UFC vs PRIDE take 2
A while back I did an article on PRIDE vs UFC (read all about that using the link. In that article I broke down the history of the 2 organizations and things they do different and the same. I took a lot of comments by reffering to the UFC as "the big show". It's almost a full year later and things have changed so today I decided to break down what I like about each show, some of the fighters who have crossed over, some of the champs and some of the others.
I will say that based on the payout amounts I've seen, PRIDE does a better job. Although when I see payout amounts they are not confirmed so who really knows. All in all I think MMA Fighters deserve more than what they get.
THE PROGRAMS
I do like the fact that the UFC is live. Since PRIDE is held in Japan it is difficult to broadcast to the United States live. And, yes, I do live in the United States. PRIDE can get rid of a lot of unneeded fluff and bring more fights which I like. All and all there is just more of an excitement watching a live event.
Advantage ~ UFC
Both organizations are continueing to commercialize everything, bringing in more money that they do not share with thier fighters.
Advantage ~ Push
I don't know this for fact either but it seems as though the UFC fighters get better endorsments and sponsers than the PRIDE fighters. If you look at Quinton Jackson's interviews when leaving PRIDE and going to the WFA he seemed to imply that PRIDE doesn't do a good job of getting fighters extra sponsers.
Advantage ~ UFC
I love the enthusiasm of the PRIDE crowd, it just seems to be more true fans and less drunken idiots screaming. Go USA! I've been to some of the UFC's, sorry fellow fans but we do tend to bring in a lot of drunken idiots.
Advantage ~ PRIDE
I like the cage over the ring but like the system of PRIDE over the UFC. In PRIDE you can still knee to the head. I understand why the UFC doesn't allow those things when someone's head can be trapped between the mat and the cage, a knee or stomp could cause a lot of unneeded damage.
Advantage ~ Push
I like the judging of PRIDE. The UFC's boxing-like 10 point must system just doesn't belong in MMA, plus the judges don't seem to know as much about the sport. The judge that voted for Stephan Bonnar over Rashad Evans the other night is a perfect example. I guess he scored highly on the vicious headbutt's Bonnar was landing to Rashad's fist! But I think judging the whole fight rather than each round is the way to go. Like boxing, you still have some 'round stealing' with last minute action.
Advantage~ PRIDE
THE CROSSOVER FIGHTERS
Anderson "the Spider" Silva
Silva brought his 3-2 PRIDE record to the UFC to fight Chris Leben last week. Silva had lost his last 2 PRIDE fights to Daiju Takase and Ryo Chonan. He dominated Leben from the 1st jab to the final outcome which lasted all of 49 seconds. You could tell from that 1st jab that it was going to be a quick one. Silva also holds victories over Jeremy horn and Jorge Rivera outside of PRIDE and UFC. He made the PRIDE talent look pretty damn good.
Advantage ~ PRIDE
We will then go from the most recent to probably the most decorated, Jeremy "Gumby" Horn. Horn is a mere 6-4 in his 10 UFC bouts while keeping an undefeated 3-0 in PRIDE. Horn's 77-14-5 record (according to Sherdog) would indicate that the UFC talent is pretty stiff since he is well below average when fighting there.
Advantage ~ UFC
Phil "The New York Badass" Baroni couldn't by a win at the end of his UFC career, everyone said he was washed up. Baroni posted a 3-5 record in the UFC, losing to Evan Tanner and Matt Lindland twice. Baroni was able to come over to PRIDE and KO Ryo Chonan and Ikuhisa "the Punk" Minowa. Overall he is 3-2 in PRIDE. The UFC fighters figured Baroni out, stand in front of him, get knocked out. Some of the PRIDE fighters tried to trade with Baroni and got knocked out. Hopefully they have figured him out.
Advantage ~ UFC
Yves Edwards has also done a bit of crossing over. Yves is 2-1 overall in PRIDE and 6-3 in the UFC. This doesn't help us at all.
Advantage ~ Push
THE CHAMPS
Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell is an interseting one to look at. Chuck is 13-2 in UFC and 2-1 in PRIDE. His loss to Jeremy Horn 7 years ago can be chalked up to being in a fight with someone more experienced. Losing to Quinton Jackson and Randy Couture can be chalked up to fighting to top flight guys and coming out on the losing end. He has come back to beat Randy 2 times and eagerly awaits an opportunity to fight Jackson again.
Wanderlei "The Axe Murderer" Silva is another champ that crossed over. His 1-2 UFC record didn't look so hot, his PRIDE record of 22-2-1 with 1 no contest looks real good. Like Chuck you shouldn't make the mistake of looking at his early losses, he's much better than he was back then.
There is not a fan out there that would not love to see this fight. This would be UFC vs PRIDE at it's finest. Chuck has proven KO power with a freakish ability to avoid the takedown. Wandy loves to take people down and ground and pound them into the mat. No doubt chuck would want to stand and Wandy would want to ground and pound, but Wandy can trade standing up also. I believe that Wandy is more of a complete fighter, I also believe Chuck would land one of his big right hands and send Wandy home.
Advantage ~ UFC (barely!)
Time "The Maine-iac" Sylvia is the current Heavyweight Champ of the UFC. At 6ft 8 and 250-265 he is a menace to MMA. He's a good striker who brings with him an incredible reach advantage. Sylvia has 2 submission losses in his 23 fights, 16 KO's in his 21 wins. Arlovsky did put him on the floor before dropping into a Achilles Lock, he also put him on the floor before getting KO'd in there 2nd fight. Sylvia has shown a chink in his armour, a small chink mind you!
Fedor Emelianenko is a monster. 23-1 overall with his 1 loss coming in his 2nd fight. Fedor has not shown a chink anywhere. He has the power to knock you out and he has the smarts to submit you. He has one of the greatest comebacks in MMA history when he took a vicious slam from Kevin Randleman, looked completely composed and landed an armbar for victory.
Sylvia would want this to stay on the feet and need to use his reach advantage to keep Fedor at Bay. This may actually work for a while, Crocop was able to keep Fedor away at times. But Fedor would, in the end wear the Maine-iac down and beat him.
Advantage ~ PRIDE
Rich "Ace" Franklin is the current 185 pound champ in the UFC. It's hard to put up a better fighter right now. Many will look forward to seeing him fight Anderson Silva, that fight will probably take place next year. Franklin is an incredible striker, more polished than Chuck Liddell with an equal amount of KO potential.
Dan "Hollywood" Henderson won the Grand Prix 185 pound championship last year. Henderson is a former wrestler with impressive stand up skills.
Although Henderson is from Team Quest I would pick against him in this fight. I think Franklin is one of the best fighters out there right now. I really think he could beat Liddell if he fought at 205.
Advantage ~ UFC
In the 170 pound weight class you don't have much for PRIDE representation. It would be hard to find someone to stand up to the power of the UFC in this category, they bring Matt Hughes, Georges "Rush" St. Pierre and BJ "The Prodigy" Penn to the table.
Advantage ~ UFC
In the 155 pound weight class you don't have a champ in the UFC. PRIDE brings Takanori "The Fireball Kid" Gomi to the table in this weight class. I know he recently lost a fight to Marcus Aurelio but I don't think that would happen again. Gomi is good, real good. Soon the UFC will crown a champ, I think it will be Kenny Florian. It will be an interesting match up to talk about when the Champ is crowned.
Advantage ~ PRIDE
On my points I have UFC with 7 (1 Barely), PRIDE with 5 and 3 pushes. That about sums up how I feel about the 2 shows. I love them both, I'd love to see more crossover action but if you put me to a decision I'd pick the UFC. Although I'll give PRIDE a bonus point on the fact that they show 8-10 matches where the UFC will maybe show 6-7 on a good night. That makes the decision very close.
As always feel free to comment, argue, discuss or whatever it is you do.
I will say that based on the payout amounts I've seen, PRIDE does a better job. Although when I see payout amounts they are not confirmed so who really knows. All in all I think MMA Fighters deserve more than what they get.
THE PROGRAMS
I do like the fact that the UFC is live. Since PRIDE is held in Japan it is difficult to broadcast to the United States live. And, yes, I do live in the United States. PRIDE can get rid of a lot of unneeded fluff and bring more fights which I like. All and all there is just more of an excitement watching a live event.
Advantage ~ UFC
Both organizations are continueing to commercialize everything, bringing in more money that they do not share with thier fighters.
Advantage ~ Push
I don't know this for fact either but it seems as though the UFC fighters get better endorsments and sponsers than the PRIDE fighters. If you look at Quinton Jackson's interviews when leaving PRIDE and going to the WFA he seemed to imply that PRIDE doesn't do a good job of getting fighters extra sponsers.
Advantage ~ UFC
I love the enthusiasm of the PRIDE crowd, it just seems to be more true fans and less drunken idiots screaming. Go USA! I've been to some of the UFC's, sorry fellow fans but we do tend to bring in a lot of drunken idiots.
Advantage ~ PRIDE
I like the cage over the ring but like the system of PRIDE over the UFC. In PRIDE you can still knee to the head. I understand why the UFC doesn't allow those things when someone's head can be trapped between the mat and the cage, a knee or stomp could cause a lot of unneeded damage.
Advantage ~ Push
I like the judging of PRIDE. The UFC's boxing-like 10 point must system just doesn't belong in MMA, plus the judges don't seem to know as much about the sport. The judge that voted for Stephan Bonnar over Rashad Evans the other night is a perfect example. I guess he scored highly on the vicious headbutt's Bonnar was landing to Rashad's fist! But I think judging the whole fight rather than each round is the way to go. Like boxing, you still have some 'round stealing' with last minute action.
Advantage~ PRIDE
THE CROSSOVER FIGHTERS
Anderson "the Spider" Silva
Silva brought his 3-2 PRIDE record to the UFC to fight Chris Leben last week. Silva had lost his last 2 PRIDE fights to Daiju Takase and Ryo Chonan. He dominated Leben from the 1st jab to the final outcome which lasted all of 49 seconds. You could tell from that 1st jab that it was going to be a quick one. Silva also holds victories over Jeremy horn and Jorge Rivera outside of PRIDE and UFC. He made the PRIDE talent look pretty damn good.
Advantage ~ PRIDE
We will then go from the most recent to probably the most decorated, Jeremy "Gumby" Horn. Horn is a mere 6-4 in his 10 UFC bouts while keeping an undefeated 3-0 in PRIDE. Horn's 77-14-5 record (according to Sherdog) would indicate that the UFC talent is pretty stiff since he is well below average when fighting there.
Advantage ~ UFC
Phil "The New York Badass" Baroni couldn't by a win at the end of his UFC career, everyone said he was washed up. Baroni posted a 3-5 record in the UFC, losing to Evan Tanner and Matt Lindland twice. Baroni was able to come over to PRIDE and KO Ryo Chonan and Ikuhisa "the Punk" Minowa. Overall he is 3-2 in PRIDE. The UFC fighters figured Baroni out, stand in front of him, get knocked out. Some of the PRIDE fighters tried to trade with Baroni and got knocked out. Hopefully they have figured him out.
Advantage ~ UFC
Yves Edwards has also done a bit of crossing over. Yves is 2-1 overall in PRIDE and 6-3 in the UFC. This doesn't help us at all.
Advantage ~ Push
THE CHAMPS
Chuck "The Iceman" Liddell is an interseting one to look at. Chuck is 13-2 in UFC and 2-1 in PRIDE. His loss to Jeremy Horn 7 years ago can be chalked up to being in a fight with someone more experienced. Losing to Quinton Jackson and Randy Couture can be chalked up to fighting to top flight guys and coming out on the losing end. He has come back to beat Randy 2 times and eagerly awaits an opportunity to fight Jackson again.
Wanderlei "The Axe Murderer" Silva is another champ that crossed over. His 1-2 UFC record didn't look so hot, his PRIDE record of 22-2-1 with 1 no contest looks real good. Like Chuck you shouldn't make the mistake of looking at his early losses, he's much better than he was back then.
There is not a fan out there that would not love to see this fight. This would be UFC vs PRIDE at it's finest. Chuck has proven KO power with a freakish ability to avoid the takedown. Wandy loves to take people down and ground and pound them into the mat. No doubt chuck would want to stand and Wandy would want to ground and pound, but Wandy can trade standing up also. I believe that Wandy is more of a complete fighter, I also believe Chuck would land one of his big right hands and send Wandy home.
Advantage ~ UFC (barely!)
Time "The Maine-iac" Sylvia is the current Heavyweight Champ of the UFC. At 6ft 8 and 250-265 he is a menace to MMA. He's a good striker who brings with him an incredible reach advantage. Sylvia has 2 submission losses in his 23 fights, 16 KO's in his 21 wins. Arlovsky did put him on the floor before dropping into a Achilles Lock, he also put him on the floor before getting KO'd in there 2nd fight. Sylvia has shown a chink in his armour, a small chink mind you!
Fedor Emelianenko is a monster. 23-1 overall with his 1 loss coming in his 2nd fight. Fedor has not shown a chink anywhere. He has the power to knock you out and he has the smarts to submit you. He has one of the greatest comebacks in MMA history when he took a vicious slam from Kevin Randleman, looked completely composed and landed an armbar for victory.
Sylvia would want this to stay on the feet and need to use his reach advantage to keep Fedor at Bay. This may actually work for a while, Crocop was able to keep Fedor away at times. But Fedor would, in the end wear the Maine-iac down and beat him.
Advantage ~ PRIDE
Rich "Ace" Franklin is the current 185 pound champ in the UFC. It's hard to put up a better fighter right now. Many will look forward to seeing him fight Anderson Silva, that fight will probably take place next year. Franklin is an incredible striker, more polished than Chuck Liddell with an equal amount of KO potential.
Dan "Hollywood" Henderson won the Grand Prix 185 pound championship last year. Henderson is a former wrestler with impressive stand up skills.
Although Henderson is from Team Quest I would pick against him in this fight. I think Franklin is one of the best fighters out there right now. I really think he could beat Liddell if he fought at 205.
Advantage ~ UFC
In the 170 pound weight class you don't have much for PRIDE representation. It would be hard to find someone to stand up to the power of the UFC in this category, they bring Matt Hughes, Georges "Rush" St. Pierre and BJ "The Prodigy" Penn to the table.
Advantage ~ UFC
In the 155 pound weight class you don't have a champ in the UFC. PRIDE brings Takanori "The Fireball Kid" Gomi to the table in this weight class. I know he recently lost a fight to Marcus Aurelio but I don't think that would happen again. Gomi is good, real good. Soon the UFC will crown a champ, I think it will be Kenny Florian. It will be an interesting match up to talk about when the Champ is crowned.
Advantage ~ PRIDE
On my points I have UFC with 7 (1 Barely), PRIDE with 5 and 3 pushes. That about sums up how I feel about the 2 shows. I love them both, I'd love to see more crossover action but if you put me to a decision I'd pick the UFC. Although I'll give PRIDE a bonus point on the fact that they show 8-10 matches where the UFC will maybe show 6-7 on a good night. That makes the decision very close.
As always feel free to comment, argue, discuss or whatever it is you do.
posted by Bruceleeroy at 10:43 AM
4 Comments:
In the middle weights you forgot about shogun arona and rampage who would own the iceman
Rampage fought chuck awhile ago...These days. Chuck wuld destroy Rampage Jackson. Everybody keeps looking the past at his lose to Jackson...He's a better striker and better fighter than he was back then. Chuck over Jackson for a joke.
The thing people are leaving out is that the UFC crowd still has a lot more hicks and drunkards that also watch WWE and etc. Thus, the endorsement deals are going to go towards the guys that appeal to the hicks and drunkards. USA USA USA.
In Pride, there are bigger purses and pay, but there is less for non-japanese to get endorsement deals.
That's my comment on endorsements-- the reality is that Pride fighters are more trained and there are less "dudes with heavy hands" like there are in the UFC.
Good or bad, its more because UFC is marketed like a "extreme boxing" or gladiator/bloodsport match. Pride is much more about a martial arts skill competition, rather than who is going to get thrown to the lions if they lose.
Hey just stopping by to say I like the blog.
I don't know if your also into Jujitsu but I got sites and Squidoo lenses on Jujitsu if your intested:
Jujitsu
Jujitsu For Women
Japanese Jujitsu
Jujitsu Philosophy
Hope you like them and I will come by again!
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