Heath Herring vs. Hirotaka Yokoi

Both fighters came out looking focused and all business.  Yokoi briefly attempted an upper body takedown from the clinch, but Herring managed to break free.  Yokoi then rushed with a few poorly placed punch attempts, only to meet a punishing Herring right hook that sent him spinning to the canvas.  Herring wasted no time capitalizing on the effects of the blow, and immediately tangled with Yokoi from above, raining an insane number of blows to his head.  At one point, however, some of Herrings knees were apparently landing to an illegal part of Yokoi’s head, so the referee broke up the assault.  Herring threw his hands up in the air as if to say “Why did you just stop me from winning this fight?”  Both fighters returned to their feet and Yokoi once again went for the clinch, but Herring caught him with a painful right hook, bringing him to his knees yet again.  This time, Herring’s second rain of knees to the head would result in a quick referee stoppage. 

Heath Herring by first round TKO.

After the fight, when asked about the referee’s sudden break due to illegal knees, Herring said, “I was not happy about the first break at all.  That’s why I turned to the crowd.  I felt like they were trying to let him recover.  I was kind of upset about that.”  It seems that Heath was, like many viewers, puzzled about why those particular knees were illegal.

Choi Mu Bae vs. Soa Palalei

Both fighters came out jabbing cautiously, but it would be Palelei initiating action with the first takedown.  Bae, however, used his wrestling skills to power his way back to his feet, and then trip Palelei to the mat.  However, both fighters once again worked their way back to their feet, only to have Palelei once again take Bae to his back.  Palelei managed to get on Bae’s back into what looked like a rear naked choke opportunity, but Bae once again managed to work his way back to his feet.  From there, the fighters resumed their pattern of tripping each other to the mat, only to work their way back to their feet.  At one point, as Bae was punching Palelei in the face in the corner, he began taunting him yelling “Yeah!  Again!” which only seemed to make Bae punch harder.

Both fighters seemed to be getting gassed from their efforts even with three minutes left in the first round, and action slowed down even more.  In the corner, both fighters continued their slow war of attrition as they punched and kneed each other to the body until the referee broke them up and forced the action.  At this point, Bae began to do a terrible job of keeping his hands up, and virtually allowed Palelei to use his head as a punching bag.  Bae barely escaped unconsciousness, however, long enough to clinch his way to the end of the round.

Round 2
The second round began looking a lot like the end of the first round, complete with Palelei’s continuously landing punches to Bae’s head.  Most of the time, the two fighters still spent far too much time clinching in the corner.  It was obvious, however, that Palelei’s stamina was holding up better than Bae’s.  Both fighters got a yellow card for inaction.  Finally, Bae managed to muscle an amazing takedown on Palelei, worked his way onto his back, and sank a tremendous rear-naked choke for the victory. 

Choi Mu Bae by second round submission.

Ricardo Arona vs. Sergey Ignatov

Both fighters came out looking for an opening and Arona attempted a looping high kick.  After Ignatev missed with a quick rush of punches, Arona countered with a powerful double-leg takedown.  From there, Arona worked into Ignatev’s full-guard but managed to stand up and hurl down blows from above.  Arona worked his way back to his feet and Ignatev turned his back for a second – just long enough for Arona to seize the moment and pounce on him from behind.  From there, Arona’s hunt for a submission began, and Ignatev did a commendable job of preventing any openings.  Finally, Ignatev managed to work his way out of danger and rolled back over, bringing Arona back into his guard.  In a tremendous show of will and power, and with his arms well tied-up, Arona managed to work his way to the side mount, and then back on Ignatev’s back. 

For grappling fans, the fight up to this point was an amazing display of technical grappling and working for openings.  At one point, Ignatev barely escaped an arm bar attempt by Arona.  Both fighters were stood up again, and Arona once again managed a takedown and worked his way into the full-mount, and transitioned into the rear-mount.  In this awkward position, Ignatev found himself in more trouble than he could handle, and moments later Arona managed to secure his elusive rear naked choke. 

Ricardo Arona by first round submission.

Aleksander Emelianenko vs. James Thompson

Thompson came charging out with an explosive rush of punches that actually sent Emelianenko hurling to the canvas, but Alexandre would quickly recover to his feet just in time to find himself in something of a bar brawl with Thompson in the corner.  But despite Thompson’s raw strength and effort, the Emelianenko power would not be denied, and Alexandre quickly turned the tides.  After sending Thompson to the canvas in a quick flash of brutal punches, Emelianenko quickly leaped on him for the kill.  But the referee would stop the fight before any real damage could be done.  Possibly a bit premature ending since Thompson seemed to get up somewhat quickly at the end of the fight, but it was probably the safe thing for the referee to do under the circumstances. 

Emelianenko Alexandre by first round TKO.

When asked about the possibly premature stoppage and whether or not he’d like another shot at Alexandre, Thompson said, “If he gave me five minutes - it’s definitely worth another shot. There’s no way I’d ever give up.”

Alistair Overeem vs. Hiromitsu Kanehara

Kanehara came out with a surprising willingness to strike, and both fighters quickly went into the clinch and tried working Muay Thai knees.  Overeem then tried a guillotine choke for a moment, but Kanehara easily worked his way out of it.  Overeem then threw a few knees to the top of Kanehara’s head while on his knees, but Kanehara worked his way back to his feet.  Overeem followed up with a big slam and some jockeying for position, but didn’t accomplish anything.  Both fighters would once again return to their feet.

For the next few minutes, Alistair went on the offensive, working from position to position – both standing and on the ground – and working a series of fairly successful knees to the head and body of Kanehara.  Kanehara really wasn’t answering Overeem’s assault with anything significant.  The fight was actually starting to look a bit more like a mugging than an evenly matched competition.  The closest thing to a successful counter that Kanehara managed was a near kimura after a sloppy mistake by Overeem.  It was starting to look like Kanehara was mostly determined to survive until a decision that, from the looks of things, he wasn’t going to like.

Round 2
Overeem opened the second round with what seemed like flying Muay Thai knee #50 of the fight, and things didn’t seem to be improving at all for Kanehara.  Overeem then proceeded to tenderize Kanehara with a never-ending array of knees to the head and body – much like the last half of the previous round.  The beating was actually becoming kind of ridiculous, and it seemed like Overeem was getting upset that nothing was being done to end the fight.  Finally, a massive cut was opened under Kanehara’s right eye (from which knee exactly, it’s hard to say), and following a quick corner check, Overeem was declared victorious.  After the fight Overeem would add, “This was for my brother.  I had to knock him out.” 

Alistair Overeem by long overdue first round doctor’s stoppage.

Mark Hunt vs. Dan Bobish

Bobish came looking for a takedown, briefly ate a knee to the head, and then almost managed an upper-body takedown.  But Hunt managed to stay on his feet, and the action was temporarily stopped to check a cut that he had opened on Bobish’s eye.  Action resumed, and Bobish wasted no time going for the takedown again, and this time it paid off.  Bobish slammed Hunt to the Ground forcefully, and managed to give him a good punch and knee pounding from the side mount position.  Hunt almost managed to stand up for a moment, but Bobish used his wrestling and size to control him and keep him down.  Bobish landed quite a few brutal and well-placed knees to the top of Hunt’s head. 

Bobish’s stamina seemed to be holding up fairly well, and Bobish had hunt pinned against the ropes as he continued to deliver punishing knees to his body.  The referee stopped things and repositioned the fighters in the center of the ring with Bobish in the side mount.  Bobish continued to lay on Hunt, and landed some damaging and heavy hands to his face.  Hunt showed his back once again briefly, and Bobish actually attempted an ugly rear neck crank that looked like he wanted to pull Hunt’s head off from behind.  Finally, after absorbing an unreal amount of punishment, Hunt forced his way back to his feet and seemed ready to do a little punishing of his own.  This time, Bobish attempted a takedown, but was met by a brutal uppercut and a deflection.  Hunt sealed the deal with a heavy knee to the top of Bobish’s head while he was down on his hands and knees, and backed off just long enough for Bobish to briefly stand up.  But after Bobish collapsed again under his own wobbly knees, the referee jumped in and ended the fight. 

Mark Hunt by first round TKO.

When asked about how his training helped him with his fight, Hunt said, “Every time I thought about the escape I was going to do, I lost it because he hit me in the head.”  “I just had to get up somehow.” Hunt also added, “I think Dan just gassed out.”

Dan Henderson vs. Kazuhiro Nakamura

Nakamura came out explosively with a big flying knee attempt and some aggressive low kicks, but Henderson quickly punished the effort with a strong left straight that flattened Nakamura.  Henderson then also went to the ground, and controlled Nakamura briefly with what transitioned into a standing headlock.  Suddenly, Henderson used his standing headlock to brutally hurl Nakamura backward onto his back and shoulder. In the next few seconds, it soon became apparent that Nakamura’s shoulder had been badly hurt somehow as he jerked and flung about, and the referee quickly jumped in to stop the action. 

Dan Henderson by first round TKO.

When asked about his future plans after the fight, Dan said, “I’ll fight anybody they give me.  I’d love to fight at the New Year’s Eve show.  It doesn’t matter who I fight – just give me an opponent.  Also, when asked about his thoughts about his year long absence from the PRIDE ring, Dan added, “They’ve pretty much heard what I’ve had to say and I probably shouldn’t say anything publicly.  They’ve been good to me throughout the years and it really wasn’t their fault.”

Mirko Filipovic vs. Josh Barnett

Barnett came out extremely aggressive, and actually managed to initiate the Muay Thai clinch and land some knees as CroCop continuously tried to back away and make space.  CroCop threw a badly aimed high kick that Barnett ducked from, and this caused Mirko to slip to the canvas. Barnett quickly capitalized on this opportunity by pouncing on him, but then a most unfortunate and sudden thing happened.  CroCop had Barnett’s arms tied up at his sides, and as Barnett pulled free from CroCop’s grip it appears that he pulled too hard or in a strange way and dislocated his shoulder in the process.  Realizing he was injured, Josh quickly tapped out.  It took Mirko a second to realize what had just happened as Barnett stood up and backed away, and Mirko threw a quick array of punches that hit air. 

Mirko Filipovic by unfortunate injury submission.

In a great show of class, Mirko had this to say in the ring after the fight, “I’m very sorry the fight ended the way it did.  But Josh showed big heart and big guts, so he’ll get a rematch anytime he wants.” 

When asked about his fight with Barnett, CroCop said, “It was his only chance – to run into me and see if he can take me down.  But now I’m ready.  It’s no problem for me to fight on the ground.  Did it surprise me to go on the ground?  No, I just slipped and that’s it.  I never make any strategy.  I just wait for the fight to start and I just see what my opponent’s doing.”  Also, when asked about his offering a future rematch to Josh CroCop said, “Since the fight was so short, I feel responsible in a way to give a rematch to Josh Barnett if he wants it.

Wanderlei Silva vs. Quinton Jackson

The final match began with both fighters having their national anthems played – a very patriotic gesture, but it seemed like the fighters couldn’t wait to have it end so that they could get on with the fighting.  Following the American and Brazilian national anthems, there was a bit of a ceremonious reading by Takada that further seemed to take the wind out of both fighters sails.  Both fighters seemed to be virtually jumping out of their skin after all was said and done and it was actually time to get it on.

From the second the bell rang Rampage closed the distance and went for the clinch.  Both fighters were happy to exchange Muay Thai knees to the body from the clinch, but both took turns trying to take each other to the ground as well.  After a somewhat low-blow knee from Rampage, both fighters were separated momentarily and Wanderlei seemed to quickly recover.  Rampage quickly apologized for the miss.  He didn’t seem afraid to go fist-to-fist with Silva at all, and was actually making some pretty good progress landing strikes.  Silva continued to land the occasional scary and somewhat effective high Muay Thai knee to Rampage’s upper body, but both fighters kept going strong.  After a violent assault of punches and knees by Wanderlei, Rampage managed to take Wanderlei to the ground for the first time with something of a partial headlock, but both fighters were quickly stood up and separated again because one of them was bleeding.  It was difficult to discern who the blood was actually coming from at that point.

Action resumed with Rampage in Wanderlei’s guard in the center of the ring.  Wanderlei worked to close the guard while Rampage worked some ground and pound action.  At one point, as Wanderlei attempted a triangle choke and Rampage worked his way back to his feet, it almost looked like he would attempt another Arona-Rampage-esque slam on Silva.  Surprisingly, little happened for the next two minutes or so as each fighter worked for an advantage on the ground, and Silva was mostly unable to close his guard.  It seemed like a lot of Wanderlei’s strategy at this point involved tiring-out Rampage and possibly waiting for the referee to stand things up.  Finally, the referee stood things up, and gave Wanderlei Silva a yellow card for inaction – something you don’t see very often! Silva’s right eye still pretty bad from the pounding that he’d received.  Once again, Rampage managed to take Silva to the ground and to his back, but this time he briefly managed to get into the side mount position for the first time.  Both fighters seemed to be getting rather tired, but not completely worn-out.  Silva found himself in the worst position of the fight – with Rampage in a ¾ mount and pounding away at his head with knees and punches – as the bell rang ending first round action.

Round 2

Both fighters came out brawling fiercely, and Rampage once again managed to take Silva down.  This time though, Silva got back to his feet, and pounced on Rampage reversing things for the first time.  For the first time in the fight, Silva was fighting from within Rampage’s guard.  Rampage seemed to be a bit uncomfortable on his back, but worked patiently to find a way to reverse things.  Silva stood up again, and this time he tried a soccer kick and a face stomp on Rampage who withstood the attack mostly un-phased.  Rampage grabbed Silva by the leg and used the leg to throw Silva off-balance and pull his way back to his feet.  Both fighters resumed striking once again.  This time though, Rampage looked pretty badly beaten, and his left eye was mostly swollen shut.  Seconds later, Silva rushed in and this time managed to grab Rampage from behind the neck, and proceeded to brutally throw a series of high Muay Thai knees to the face, similar to the ones that had so effectively ended their previous match last November.  Once Silva released his hold, Rampage quickly plunged forward through the ropes and appeared to be knocked senseless and bloodied.  It was a very vicious scene – Rampage certainly poured every ounce of heart he had into this battle, and put on a terrific show. 

Wanderlei Silva by epic and memorable KO victory.

After the fight, Rampage, in another show of class, embraced his longtime rival in the center of the ring, and seemed to be exchanging some words of admiration with him.  For many people, this fight will indeed bring an end to many long and highly debated questions – especially the question of who PRIDE’s number one middleweight is.

When asked about his feelings towards Rampage, Silva said, “I’m a professional fighter, so for me I think he’s my rival.  But he’s my rival just in the ring.  After this fight I have a good impression of him.  And also I think if now he believes in God this is very good.  This can change his life.”  When asked what he said to Rampage in the ring after the fight, Wanderlei replied, “I told him that we had a good match today and that I thought it went well.  I told him that if he wants to fight again, we can fight again.