In no particular order (well, except for number one) the greatest fights in the history of Pride Fighting Championships. Pride Never Die!
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1
- Emelianenko vs. Filipović
- Fedor Emelianenko | Decision
- 2005 | Pride Final Conflict 2005
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SI ranked this as the MMA fight of the decade for the 2000's, and its easy to see why. This legendary showdown of Eastern European heavyweight greats finally got to happen at Final Conflict 2005, and the rest was history...
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2
- Rua vs. Nogueira
- Maurício Rua | Decision
- 2005 | Pride Critical Countdown 2005
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Soccer Kicks, Stomps, back and forth grappling, a heated rivalry, and the chance to advance further in one of MMA's greatest tournaments. Probably the best showing of everything the Pride ruleset had to offer, and a damn great fight to boot.
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3
- Sakurai vs. Hansen
- Hayato Sakurai | Decision
- 2005 | Pride Bushido 9
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Another tournament banger between an up and coming berserker and an old dog proving he can still hang with the best. Semi-final to the 2005 Lightweight Grand Prix
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4
- Gracie vs. Takada I
- Rickson Gracie | Submission | Round 1
- 1997 | Pride 1
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The fight that started it all. Worth more for its story and context than actual fight content, but its where Pride got its start, and we wouldn't have everything else the promotion gave us without Rickson by Armbar.
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5
- Sakuraba vs. Gracie I
- Kazushi Sakuraba | KO/TKO | Round 6
- 2000 | Pride Grand Prix 2000 Finals
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Sakuraba vs Royce Gracie is kind of like the Odyssey for MMA fans, its pretty long and you're not quite sure why you're bothering with it during the boring parts, but its essential viewing for a reason.
My Summary