The Pride Fighting Championships (Pride FC) was a mixed martial arts promotion that was based in Japan. It was one of MMA’s most successful and longest-running promotions, running from 1997 to 2007.
Pride is credited with helping to popularize the sport of MMA around the world, and it featured some of the biggest stars in the sport, including Fedor Emelianenko, Wanderlei Silva, Quinton Jackson, Mirko Cro Cop, and more.
The Founding of Pride FC
Pride Fighting Championships was a Japanese MMA organization, founded in 1997 by Nobuyuki Sakakibara and Masaaki Satake. The Tokyo Dome hosted the company’s first event on October 11, 1997.
Pride produced and televised over sixty mixed martial arts events to more than 40 countries across the world. Dream Stage Entertainment owned PRIDE.
Pride FC was well known for its focus on entertainment, showcased by elaborate ring entrances by the fighters and their different rulesets and matchmaking ideologies. Pride fights were fought in a boxing-style roped ring and were fought for an opening ten-minute round followed by two five-minute rounds.
The Rules of Pride FC
The rules also allowed for more fighting outfits, including wrestling shoes and keikogis (traditional Japanese martial arts uniforms).
The rules also allowed for the notorious soccer kicks and stomps while prohibiting moves such as head butting, eye gouging, hair pulling, and biting.
Surprisingly elbows to the face were also prohibited.
Fights between fighters of vastly different weights were also pretty common.
Pride FC 1 – The First Ever Event
Pride’s first event took place in October of 1997 and featured a sort of superfight between Rickson Gracie and Japanese pro-wrestler Nobuhiko Takada, which was attended by an astonishing 47,000 fans. Rickson Gracie won the fight via a first-round armbar.
There was also one kickboxing bout between K-1 Grand Prix Champion Branko Cikatić and Ralph White. The commentary was handled by the legendary Bas Rutten.
You can watch the full event in the video below:
Over the next few years, Pride would go on to host some of the biggest and most memorable MMA fights in history. In 2000, Wanderlei Silva defeated Kazushi Sakuraba in a fight that is considered one of the greatest MMA fights of all time. In 2002, Fedor Emelianenko made his Pride debut and quickly became the promotion’s biggest star. He would go on to win the Pride Heavyweight Championship in 2005, and he defended his title successfully several times before leaving Pride in 2006
Sadly, Pride FC was forced to close its doors in 2007 due to financial difficulties and the fact that it was found out that Pride FC had some ties to the yakuza crime organization. However, the legacy of the promotion lives on through the many great fighters and memorable fights that it produced over its ten-year history. Pride FC will always be remembered as one of the greatest MMA promotions of all time.
There were also plans to have Mike Tyson face a Pride fighter under boxing rules in China; however, the fight never materialized.
Pride has also held the title of the biggest live MMA event audience, with 91,107 people attending the Shockwave/Dynamite mixed martial arts event produced by Pride and K-1 in August 2002, as well as the audience record of over 67,450 at the Pride Final Conflict 2003.
Famous Pride FC Fighters
Pride FC had an amazing roster of top talent, including:
- Fedor Emelianenko
- Wanderlei Silva
- Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic
- Mauricio “Shogun” Rua
- Dan Henderson
- Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira
- Ken Shamrock
- Mark Hunt
- Takanori Gomi
- Kevin “The Monster” Randleman
There were, however, four weight divisions in the PRIDE 2006 Openweight Grand Prix. The Lightweight (73 kg), Welterweight (83 kg/), Middleweight (93 kg), and Heavyweight (no weight limit) and the titleholders on the date of the last Pride FC promoted show were Takanori Gomi (Lightweight Champion), Dan Henderson (Welterweight and Middleweight Champion), and Fedor Emelianenko (Heavyweight Champion).
Historic Fights in Pride FC
It’s never a bad idea to remember the excitement that the legendary Japanese Pride offered us in its ring, the promotion that actually might have created the largest number of current long-term MMA fans.
Pride FC represents a time when fights were more exciting and interesting, but we can also thank the period when fighters were less skilled, especially in terms of defensive skills that aren’t their primary. That is why today, we may recall techniques, grips, finishes, and fights that have become obsolete over time.
Some of the best fights in MMA history took place in Pride FC, such as:
- Fedor Emelianenko vs. Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic at PRIDE- Final Conflict in 2005
- Don Frye vs. Yoshihiro Takayama at PRIDE 21: Demolition
- Nick Diaz vs. Takanori Gomi at PRIDE 33: Second Coming
- Mauricio “Shogun” Rua vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at PRIDE Critical Countdown in 2005
- Ken Shamrock vs. Don Frye at PRIDE 19: Bad Blood
These are just some of the legendary fights we had the chance to witness, but there were many, many more to witness.
Some of you might be familiar with the TV program Best of Pride Fighting Championships, which aired on Spike TV. As a young MMA fan from Croatia, I used to spend hours and hours in front of the TV, rewatching many of the Pride FC fights, especially the ones where Mirko “Cro Cop” put the lights out on many of his foes with his notorious left high-kick.
Rizin Fighting Federation
Pride’s co-founder and former president Nobuyuki Sakakibara launched Rizin Fighting Federation in Japan in 2015 with the same goals as the former Pride organization. To bring the top MMA fighters from around the world to compete in Japan. And to produce events with the same spectacular atmosphere that Pride was known for.
So far, Rizin has successfully signed many of the big names in MMA and delivered on the promise of big shows with a unique atmosphere. It remains to be seen if Rizin can achieve the same level of success as Pride did. But it is clear that there is still a hunger for this type of promotion in the MMA world. However, capturing such a feeling would be like capturing lighting in a bottle.
Conclusion
The legacy of the promotion lives on through the many great fighters and memorable fights that it produced over its ten-year history. Pride FC will always be remembered as one of the greatest MMA promotions of all time. I hope you enjoyed this look back at the legendary Pride Fighting Championships.
What are your thoughts on Pride FC? Share your memories of the promotion in the comments section below! Thanks for reading!
