Search - Pride Fighting Championships: Bushido, Vol. 1 on DVD

Possibly the best MMA event ever

morgoth | omaha, NE | 10/16/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was surprised when reading some of these reviews. I honestly thought that this was maybe the best MMA event I have ever seen. If the Crocop fight would have lasted longer than 40 seconds then I would for sure be saying this was the best event ever. And in case you are wondering, no I did not just start watching MMA, I really think that Bushido volume 1 is one of the very best MMA events ever. I've been watching MMA for about 10 years and I have at least 200 events on DVD from various organizations. And I have even more kickboxing and K-1 events on DVD and VHS. Now to the fights on this disc...









CHRIS BRENNAN vs EIJI MITSUOKA- this is a fun little match. I don't like to give too much away in my reviews, so all I will say is that something controversial happens, but the fight has a good, fitting ending.



CHALID ARRAB vs RODNEY FAVERUS- exciting match with nonstop action. Great work from both fighters.



MAURICIO SHOGUN RUA vs AKIRA SHOJI- as mentioned by Royce Gracie, Bas Rutten and the other commentator, Shoji has a lot of heart, but Shogun is very young and has amazing striking skills. This isn't much of a fight, but Shoji does try his best and tries to make it competitive, and the fight has a very exciting foot stomp ending.



MIRKO CROCOP vs DOS CARAS JR- Dos Caras looks scared and gets knocked out very quickly. Disappointing fight. The best part of the fight is Mirko's pre fight interview. Bas Rutten asks Mirko what he thinks of Dos Caras wearing a mask in their fight, and Mirko says "why is he wearing a mask?"









TEAM GRACIE vs TEAM JAPAN- I agree with what Henzo Gracie and the announcers say. It is not Japan vs the Gracies, that is just to hype up us fans and get us to buy the PPV. But still, it does make it more fun, especially since it gets tied up at 2-2, and the 5th match decides which team is the winner.



RENZO GRACIE vs CARLOS NEWTON- pretty much the entire fight is spent on the ground, and with 2 masters at the ground game it is a very exciting match. Most of the time when guys are on the ground the whole fight it gets boring, but not this fight.



RALPH GRACIE vs DOKONJONOSUKE MISHIMA- I have never seen Ralph fight before, and after seeing this fight I would like to see a lot more of him. He hadn't fought in a MMA competition match in about 6 years, but he doesn't look rusty. Ralph punches very hard, but Mishima is much better on the ground. So who will win this exciting fight?



DANIEL GRACIE vs KAZUHIRO NAKAMURA- I was really excited to see this fight, so maybe that's why I was a bit letdown. It's a competitive match, but is it just me, or are Daniel Gracie's arms too big to throw effective punches? His arms are incredibly big. He's a good puncher, but it seems like he could be a lot more effective if his arms weren't so big. Maybe he was in a body building contest or something a couple weeks before the fight, I don't know. It's a good exciting fight. I was just expecting more.



RODRIGO GRACIE vs DAIJU TAKASE- Rodrigo has good striking skills and a killer right hand, and of course a good ground game, but Takase is a very sound fighter. Not the most exciting fight, but only because they are so equal. I thought it was a great fight, but I can see people getting a little bored by it. But stick around for the end where they start throwing bombs. Nobody could possibly be disappointed by that.



RYAN GRACIE vs KAZUHIRO HAMANAKA- now, I must first point out that I am a Ryan Gracie megafan. I've only seen him fight 9 times (7 in Pride), but I would pay very good money to see him fight again. To be honest, I find him scary. No exaggeration, the guy gives me the chills. I can't even imagine having to fight him. This fight doesn't have the most satisfying ending because one of the fighters gets injured, but still a decent fight, and with how loose of a cannon Ryan Gracie is, it is definitely worth watching. And Ryan's pre and post fight stuff is actually more interesting than the fight itself. Maybe (but doubtfully) Ryan was just putting on a good show, but he comes off like a bad guy, and is truly scary. No wonder Yoshida never fought him. Who would want to get in the ring with a maniac like Ryan Gracie?



On a side note, I really don't want to, but I feel I must mention this. RIP Ryan Gracie. About a year ago he died in a jail cell on the same night he went to jail for multiple violent charges. Cause of death was a mixture of illegal drugs with prescription drugs. He had a lot of other problems with the law in his past. I just wish he could have controlled his anger problems, because deep down inside somewhere I think he had some good in him. You are greatly missed Ryan.









2 BONUS FIGHTS- to see these fights, you have to click on "select a fight". That is the only way to find these fights on the disc.



ALEKSANDER EMILIANENKO vs ASSUERIO SILVA- this fight seemed like it was going to be an easy win for Aleksander, but later in the fight Aleksander gets tired and Silva finds his groove and starts connecting with his punches. But is it too little too late?



SERGEI KHARITONOV vs JASON SUTTIE- quick, somehwat exciting fight where one fighter completely overpowers the other.

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