incredibly hectic second round that saw both fighters have big moments: Shoji stunned and hurt Stiebling with punches, Stiebling came close to finishing the fight with a rear naked choke and ground and pound.
Despite Stiebling giving Shoji a hell of a fight, this ended up being his last appearance in the promotion. It seemed like a no brainer to invite him back after this, so I’m curious to know the story behind why he didn’t return.
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira added another win to his record in the opener, beating Judo specialist Kazuhiro Nakamura in the second round with an armbar. Nakamura had some raw skills that gave Nogueira trouble at times, but didn’t have the MMA experience that allowed him to succeed. And as the broadcast pointed out, Nogueira was much more experienced than his six-fight record suggested by this point.
Alexander Otsuka also earned his first win since 2000, getting past Kenichi Yamamoto via decision. Described at one point as a “televised sparring match,” this bout worked a pedestrian pace throughout and became overshadowed by basically all of the other fights on the show.
Next Week: A Trip To The Movies
On the next Throwback Thursday, we’ll take a detour from the usual 2003 events to watch a movie that came out that year. Yes, we’re heading to the cinema! We’ll be watching HBO documentary “The Smashing Machine,” which documented Pride FC heavyweight Mark Kerr. While this will be my first time ever watching it, I’ve heard from many that it’s possibly the best MMA movie out there. Along with the story of Kerr, it will be interesting to discuss this film’s general reception, and how it presented the sport to a mainstream audience. Along with our discussion on the movie, I’ll dig into the news archives and see what the scribes of the early 2000s were saying around this time. See you then!
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