Pride 32: The Real Deal

In one of the final—and most interesting—Pride events ever, Pride 32 marked the promotion’s first trip outside of Japan, as it was held at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. As it was held in the United States, the event was subject to the Nevada State Athletic Commission’s regulations, which meant that fights would be contested under similar rules to those enforced by the UFC.

In the featured bouts of the evening, Josh Barnett, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, and Fedor Emelianenko were all victorious.

More broadly, however, Pride North American broadcasts had begun taking on a troubling inconsistency in style and production value, with fans exposed to ever different versions of the Japanese promotion’s product from one show to the next. It would prove one of the first signs of the trouble brewing in Pride FC, and a clear counterpoint to the now-surging UFC, which continued to offer a predictably consistent Pay-Per-View show format.

Another black eye for the promotion was the number of failed drug tests on the card. Three fighters either failed post-fight drug tests or had issues with their urine sample: Kevin Randleman, Vitor Belfort and Pawel Nastula. The NSAC stated that Randleman's urine sample was "non-human urine or urine from a dead human being," Belfort tested positive for synthetic testosterone and Nastula tested positive for the anabolic steroid Nandrolone.