Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted July 25, 2015 Paid Members Share Posted July 25, 2015 That was a hell of a fight as well. Probably top five or ten that year. I remember that was Nate's welterweight debut and it was so impressive I was convinced he was going to be a player at 170. Just didn't work out for him after that. When Nate was on though he was a handful. I always liked his Street Fighter style 10 hit combo finish of Wilson Gouveia as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Carbomb Posted July 25, 2015 Paid Members Share Posted July 25, 2015 That was a hell of a fight as well. Probably top five or ten that year. I remember that was Nate's welterweight debut and it was so impressive I was convinced he was going to be a player at 170. Just didn't work out for him after that. When Nate was on though he was a handful. I always liked his Street Fighter style 10 hit combo finish of Wilson Gouveia as well. I just watched a highlight reel (with a shit soundtrack) of Marquardt's finishes. Holy hell, what an exciting fighter. Is that KO on this vid? 'Coz there's one a bit like that, but it wasn't a finish, and the guy he did it to seemed to be hopelessly outmatched, thus making it less impressive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted July 25, 2015 Paid Members Share Posted July 25, 2015 The Gouveia stoppage is at around 6:09. Seems like they've edited it down though. I remember he threw all sorts of strikes in that finish. Think it started with a spinning backfist and then a shitstorm of strikes followed. Think there was a flying knee in there too. Gouveia was doing pretty well prior to that flurry as I recall. Nate was a beast at his best. On a good day I really believe he could've given most guys at 185 problems. I don't know if it was a mental block or something but he never was able to get over that hump in the UFC, despite winning titles pretty much everywhere else he fought. I forgot all about that piledriver on Thales Leites too. Fucking insane! I was at that fight as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted July 25, 2015 Author Paid Members Share Posted July 25, 2015 Wilson Gouveia! What the hell happened to him? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted July 25, 2015 Paid Members Share Posted July 25, 2015 He was decent, wasn't he? Just a bit lazy when it came to weight cutting and cardio from what I remember. Really enjoyed his fights with Goran Reljic (another 'where is he now?') and Keith Jardine. Actually didn't Reljic pull some Superman shit a few years ago and saved some woman from drowning? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Carbomb Posted July 25, 2015 Paid Members Share Posted July 25, 2015 He was decent, wasn't he? Just a bit lazy when it came to weight cutting and cardio from what I remember. Really enjoyed his fights with Goran Reljic (another 'where is he now?') and Keith Jardine. Actually didn't Reljic pull some Superman shit a few years ago and saved some woman from drowning? A long-lost Reljic? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted July 25, 2015 Author Paid Members Share Posted July 25, 2015 Terribe ^ haha. Reljic is the current KSW 205lb Champ so he must be doing alright for himself. Pretty sure he's on that KSW show in London in October too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted August 6, 2015 Paid Members Share Posted August 6, 2015 I've gone old school and been watching a fair bit of Sakuraba lately. Hence the av/sig change. We don't discuss him enough on here really and it's a shame that because of how his last few years as a fighter went, he's more remembered for getting battered than how much of an incredible fighter he was in his younger, less banged up days. I'm not doing a full career review, just don't have the time these days to work through a long career like Sakuraba's. But I've been watching and am going to be watching some of his better/more well known and maybe a few lesser known fights so I might as well share my thoughts and see if it sparks any discussion. What's triggered this sudden Saku marathon is that I watched Tom Lawlor on Helwani's MMA Hour last week (good interview btw, I posted it in the MMA News thread) and Ariel asked him why he used U2's 'Beautiful Day' as his walkout song. Lawlor then mentioned an old Sakuraba highlight set the that song. It's a proper old highlight from Sherdog in the early-mid 2000s and I remember it was one of the first bits of MMA I ever saw. Wand vs Hendo 1, UFC 52 and this Sakuraba highlight. Watch it... https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&persist_app=1&v=44E-lW3aYhM I'm not even a fan of U2 but fucking hell, I love this highlight. Totally forgot about it until I watched that Lawlor interview. Another reason to like the 'Filthy' one. Sakuraba was a unique fighter with a completely different style to everyone else at the time. He was one of the first MMA fighters to use catch wrestling techniques, he was a showman, he was creative and innovative in the ring. Way ahead of his time. And he was absolutely beloved by the Japanese fans. I know there were a load of reasons why the MMA scene in Japan died but Sakuraba's decline had to be part of it as well IMO. No other Japanese fighter since Sakuraba has been able to capture the fans quite like he did. Baby Saku; It all started for Sakuraba when he began amateur wrestling at 15 years old. From there he decided to chase his dream of becoming a pro wrestler, following the footsteps of his childhood hero Tiger Mask. To cut a long story short, he wound up wrestling for the UWFi promotion. A fed which specialised in worked shoot style matches. Sakuraba was basically a jobber early on but he did meet someone during his time there who would end up being instrumental in his future as an MMA fighter... Legendary shooter Billy Robinson schooled the young Sakuraba in catch wrestling. From there, Sakuraba continued his career with UWFi. But as business began to suffer, Yoji Anjoh decided to take part in a challenge in an attempt to bring the UWFi some publicity and credibility back. Problem was it was the Gracie Challenge. And Anjoh got smashed in front of the Japanese media by the most feared Gracie of the lot, Rickson. Due to the embarrassing nature of Anjoh's Gracie flavoured arse kicking, the UWFi's credibility for having the most legit and hardest pro wrestlers was shot and they eventually closed. From there, Nobuhiko Takada founded Pro Wrestling Kingdom. They struggled and once again, not learning from the Gracie Challenge debacle, decided that throwing Yoji Anjoh into another shoot fight was the answer to their woes. In 1997, Anjoh and future Pride FC journeyman Hiromitsu Kanehara signed to fight in the UFC on their Ultimate Japan event. Kanehara ended up pulling out injured so Kazushi Sakuraba stepped in on short notice. Anjoh, predictably, got beat up again in the event's opener against Tank Abbott. Sakuraba had already had one MMA fight at this point, a submission loss to the much heavier Kimo. This would be Sakuraba's second MMA fight, and he'd be facing a much bigger opponent again. KAZUSHI SAKURABA VS MARCUS 'CONAN' SILVEIRA December 21st 1997 - UFC Ultimate Japan - Heavyweight Tournament Semi Final Yes, heavyweight. Sakuraba fighting at heavyweight. Back then the lowest you could weigh to fight at heavyweight was 200lbs. Sakuraba lied and said he weighed 203lbs, and I guess the SEG era officials back then didn't even bother to verify that or, you know, actually get him on the scales. He actually weighed 183lbs. Silveira weighed 240 and stood 6'2". A true heavyweight who could hit hard and was a respected BJJ black belt. And his nickname was fucking 'Conan'. As in the barbarian, obviously. Not the shit wrestler. Just look at him; To this day he's still training and cornering fighters and he's still a fucking monster. Anyway, that's what Sakuraba was up against. Jeff Blatnick (RIP) informs us that Conan hasn't fought in a year. And a boyish Mike Goldberg tells us Conan's MMA record is an impressive 29-1. I'm too lazy to open another tab to check but if my memory is correct that one loss was a brutal headkick knockout by Maurice Smith in the Battlecade - Extreme Fighting fed. Conan looks absolutely jacked! Goldberg tells us that Sakuraba just beat Paul Herrera "in a Kingdom match" by leg submission. I wonder if he'll drop some knowledge about CM Punk's shoot wins in the WWE when Punk debuts in December. Buffer looks youthful with a head of black hair. Big John says 'LET'S GET IT ON' and we're off. Sakuraba gets an easy takedown right away on the big man. Conan tries to tie up a leg for a heel hook and Saku's in prime position to slap on a Sharpshooter! Unfortunately he instead opts to just crouch over Conan eating punches and upkicks. Conan up and hits a waistlock takedown, starts working a kimura but Saku spins out. They stand and Conan starts throwing leather. Saku looks in some bother so drops for a single-leg and... Big John stops the fight! Rare cock up from McCarthy there. Although it's easy to say that in hindsight. In his position, with a big heavyweight throwing punches at a much smaller opponent, erring on the side of caution is probably for the best. Sucked for Sakuraba though because as soon as the fight was stopped you could see he wasn't hurt and was very much in the fight still, he was working for a takedown at the time of the stoppage and looked clear eyed. McCarthy said post-fight that Sakuraba was "out" briefly but it looked like a premature stoppage. Sakuraba is pissed off big time. He even tried to grab Buffer's microphone off him when Brucey was announcing Conan as the winner. Needless to say, Buffer wasn't having that. No-one touches Buffer's mic. To be fair to McCarthy, on reviewing the tape he admitted he'd made a mistake and that he stopped the fight too soon. He overturned the loss to a no contest. And, as a stroke of luck, Tank Abbott dropped out of the tournament with an injury. Opening the door for a Conan vs Sakuraba rematch in the tournament finals. KAZUSHI SAKURABA VS MARCUS 'CONAN' SILVEIRA 2 December 21st 1997 - UFC Ultimate Japan - Heavyweight Tournament Final Here we go again. They pick up right where they left off, clinched up and Conan gets a takedown. He's on top and using his size advantage but Sakuraba is constantly threatening with the kimura. They continue to grapple and Sakuraba winds up on top and manages to hit the armbar for the tap. Awesome David vs Goliath stuff there. Post-fight is just as good as the fight though. First Sakuraba and Conan bang heads when they shake hands and bow to each other. Then his team hoist him up in the air in celebration; With this win, Sakuraba put the pro wrestlers in the win column too. After the Anjoh embarrassment and other wrestlers like Bam Bam Bigelow getting their arse handed to them in shoot fights, this was a performance that showed that being a pro wrestler didn't necessarily mean you couldn't cut it in MMA. It was after this victory where Sakuraba gave the often quoted line; "In fact, professional wrestling is strong." I'll try and do another post tonight on the start of Saku's Pride career. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimufctna24 Posted August 6, 2015 Share Posted August 6, 2015 (edited) From 1999-2001, Sakuraba was the best fighter in the world. His only defeat during that time period was against Igor, in a fight where his corner pulled him out due to fatigue. That loss was no shame either. Igor was much bigger, and Saku had gone a staggering 90 minutes with Royce earlier in the evening. To put it into context, Saku fought 4 times longer that evening, than the maximum a UFC fighter is allowed to these days. It should be remembered that as early as 2002/2003, Sakuraba's body was falling apart. In addition to the wars he went through inside the ring, he was also rumoured to be a heavy smoker. He still had some decent wins after 2001, but he lost more than he won against the sport's elite. If you want to talk obscure Sakuraba fights, check his entrance during his rematch against Nino Schembri. Words cannot do it justice, but the lighting effects are tremendous. They depict his loss to Nino as being a nightmare, which is signified by stormy clouds, and represent the rematch with a blue sky which signifies his awakening (thankfully, Saku avenged his loss to Schembri that evening), His entrance theme is legendary as well, and not over-played like Wanderlei's. In short, at his peak, Sakuraba put on quite a show, and is easily one the best things MMA has ever produced. Very few possess skill, charm, showmanship and bravery all at once. Saku was one of the rare exceptions. Edited August 6, 2015 by jimufctna24 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted August 6, 2015 Author Paid Members Share Posted August 6, 2015 Sakuraba's loss to Schembri remains probably the most gutted ive ever been watching someone lose in an MMA fight. I couldn't believe it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CurryAngel Posted August 6, 2015 Share Posted August 6, 2015 (edited) Sakuraba's loss to Schembri remains probably the most gutted ive ever been watching someone lose in an MMA fight. I couldn't believe it. Yeah. That was bad. Dominating the fight, pulling out angolian chops and getting caught with a wild knee. Pride 25 may be the best MMA show of all time though Edited August 6, 2015 by CurryAngel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted August 6, 2015 Paid Members Share Posted August 6, 2015 (edited) Jim - yeah I meant to mention Sakuraba's smoking. I've heard that for years. It almost makes him more awesome in a weird way. Not that he smoked, but that he had the amazing career he had despite smoking heavily throughout it. I remember that Schembri rematch entrance you're on about! Forgot all about that. Didn't he come out in pyjamas with a pillow under his arm like he was 'waking up from the nightmare' of the first fight? Pride 25 may be the best MMA show of all time though It's a great show but I don't even think it's the best Pride show ever, much less MMA as a whole. I think there were a few Pride events that trumped 25. Final Conflict 2003 Wand/Rampage 1 Nog/Cro Cop Rampage/Liddell Wand/Yoshida 1 Saku/Randleman Shockwave 2004 Fedor/Nog 3 Wand/Hunt Gomi/Pulver Anderson/Chonan Cro Cop/Randleman 2 Yoshida/Gardner Bushido 9 Pretty much the entire lightweight tournament but especially; Gomi/Kawajiri Sakurai/Hansen Gomi/Azeredo 2 Sakurai/Pulver Final Conflict 2006 Nog/Barnett 1 Cro Cop/Wand 2 Sergei/Aleks Arona/Overeem Shogun/Diabate Fuck, looking back those Final Conflicts were the dogs bollocks. Edited August 6, 2015 by wandshogun09 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimufctna24 Posted August 6, 2015 Share Posted August 6, 2015 (edited) Wand - Yeah that's the one. Pride knew how to put on a spectacle. In regards to the quality of Pride's shows. From the time period I am most familiar with (2003-2007), it was rare for Pride to have a bad show. The cards were always stacked, and the fights usually delivered. My viewing from 2003-2004 was done retrospectively, however I was actively following it in 2005, and continued to do so until its demise in 2007. In that 2 year period, I never felt jaded by what Pride was offering. I was always excited to view their Main Shows. They went out with a bang as well. The American shows were both terrific, and the New Year's Eve show was stellar. The last show was crap, but it never had a chance. Most of the main stars had deserted it by that point. A little footnote - In the build up to the last show, Sakuraba was rumoured to be taking on Wanderlei yet again. A bit like how WCW booked Flair vs Sting on the last ever Nitro, it was meant to be a touching way for the company to sign off. I forget why it didn't happen. Another rumour was that Wanderlei was going to fight Shogun, but I don't think that had much foundation to it. Edited August 6, 2015 by jimufctna24 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted August 6, 2015 Author Paid Members Share Posted August 6, 2015 That would have been cool, instead we got Jeff Monson vs Kazayuki Fujita. Fucking loved Fujita though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimufctna24 Posted August 7, 2015 Share Posted August 7, 2015 After a quick google search, it seems I forgot about another match-up that was proposed for Wanderlei, which you can see below. There is another poster for the event with Hunt featured, which reads "Wanderlei Silva's participation not confirmed", or something to that effect. I didn't even know the card until after it had happened. I recall checking the results a few days after and being massively underwhelmed. Although Frye vs Thompson, and Soku's knockout of Arona did provide some entertainment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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