The biggest differences between PRIDE and the UFC..

The main thing I notice and actually miss from PRIDE are the knees and stomps,in comparison to the elbows in the UFC. Personally,I think knees do more damage,and the stomps are just awesome to see. I think they add alot more to the fights. Who can forget Wandy/Rua flying through the air to stomp on a grounded opponent or kneeing their opponents in the face. In the UFC,elbows are't used ANYHWHERE NEAR as much as the knees and stomps were in PRIDE. The knees and stomps added so much more to a fight.

I think the UFC needs to ramp up their productions values too. The whole crusty old music doesn't cut it anymore and yes,I know this is real fighting,but it is also a form of entertainment! Who can forget the AWESOME stage lights and announcers as a fighter made his way out to the ring in PRIDE. The atmosphere everything was so much more superior,and not only that but the entrances really got you pumped up for a fight!It sets the right mood/tone.

Then there are the cards. Some PRIDE events were absolutely mind blowing,the amount of good fights were ridiculous-Final Conflict,Shockwave etc etc. The UFC tends to have a card with 2-3 good fights and 3-4 average name fights. Look at the super deep talent the UFC has!!Why the heck are we not seeing better cards. The UFC could put on an awesome card based on their entire 205 division alone!!! Yet some of those guys are only fighting once a year!

I don't know,I like the UFC,their ring card girls are awesome and there are good fights,no doubt about it but it could just be so much more, a better package overall. The main thing is the knees though to the head,those would add so much more to the fights. No,imagine Shogun being in the north-south position and not being able to throw knees!! It's a travesty!

(I use Shogun as an example because he is my fave fighter and will be afected by the lack of stomps and knees to the head on the ground_)

dude, Pride so ruled, i remember getting that on ppv and just sitting jaw dropped as fight after fight came and went...they had the most action and the best fans....plus the money was good for the fighters....

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Originally Posted by iceman

dude, Pride so ruled, i remember getting that on ppv and just sitting jaw dropped as fight after fight came and went...they had the most action and the best fans....plus the money was good for the fighters....

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You are so right man. I became an MMA fan only because I saw a PRIDE event,can't remember which one because I've purchased most of them!! The action,the fans,the entracnes,the ring,the stomps,that dam crazy announcer,the yelow card idea,and most importantly the fights and fighters made it an organisation which will never be bettered in MMA history,not in my lifetime anyway and it will certainly never be forgotten.

I just think the UFC could be doing so much more with the fighters and fights tha they are. Their cards,production etc is just not good enough imo. I want to become a UFC fan,afterall,I am first and foremost an MMA fan,but with their lukewarm events and odd good fight card here and there,it's hard to become a full fledged fan.

i'm with ya, the school i train at produced Brandon Vera, so i feel a loyalty, but i can't pay $50 just to see one damn fight that is worth watching and 3 lackluster fights and maybe 2 that might surprise me....i wish PRIDE was back...

Well I'd like to see knees on the ground, but I'm indifferent to stomps. Pride did have some stacked cards and I think UFC could do more as far as meaningful fights. Some of their weight classes are just much more stacked than others. I think they should do a Fight Night once a month with middle range to lower level fights and onyl do PPV's every other month but with better quality fights top to bottom. The only issue I had with Pride was all of the non title and freak show fights. I think the UFC does a good job of keeping continuity and moving people through the rankings where as with Pride it was hard to figure who deserved the next title shot.

I would like to see knees on the ground too, not so much stomps or soccer kicks, but thats not UFC's fault. Its part of the athletic commision rules, with there being a cage a fighter sometimes can't avoid a kick or stomp due to the cage prohibiting head movement, while in a ring with ropes they can still move out of the way.

And I agree, UFC matchups sometimes suck, I could think of so many amazing fights that would be more entertaining than whats been offered. It's all about numbers and marketing from their standpoint though, sucks for us.

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Originally Posted by El Gamo

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Originally Posted by iceman

dude, Pride so ruled, i remember getting that on ppv and just sitting jaw dropped as fight after fight came and went...they had the most action and the best fans....plus the money was good for the fighters....

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You are so right man. I became an MMA fan only because I saw a PRIDE event,can't remember which one because I've purchased most of them!! The action,the fans,the entracnes,the ring,the stomps,that dam crazy announcer,the yelow card idea,and most importantly the fights and fighters made it an organisation which will never be bettered in MMA history,not in my lifetime anyway and it will certainly never be forgotten.

I just think the UFC could be doing so much more with the fighters and fights tha they are. Their cards,production etc is just not good enough imo. I want to become a UFC fan,afterall,I am first and foremost an MMA fan,but with their lukewarm events and odd good fight card here and there,it's hard to become a full fledged fan.

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Whilst I agree completely about the Pride events being spectacular, with the crazy voice woman and the typical techno-anime inspired multi coloured ring entrances I wouldn't want to see the UFC attempt to copy that.

Pride worked because it was the natural Japanese culture and that's how they do things over there. America has its own culture just like the UK has theirs. The UFC shows are great in my opinion, I love the music introduction with the gladiator getting fitted up for combat, I like the ring girls etc. Let them stick to what they do, and remember Pride as the best of what the Japanese did.

It would be a travesty if the US tried to copy Pride and artificially force a Japanese cultural style for an American audience.

The cards are good, instead of stacking them I would like to see more of them. Instead of one or if we are lucky two events a month why not have an event every single week, with two of them being on free television to pick up a larger audience?

The fighters would get more fights and we'd see some more paced development of a fighters career rather than having to go from super fight to superfight.

Dan Henderson being a great case in point. First fight was against Rampage Jackson, he lost now he goes straight to another title fight against Anderson Silva. Although I can't wait to see that fight its come about far too quickly. If he loses he's 0-2 and the American public will have lost interest in him without ever seeing him do his thing in the ring. Let's see him beat up on somebody first so we can see how good he is.

If he wins Silva loses his title before a rivalry was even built up. I much prefer the slow pace of boxing where a contender will prove his worth over months or even years before finally getting the big showdown.

In the UFC the rivalries last about a week and a half ::**

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In the UFC the rivalries last about a week and a half

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Unless you're two media showboaters like Tito and Shamrock.

I'm not saying the UFC should become PRIDE but they could certainly learn a thing or 2 about presentation etc. It's horrible,archaic music,announcer etc. I agree about the rivalries thing,the set up is horrible. Rampage v Hendo should have been a historic fight,yet no-one knew anything about it.What a coincidence that is was 2 PRIDE fighters involved and it got little hype.

I totally disagree with the 1 show a week,that's an awful idea.Thingwould be moving too fast,there's no way they would be able to maintain high quality and their cards arent' that great with 1 show a month let alone 1 a week. How would they build up rivalries when the $$$ would be going on promoting the next show>?Not a good dea.

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Originally Posted by VanChilds

Well I'd like to see knees on the ground, but I'm indifferent to stomps. Pride did have some stacked cards and I think UFC could do more as far as meaningful fights. Some of their weight classes are just much more stacked than others. I think they should do a Fight Night once a month with middle range to lower level fights and onyl do PPV's every other month but with better quality fights top to bottom. The only issue I had with Pride was all of the non title and freak show fights. I think the UFC does a good job of keeping continuity and moving people through the rankings where as with Pride it was hard to figure who deserved the next title shot.

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I can agree with that but again,Jap fans liked some freak shows once in a while. You're telling me you didn't find Giant Silva entertaining?! I thought it was a brief respite from what were at times BREATHTAKING cards. I mean not only where the cards stacked but EVERY fight had drama and excitement. Some of the PRIDE shows where just insanely good,like Shockwave,Final Elimination,Final COnflict,they were out of this world!