Pride Fighting Championships (Pride or Pride FC for short) was a mixed martial arts organization based in Japan. Its inaugural event was held at the Tokyo Dome on October 11, 1997. Pride held more than sixty mixed martial arts events. As one of the most popular MMA organizations in the world during its ten years of operation, Pride broadcasted to about 40 countries worldwide.[1] Pride also held the largest live MMA event audience record of over 70,000 people at the Pride and K-1 co-production, Shockwave/Dynamite, held in August 2002,[2] as well as the audience record of over 67,450 people at the Pride Final Conflict 2003.
In March 2007, Dream Stage Entertainment sold Pride to Lorenzo Fertitta and Frank Fertitta III, co-owners of Zuffa, which owns rival promotion the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). While remaining legally separate entities with separate managements, the two promotions were set to cooperate in a manner akin to the AFL-NFL merger. However, such an arrangement did not materialize, and in October 2007, Pride Worldwide's Japanese staff was laid off, marking the end of the organization as an active fight promoter. As a result many of the Pride staff left to form a new organization along side K-1 parent company Fighting and Entertainment Group. This new organization founded in February 2008 is entitled Dream.
Pride Fighting Championships was initially conceived in 1997 by Kakutougi Revolution Spirits to match popular Japanese pro-wrestler Nobuhiko Takada with Rickson Gracie, the purported champion of the Gracie family of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners. The event, held at the Tokyo Dome on October 11, 1997 attracted 47,000 fans, as well as Japanese mass media attention. The success of the first event enabled its promoters to hold a regular series of mixed martial arts events, and a year later in 1998, promote a rematch between Takada and Gracie.[3] With K-1 enjoying popularity in Japan, Pride began to compete with monthly showings on Fuji Television, as well as pay per view on the newly formed satellite television channel SKY PerfecTV.
In 2000, Pride hosted the first ever Pride Grand Prix, a two-part openweight tournament held to find the "world's best fighter". The tournament was held over the course of two events, with sixteen fighters competing in an opening round, and the eight winners returning three months later for the final round. The second round of the tournament marked the first time Pride was broadcast in the United States, and featured American fighter Mark Coleman winning the tournament by defeating Igor Vovchanchyn in the final round.
In August 2002, Pride teamed up with Japan's leading kickboxing and fight promotion, K-1, and held the world's biggest fight event, Shockwave (known as Pride/K-1 Dynamite!! in Japan), which attracted over 70,000 fans.[2]
On January 13, 2003, the Pride MMA production was thrown into turmoil when DSE President Naoto Morishita was found dead hanging by his neck in his hotel room, apparently after his mistress told him she wanted to end their affair.[4] Speculation still looms whether this could possibly be the real reason, as trouble with tax authorities and the yakuza have also been speculated to play a role.[3] Nobuyuki Sakakibara later assumed the presidency.
In 2003 Pride introduced the Bushido series of events, which focused on the lighter weight classes of lightweights and welterweights. The Bushido series also stressed a faster pace, with bouts consisting of only one ten minute round and one five minute round, as well as quicker referee intervention of stalling tactics, using the new "yellow card" system of purse deduction.
Also in 2003, Pride returned to the tournament format, with a middleweight grand prix spanning two events, Total Elimination 2003 and Final Conflict 2003. The format would be expanded to three events in 2004, adding Critical Countdown 2004 as the second round. Pride would go on to hold annual tournaments, a Heavyweight tournament in 2004, Middleweight in 2005, and Openweight in 2006.
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AriinCarino 2 years ago
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youneveri 2 years ago
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i suck with computers and i REALY NEED this song
pollitoamenaza 2 years ago
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youneveri 2 years ago
i'm not northamerican eaither
my english sucks too
but you are a good teacher
at least i get the intructions rigth
tanks
pollitoamenaza 2 years ago
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youneveri 2 years ago