Shogun wasn't lying:underwent knee surgery.

[El Gamo]

Well who is the best UFc fighter? Randy Couture. He has been in a ring for something like 6 fights right? In RINGS and IVC? And he's lost 3 of them. I think that tells you about the difference between a cage and ring. The difference in rules. The fact that PRIDE fighters were over confident. If you don't think these are factors then seriously bro,I don't know what else to say. Sure they SHOULd HAVE prepared but whether they did or not,well,let's just say that all these deranged UFC fans are going overboard saying that PRIDE fighters were overrated etc. Lets wait a year,see how they fare,rather than off a fight or two.

And remember,you're judging those 3 fighters losses,Shogun has only had 1 fight! Look at the sustained success achieved by Anderson and Rampage. Like I said,time will tell,I favour Shogun etc to do much much better than their initial showings.

Hey I can't stand "deranged UFC fans" either. I don't think Pride was overrated one bit. I think what we are seeing is that the quality of the two orgs top fighters was a lot closer than many thought. That being said I won't argue that Pride's stable was much deeper top to bottom. I'll change my statement about the cage somewhat. Yes it takes an adjustment, but we are talking about world class fighters and against what was at least perceived as much weaker opponents. The cage shouldn't have played that much of a crucial role. And correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't remeber any of the Pride fighter losses in the cage or UFC fighters victories in the ring being impacted a lot by the cage or lack of. Maybe elbows played some role in CC's loss to Gonzaga, but not at all to Kongo. As far as Shogun goes my personal opinion (which is completely unfounded) is that not being able to use performance enhancing products caused his stamina issues. I expect him to ultimately succeed, but not at the tremendous level we saw in Japan.

Whilst I'll continue to disagree about Shogun, I think the rest of your post was far more agreeable. I too was dissappointed with Cro Cop(I never used to like him that much but I totally respect him and love watching him fight,he just seems overly arrogant at times). However,his lack of training,his busted up nose etc could have all been factors. Or simply put,he left his heart at PRIDE. Remember,these guys were there for a LONG time,they were ADORED by the fans and it was totally different there,the culture,the show,everything. Things have changed here and for CC,I think he found it difficult to adjust. Maybe he's just getting old. Maybe he does not have the desire to prove himself all over again,I mean going from superstar status to "alsoran(UFC dorks terms,not mine) must have had an effect on him. I hope we see the old Cro Cop,but I'm not sure.

Shogun and the drugs..well I don't know much about drugs but I just don't see Shogun using them. Again time will tell. Sure he should have beaten Forrest,but thats why I posted this. He was NOT himself in that fight, you think it's because of drugs(which is unfounded) and I think it was because his knee was busted,ergo not training fully,ergo out of shape=lost the fight. He gassed EARLY. If anyone shows Shogun,1 thing that stands out is his feoricty. His pace. The man is a monster.

Heck,I,as a mere fan,find it difficult to adjust. Whilst I'm a big MMA fan(albeit a fairly new one), I find things different too. I much preferred the production,the politer,better mannered fans,the commentating,the fight cards of PRIDE compared to the UFC. Alot of fans have felt the same. I would not say I'm a PRIDE nuthugger but I just don't like something about the UFC,I hope it goes over time and I'll still continue to watch it for sure. My point being, it takes time to settle. Anywhere. Professional or not,which is why I found the allegations of the drug use,unfounded and somehat pointless at such an early stage. Sure,if after a few fights,the PRIDE fighters are still doing poorly,then by all means,there must have been somthing different. Time is the key word.

a knee injury doesn't have anything to do with getting a rear naked choke put on you

Erm,I'll think you find it does. If you're knee is injured,you're more susceptible to takedowns/chokes etc. If your knee is injured,then you could not train 100%, then your stamina is poor and combined with the knee,takedowns/chokes are again made easier. So I think you'll find it does have an effect.