Wednesday MMA Report

Honestly speaking, there hasn't been a hell of a lot going on inside the MMA ring. Talks of PRIDE being bought have been the dominant story, with rumors spreading around the internet quicker than a Paris Hilton video. And although it might be fun to speculate, it's not done much good. PRIDE FC now appears to be a promotion for sale, which will no doubt hurt its Pay-Per-View buys this weekend. The company is no longer high value, something that was once the company's pride (if you'll pardon the ridiculous pun).

PRIDE 33 strikes me as one of the final stanzas of the company's epic poem. Dream stage Entertainment seems to be set upon making a large impact on the American market, something which is absolute suicide. This would be exactly the same as the WWE setting up a show in Japan, where the two audiences appreciate a completely different style of working.

Where the American audience boo, the Japanese audience remain silent; where the Japanese audience cheer for both fighters, the hoards at many recent MMA events simply scream "USA!" in some beer-fuelled fury. It's good to see the sport become mainstream, but at what cost? However, it could be easily debated that the booing and apparent patriotism are a part of the American combat-sport Culture.

After all, the same things go on in Boxing and Professional Wrestling.

I have never quite understood why there are so many boo's at the ground aspect of MMA in the USA; particularly in the UFC.

However, the more exposure groundwork becomes, the more I feel that it will become accepted in the mainstream.

My question today is, does PRIDE have the time to wait for the audience to become more acclimatized to the more drawn out matches that it normally favors?

The card itself looks rather interesting. A quick run down sees many recognizable names, with a few new ones thrown in for good measure.

Recent changes to the card have seen Gilbert Yvel disallowed to fight due to his behavior in a European fight where he attacked the referee; and rightly so. The sport needs exposure from ambassadors, not people who attack helpless individuals merely doing a job. His replacement is one of my favorite fighters, Russian Sergei Kharitonov. He will be facing Mike Russow, in an nothing-to-lose situation for the American.

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira will be taking on Sokoudjou, who is currently training alongside Dan Henderson at Team Quest. My prediction here is Nogueira by knockout; the "African assassin" is an Olympic standard judoka, so it is probably best to stand and trade blows.

The main event sees the reintroduction of Wanderlei Silva on American soils, where he will take on Dan Henderson in a fight that I think is the most intriguing of the night. Dan Henderson is a world class wrestler, with a phenomenal right hand. Wanderlei Silva, however, is perhaps the best Muay Thai practitioner that MMA has ever seen.

PRIDE are literally shooting themselves in the foot with this fight. I've racked my brains since it was first announced, and I still cannot see the point. I understand that Wanderlei Silva needs to be put over as the leading fighter of the promotion, but to put two of your champions against each other solves nothing. If Henderson loses, it makes his division appear to be weak, whereas if Wanderlei loses, the company's Light heavyweight image would be destroyed. Moreover, all talks of a Chuck/Wanderlei match would be called off almost instantly; closing the door on a possible revenue boost, something which is desperately needed.

If PRIDE wish to survive, they need to find new backers and to gain a stronghold in their home country once again. Sadly, I predict that this will not happen anytime soon, the image of the company that was once the leader will become tarnished, and this could be the final nail in the coffin.

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