Your favorite fights

[Technosphile]

Hey:

No special rules here, just share some of your favorite MMA/K-1 matches. Mine:

Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Frank Shamrock, RINGS Rise 2nd, 4/??/99
You don't often see a fight go back and forth the way this one did. Explosive from the very beginning, Shamrock and Tamura display their skills when both men were arguably in their prime. They trade submissions. They trade strikes. They fight with honor, dignity, and the utmost respect. A must-see.

Alexander Otsuka vs. Renzo Gracie, PRIDE 8, 11/21/99
What an amazing match! Otsuka has really fallen hard since this time period, but at PRIDE 8 he was golden. Renzo attempts an armbar and it looks like Alex is finished, but then he does a headstand to escape from the hold! The final two minutes of this bout cap an outstanding performance by both men.

Gilbert Yvel vs. Semmy Schilt, RINGS Holland, 6/20/99
I include this fight for the sheer horror that it is--you will never see Semmy look creepier than he did here, and Yvel fought as if Semmy had raped his mother or something. Bloody, brutal, brilliance.

Bas Rutten vs. Frank Shamrock, Pancrase 5/16/96
Another brutal match where both fighters fall out of the ring hard at one point. Bas' kicks were always amazing, but they seemed to have a bit more mustard on them than usual in this match. An unfortunate ending, but we all know who was winning anyway...

Igor Vovchanchyn vs. Nobuhiko Takada, PRIDE 11, 10/31/00
For once in his career, Takada looked like a real fighter. Having Ricco Rodriguez in his corner really seemed to help him, as I have never seen Takada so aggressive before or since. Well...maybe against Vader.

Mirko Filipovic vs. Vanderlei Silva, PRIDE 20, 4/28/02
Silva got lucky. He landed maybe two punches standing up (out of at least 50 thrown), he does no real damage to Filipovic on the ground, and his ribs take a beating that literally shows. Round one is mainly a draw, two and three you have to give to Silva simply because he's doing his usual ground-and-pound stuff. Four and five, well, I bet Vanderlei sees Mirko in his nightmares. The staredown at the start is worth buying the tape for alone.

Rumina Sato vs. Kaoru Uno, SHOOTO 10th Anniversary show, 5/29/99
I'm trying to decide what to say about this match, yet nothing comes. All I can really say is that its a wonderful bout between two true champions of the sport. Please check this one out if you have not seen it.

Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Royler Gracie, PRIDE 8, 11/21/99
A savage beating. Royler gives up a lot of weight here yet remains cocky, and he pays for it. Sakuraba just destroys him for two rounds and ends it with a gorgeous kimura. I really can't believe that Rickson and co. debated this match.

Your turn!

-Technosphile

[Gracie apologist]

Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Royce Gracie
Pride Grand Prix finals / May 1, 2000 / Tokyo Dome
this should go down as one of the great marathon bouts in MMA history..

Naoya Ogawa vs. Shinya Hashimoto
UFO vs. New Japan / Jan 4, 1999 / Tokyo Dome
still on the fence as to whether this was an actual shoot or not (because of the inexplicable referee bump), but Ogawa legit lays the beats down on a woefully undermatched and out of shape Hashimoto..

i concur wholeheartedly with you on Silva vs. CroCop from Pride 20 and Tamura vs. Frank Shamrock from R*INGS 4/99, too..