PRIDE: Encyclopedia - PRIDE

PRIDE

PRIDE or PRIDE Fighting Championships is a mixed martial arts organization based in Japan, promoted by Dream Stage Entertainment. Its inaugural event was held at the Tokyo Dome on October 11, 1997. It is the most popular MMA organization in the world based on the number of event attendees: the Pride Final Elimination 2003 event had 65,000 people in the audience. The audience record is 90,000 people on the Pride and K-1 co-production called Shockwave/Dynamite held in August 2002.

Pride's rules result in similar styles of fighting as seen in Ultimate Fighting Championship in the United States. Unlike the UFC, where matches take place within a cage, Pride holds its bouts within a boxing style ring. Notable differences between Pride FC and the UFC are:

• Kicking and kneeing a downed opponent are allowed in Pride but not in UFC.
• Elbows to the head/face are allowed in UFC but not in Pride.

PRIDE - Pride Rules

PRIDE - Match length

Most PRIDE FC matches are broken down as follows:

There are two-minute breaks between rounds.

PRIDE - Victory

Matches are won via:

• Ippon

• Technical Knockout
  • Referee Stoppage---If the referee sees that one fighter is completely dominant to the point of endangering his opponent, the referee will stop the match.
  • Doctor Stoppage---In the event that a fighter is injured (via fair methods) and cannot continue the match, his opponent will be declared the winner. The ring doctor will be the one to determine whether the fighter can continue or not. In the event that an injury was caused by illegal methods, the perpetrator will be disqualified.
  • Forfeited Match---A fighter's corner throws in the towel.
• Decision

• Disqualification

• No Contest

PRIDE - Grounds for disqualification

The following acts are regarded as "illegal actions." When a fighter commits any of these illegal actions, he will be given a warning from the referee (in the form of a yellow card). Warnings will be considered as negative points in the event that the match goes to a decision. Three warnings will result in a disqualification.

1. No head butting, eye gouging, hair pulling, biting or fish-hooking.
2. No attacking the groin.
3. No strikes (kicks, elbows, punching) to the back of the head (which includes the occipital region and the spine). The sides of the head and the area around the ears are not considered to be the back of the head.
4. No small joint manipulation (control of four or more fingers/toes is necessary).
5. No elbow strikes to the head and face.
6. No intentionally throwing your opponent out of the ring.
7. No running out of the ring.
8. No purposely holding the ropes. Fighters cannot purposely hang an arm or leg on the ropes. Hanging on the ropes will result in an immediate warning.
9. No kicks or knees to the head or the face of an opponent who falls face down.
10. No application of oil, ointment, spray, Vaseline, massaging cream, hair cream, or any other substances is permitted to any part of the fighter's body before and during the fights. The discovery of any of these substances will result in a disqualification.

PRIDE - Notes

• In the event that a fighter is injured by illegal actions, then at the discretion of the referee and ring doctor, the round will attempt to be resumed after enough time has been given to the fighter to recover. If the match cannot be continued due to the severity of the injury then the fighter who perpetrated the action will be disqualified.
• In the event that both fighters are on the verge of falling out of the ring, the referee will alert them and ask them not to move. The fighters must immediately stop their movements and will then be pulled back to the center of the ring, exactly in the position they were in. They will then resume the fight at the referee's call.
• The “No Contest” Rule---When an illegal action disqualifies both fighters or the judges decide to stop the fight because of an accident (in the first round), then the fight shall be called a "No Contest." However, in the case that the accident happens during or after the second round, a decision shall be made according to the fighter's performance during the first round and the preceding round(s) before the accident occurred.
• Upon the fighter's choice, Gi, kneepads, elbow-pads, shin guards, taping and ankle supporter may be worn, but each should be checked by the referee before the fight. Mouthpieces and cups are mandatory for fighters.
• Weight classes are as follows:

Middleweight Class: Weight less than 93 kg/205 lb. Heavyweight Class: Weight more than or equal to 93 kg/ 205 lb.

• If both fighters are in the middleweight class: If there is a weight difference of 10 kg/22 lb or more between the fighters, then the lighter fighter is given a choice on whether or not to permit knees or kicks to the face when the fighters are in the "four points position."
• If both fighters are in the heavyweight class: If there is a weight difference of 15 kg/33 lb or more between the fighters, then the lighter fighter is given a choice on whether or not to permit knees or kicks to the face when the fighters are in the "four points position."
• If the match is between a middleweight and heavyweight: If there is a weight difference of 10 kg/22 lb or more between the fighters, then the lighter fighter is given a choice on whether or not to permit knees or kicks to the face when the fighters are in the "four points position."
• The PRIDE FC ring is 7 meters by 7 meters (approximately 23 feet by 23 feet).

PRIDE - Additional notes

Rules for the BUSHIDO events are generally the same as PRIDE FC rules with some exceptions:

• In BUSHIDO fights are two rounds (instead of three). The first round is ten (10) minutes, and the second round is five (5) minutes. There are no extra rounds. If the fight goes the distance then judges decide on a winner.
• For BUSHIDO "Challenge Matches," fights are two (2) rounds. The first and second rounds are five (5) minutes each. If the fight goes to the full time limit no decision will be rendered. The fight will be ruled a draw.
• In BUSHIDO, red cards are used in the same way that yellow cards are used in PRIDE FC. In BUSHIDO, if fighters commit the following actions, they shall be given a red card by officials: Stalling or failure to initiate any offensive attack, making no attempt to finalize the match or damage the opponent, and holding the opponent's body with the arms and legs to produce a stalemate. A red card results in a 10% deduction/fine of the fighter's fight purse. A major difference in the penalty card system between PRIDE FC and BUSHIDO is that in PRIDE FC a total of three yellow cards results in a disqualification, while in BUSHIDO red cards can be given out in an unlimited number without disqualification

GRAND PRIX tournament events follow the same rules as standard PRIDE FC events with one exception:

• The round format shall be ten (10) minutes for the first round and five (5) minutes for the second round during tournaments in which fighters must fight more than once in the same event (most commonly in an event that will have the semi-finals and finals). During the opening round of a tournament in which the fighter will only be fighting once that evening, then the round format is the standard 10-5-5.

PRIDE - PRIDE current champions

Recent Tournament champions:

PRIDE - Notable Pride Fighters

Note: some fighters occasionally change their weight class.

PRIDE - Heavyweight more than or equal to 93 kg / 205 lb

• Fedor Emelianenko (Current PRIDE FC Heavyweight Champion; PRIDE FC 2004 Heavyweight Grand Prix Champion)
• Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (First PRIDE FC Heavyweight Champion; Former PRIDE FC Interim Heavyweight Champion; PRIDE FC 2004 Heavyweight Grand Prix finalist)
• Mark Coleman (PRIDE FC 2000 Grand Prix Champion)
• Mirko Filipović
• Sergei Kharitonov
• Kazuyuki Fujita
• Semmy Schilt
• Nobuhiko Takada
• Mark Hunt
• Gary Goodridge
• Heath Herring

PRIDE - Middleweight less than 93 kg / 205 lb

• Wanderlei Silva (PRIDE FC Middleweight Champion & PRIDE FC 2003 Middleweight Grand Prix Champion)
• Mauricio Rua (Pride FC 2005 Middleweight Grandprix Champion)
• Ricardo Arona (Pride FC 2005 Middleweight Grandprix finalist)
• Quinton Jackson (PRIDE FC 2003 Middleweight Grand Prix finalist)
• Igor Vovchanchyn (PRIDE FC 2000 Grand Prix finalist)
• Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
• Kazushi Sakuraba
• Hidehiko Yoshida
• Alistair Overeem
• Kazuhiro Nakamura
• Yuki Kondo
• Murilo Rua

PRIDE - Welterweight less than 84 kg / 185 lb

• Dan Henderson (PRIDE FC 2005 Welterweight Grand Prix Champion)
• Murilo Bustamante (PRIDE FC 2005 Welterweight Grand Prix finalist)
• Ryo Chonan
• Ikuhisa Minowa
• Phil Baroni
• Daniel Acacio
• Nino Schembri
• Akihiro Gono
• Milton Veira

PRIDE - Lightweight less than 73 kg / 160 lb

• Takanori Gomi (PRIDE FC 2005 Lightweight Grand Prix Champion)
• Hayato Sakurai (PRIDE FC 2005 Lightweight Grand Prix finalist)
• Jens Pulver
• Charles Bennett
• Tatsuya Kawajiri
• Luis Azeredo
• Joachim Hansen
• Masakazu Imanari
• Yves Edwards
• Dokonjonsuke Mishima

PRIDE - PRIDE Events

PRIDE - PRIDE chants

Like many other notable wrestling/MMA competitions, there are certain chants which are used often within the fights.

• "EO（エオー！）":Often used when a Chute Boxe Academy fighter stamps on the opponent.
• "Waay（ウェーイ！）":Used when one man is on fours and the other fighter is kneeing him on the head.

See also

• Mixed Martial Arts
• List of male mixed martial artists
• Ultimate Fighting Championship
• K-1

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "PRIDE", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki