TopHistory:
Pride Fighting Championship was founded by Katugi in order to test fighters from all disciplines to find who was better. It all began in 1997 when Rickson Gracie was assigned to fight Nobuhiko Takaba, Japan's famous wrestler. These were the most popular fighters during the time and everyone around wanted to view the spectacle. Originally more than 47,000 people attended the event. This was and still is the world's largest attendance of an MMA [Mixed Martial Arts] event ever. Rules of the Pride FC include those which keep it from being considered street fighting. They keep it so fighters have as much safety as possible and referees are placed in order to keep fighters from getting too hurt. In August of 2002, Pride obtained the record of the world's largest attendance of an MMA event; over 70,000 people reportedly were there.
Mirko 'Cro Cop' Filipovic-
Mirko is a very famous fighter who transferred from the K-1 Grand Prix and eventually took the Pride FC by storm. His signature move is his left head kick, which has knocked out countless amounts of fighters. Recently he signed with the UFC hoping to win another title there, but he was unsuccessful. He later released a statement saying it was his time to retire. He won the open weight championship belt and ended up with a career MMA record of 25-7-2.
Fighters:
Fedor Emelianenko-
Fedor was born in Luhansk, Ukraine. He is the Pride Heavyweight champion who is one of the most feared fighters in the entire world. He originally began with Sambo and Judo training but eventually moved on to grappling techniques. His toe-to-toe stand up abilities and ground game are equally incredible. His overall fighting record is 30-1-0.
Dan 'Hendo' Henderson-
Dan is an incredible fighter who later transferred to the UFC after becoming a champion in two different weight classes of Pride FC. These classes were welterweight and middleweight. He became the first person in a widely known MMA organization to hold a belt from two different weight classes. His final MMA record was 25-7-0.
Wanderlei 'The Axe Murderer' Silva-
Wanderlei well deserves his nickname for his vicious techniques. He was born in Brazil so he is very familiar with the style of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. He went on to become the Pride Middleweight Champion, the Pride Middleweight Grand Prix Champion, and the IVC Light Heavyweight Champion. His overall MMA record is 33-10-1.
Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a martial art based on grappling but also ground fighting. This is based on the principle that a smaller, weaker person can defend themselves from a stronger and larger opponent due to manipulation and chokes.
Fighting Styles:
Boxing- Traditional standup fighting utilizing fists only.
Kickboxing- The use of both legs and fists in order to create more devastating combinations.
Wrestling- Traditional ground fighting using grappling and chokes in order to force an opponent to submit or pin them so they tap out.
Muay Thai is referred to as the Art of Eight Limbs because it utilizes elbow strikes, knees, leg kicks, and punches.
Prizes and Belts:
The fighters listed above are the top athletes in this organization. All of them have won a championship belt but few still hold it. As aforementioned, Dan Henderson still manages to hold belts from two different weight classes at the same time.
