Search - Pride Fighting Championships: Pride Fighting Legacy on DVD

The Beginnings Of Pride FC

Arthur Kicker | Your Mom's House | 06/04/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"'Pride: Legacy' is a five disc set chronicling the first five Pride Fighting Championship events. Each event runs from two to three hours long, so for the low price of this set there's no reason you shouldn't already own it.

Pride FC at its beginning is a bit different from the Pride we know today. During the first four events, each match has at least 3 ten-minute rounds, no restarts, and no judges. By Pride 5, there were just 2 ten-minute rounds per match and they had instituted restarts and a judging system. Due to these original rules, there are some occasionally slow matches. But even so, there are some absolute gems here in this set.

Pride, from its inception, stocked their cards with some of the best fighters of the day. I'd say in 90% of the matches, you will know at least one of the fighters. Some of them included here are: Mark Kerr, Carlos Newton, Mark Coleman, Gary Goodridge, just about the entire Gracie family, Vernon White, Igor Vovchancyn, Vitor Belfort, and a lot more.

But the best thing about this set is that you get a good introduction to some fantastic Japanese fighters. Namely Kazushi Sakuraba, probably one of the best(or the single best, in my opinion)and most exciting MMA fighters of all time. You also get to see the early matches of both Akira Shoji and Daijiro Matsui, and you'll quickly see why they are such crowd favorites.

Definitely the best matches in the first 5 Pride events are the Sakuraba fights. He takes on Carlos Newton in an amazingly technical match, has another classic against Vernon White, and he absolutely dismantles Vitor Belfort. He fights on 4 of the 5 cards and all of his fights are amazing. The other major gem here is the Shoji/Matsui match-up. I don't think there are any MMA fighters alive that have more energy and heart than these two guys and they put on an awesome show.

All in all, 'Pride: Legacy' is absolutely worth its meager price tag. Actually, I would've paid twice as much for it. As I said, a few matches due to the old Pride rules get a bit boring, but for the most part all of the events have great matches. If you are a MMA fan, then this is a must-have. Or if you are just getting started, this is a great introduction."

Pride Fighting Championship joins the world of mainstream MM

Matt | NJ | 05/18/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This DVD set covers the first 5 Pride events. Pride Fighting hit the mainstream several years after the UFC had already begun spurring interest in the sport of mixed martial arts, so Pride Fighting received immediate recognition, especially in Japan, where the events are held.

Many veterans of the UFC make appearances at these events and on this collection. We get to witness a fight between Kimo and Dan "The Beast" Severn, Gary "Big Daddy" Goodridge, the Gracie brothers (especially Rickson), Marco Ruas, Carlos Newton, Sakuraba, etc... Mark "The Specimen" Kerr debuts in Pride 2 and makes quite a splash in the sport. Vitor Belfort also takes on Sakuraba in Pride 5. This comes after Belfort is beaten in the UFC by Randy Couture, so it would appear he would be fighting with vengeance, yet Sakuraba picks him apart. Belfort appears to all but give up during the fight. He breaks down in an embarassing performance. Mark Coleman also debuts in Pride 5. He, too, was coming off of some losses in the UFC. He is stopped with a submission in a shocking loss to Takada.

Pride Fighting, especially in its early years, does not seem to be quite as exciting or quite as large a production as the UFC, but there is a lot of fighting history to be witnessed on these DVDs. Pride Fighting is going strong today and this collection marks its' genesis. I recommend it to any fan of MMA. There is also commentary by Pancrase legend Bas Rutton, which is an added bonus.

I will be purchasing the other sets so that I can catch up."

The good old days weren't always so good.

David Bartlett | Ontario, Canada | 09/03/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Having watched a lot of MMA events, I though it would be neat to watch the early fights of Pride. There are some good matches spread across the five discs, however there are some extremely boring fights in this collection. The early events were 'win or draw' outcomes, with no scoring by judges, so managing to survive 3-5 ten minute rounds was enough to earn a draw. There are some real mismatches (e.g. middle weights against 600+ pounders) and some very technical matches that will only interest the hardcore fan. Overall, its worth the price, if only to hear Bas Rutten and Stephen Quadros complaining about some of the bouts (commentators have gotten better over the years). Buy it, but don't be afraid to fast forward through some of the fights."

Not Pride's best, but still well worth the investment

W. Huff | Good Ol' Dorchester, Boston | 11/04/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"The early years of Pride were an odd contrast to the no-holds barred, bar room brawling nature of the early UFCs. The upstart Japanese orginization was able to attract alot of the sport's early legends, but mismatches were frequent. Unlike those Early UFC events which still hold much entertianment value as a result of their brutal and primitive nature, many of these matches were between skilled fighters who had yet to fully develop: as a result some matches ended up being stalemates in which both fighters had too much respect for one another and lacked the experience to mount a meaningful offense. A particuarly bad example of this is the match between Dan Sevren and Kimo, which was so attrociously boring that the ever respectful Japanese crowd began booing, something I have yet to see since.

Yet in alongside of these lackluster fights are many classics. Perhaps no two fighters shone as bright in early Pride as Mark Kerr and Kazushi Sakuraba. Kerr is now remembered as a cautionary tale of the sport; an incredibly promising fighter who fell victim to personal insecurities and an addiction to pain killers. None of those problems are apparent in his fights here, as he displays the dominance that earned him the nickname "The Smashing Machine" to, at times, an almost disturbing degree. On the flipside of Kerr's brutal style is Sakuraba, who later became a legend by defeating four Gracies including Royce. He was just starting his career but already showed the tremendous amount of skill and showmanship that would win him the hearts of fans all over the world. His bout with Carlos Newton is a wonder to watch and stands as one of the most entertianing and impressive displays of grappling in MMA history.

The collection isn't just about Kerr and Sakuraba though. Fighters like Rickson Gracie and Igor Vovchanchyn have impressive displays here, as well as other impressive matches. While it isn't as strong as later Pride events, it remains a must see for true MMA fans."