Search - Pride Fighting Championships: Final Conflict 2005 on DVD

Must-see for all MMA fans

Michael J. Farrell | San Diego, CA | 09/18/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A solid conclusion to the 2005 Middleweight GP and the 2 best heavyweights in the world going toe-to-toe!

Fight-by-fight rankings without total spoilers.

Overeem vs Rua 8/10
Two good strikers who also have grappling skills. A good decisive finish to a good fight.

Silva vs Arona 5/10
Ricardo Arona of brazilian top team waited a long time to get a shot at middleweight champ vanderlei silva. This fight unfortunately didn't settle all that much, and would have been better in a non-tournament format (3 rounds).

Vovchanchyn vs Nakamura 2/10
Two guys who were already eliminated from the tournament. Bad matchup in terms of styles. Like watching paint dry. No offense to these fighters, they're both good, but this fight was a dud.

Abbot vs Yoshida 6/10
In case part of you still longs to see Tank Abbot's brawling style, then you should check out this fight. Otherwise, it's not that interesting of a matchup IMO. Does anyone think this fight could turn out differently?

Werdum vs Russian fighter? 8/10
Some decent submission wrestling from these two and a surprisingly good submission.

Crocop vs champion Emelianenko 9/10
In case you haven't watched any Pride over the last few years, these two guys are probably the 2 best heavyweights in the world (apologies to Nogueira). Crocop is a murderous kickboxer with a left kick that has knocked out multitudes (both to the liver and the head) and a stiff straight left, but surprisingly few other offensive weapons. He has evolved into a great grappler, with amazing takedown defense and a good guard. Fedor Emilianenko is the undefeated Pride heavyweight champion. He is amazingly well-rounded, able to throw the hardest strikes I've seen from a ground-and-pound fighter. And he out kickboxed Nogeira. He submitted Coleman and Randleman. He has beaten everyone convincingly, and doens't appear to have any weaknesses. These two FINALLY tangle, and the first round alone is amazing. I would give it a 10+ except that after the first round it isn't as competitive.

Final of the Middleweight tournament 9/10
What a relief to have a solid winner of the tournament, unlike the 2004 heavyweight GP. The future's bright for this winner."

The MMA event of 2005!

greverio | Centreville, Virginia United States | 09/22/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Middleweight Grand Prix Semifinals and Finals would be contested on one night ending an impressive tournament that took three shows to complete. Along with the tournament, 4 other fights would be added, including the most anticipated heavyweight match in recent memory.

With the ever present probability that an injury can occur to one of the Grand Prix participants, Pride decided to have an alternate match. The winner of this alternate match would then be able to step up just in case they were needed. Pride decided on Kazuhiro Nakamura and Igor Vovchanchyn. Both fighters lost in the previous round, but both were eager to engage just in case the call came. Nakamura fought a game fight against defending Middleweight Grand Prix (and current Middleweight Champion) Wanderlei Silva. In that bout, Nakamura decided to sport a sleeveless Gi-top. For some reason though, he decided to dramatically take off his top during the fight, this was a mistake he would regret. Wanderlei, seeing Nakamura rather motionless while taking off the gi top, immediately charged Nakamura...knocking him down and mounting him. The fight was called due to excessive damage dished out by Silva on Nakamura. He was ready to erase his embarrassing theatrical backfire and focus on taking on the "Ice Cold" Ukrainian fighter. At the announcement of Igor Vovchanchyn's participation in the 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix, many immediately touted him as a favorite. It was understandably a safe bet; Igor was at once the best fighter in the world and reached the finals of the 2000 Open Weight Grand Prix. His performances in the 2005 middleweight Tournament though left many wondering if it was a wise choice to cut down weight. His first round victory against Yuki Kondo was a close decision and Igor fought a very conservative fight. His second round fight was a disaster as he was chocked into submission against Alistair Overeem. It seemed that Vovchanchyn was a step slower and lacked the explosive power many had grown accustomed to. With a chance to redeem him and possibly earn another shot at the Grand Prix, this opportunity appeared to be perfect. The alternate fight was won via unanimous decision in a battle lacking significant action.

Rival Teams, rival Brazilians, and just simply two fighters who do not like each other; this best describes the first of the semi-final match-up for the 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix Championship. Brazilian Top Member Ricardo Arona has waited and faced setbacks, but finally he gets his crack at Wanderlei Silva. Their war of words outside the ring became quite personal at times and only intensified leading up to this fight. Arona's Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu skills are world class, but his MMA style fighting is considered by many as conservative and lacking excitement. That very style though could be ideal for a night that might require two strong efforts. On the flip side, champion Wanderlei Silva was one show from repeating as the Middleweight Grand Prix Champion. This accomplishment would provide as more fuel to Silva's MMA legacy. For the this card, he would have to focus on his rival Arona along with the possibility of facing his younger Chute Boxe teammate Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. Silva seemed quite relaxed and ready.

The other semi-final fight featured Dutch Kickboxer Alistair Overeem who had found a weapon in the guillotine choke as of late. His guillotine submission of both Vitor Belfort and Igor Vovchanchyn impressed many. On his feet, he used his height and footwork well and his ground game looked solid. He had the unique distinction of being the only non-Brazilian left fighting for the tournament, but was ready to be the only one standing at the end. His opponent was another fighter on a roll and a protégé and teammate of Wanderlei Silva. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua has the size, age, and skill to be champion. His destruction of 2003 Grand Prix runner-up Quinton Jackson left many shocked. And his close, but terribly exciting battle with Antonio Rogerio Nogueira provided the ultimate boost leading up to the semi-finals. The two young fighters were ready to make history!

To folks not keen on the BJJ scene, Fabricio Werdum is an unknown fighter. In his debut at Pride 29, Werdum had the unenviable task of facing super heavyweight wrestler Tom Erickson. In that fight, not only did Werdum dominate the larger wrestler but won by submission. As #1 Heavyweight contender Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic's BJJ coach, Werdum was a relative unknown to MMA fans, but after this victory his stock soared. His next opponent would be a Red Devil Sport Club member making his Pride debut. Training with Pride Heavyweight champion Fedor Emelianenko, Roman Zentsov brought an immediate "warning light" to any opponent. He was coming off a couple of defeats, but was rumored to have really been focused to do well in his debut. The Fedor and Cro Cop teammate battle would end via a textbook submission.

In Japan , they really take to heart the hero versus villain fight. Sometimes even to the point of an obvious mismatch. David "Tank" Abbott is a fighter that first established himself in the United States fighting for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). In his "heyday" during the mid to late 1990's Abbott became one of the UFC's most popular fighters. Despite amassing a sub .500 match record and usually coming in very out of shape a colorful Abbott would always be most "fans" favorite. To his credit, he did step up on short notice on several occasions to fight. His right hand was as strong as they came too. The hero he would try to beat was one of Japan 's better fighters and a true fan-favorite. Hidehiko Yoshida was a judo Olympic champion that had successfully transitioned to a solid MMA fighter. His ground technique was as good as they came and his stand up was really coming along. The fight between hero and villain would end rather "suspiciously", but not to anyone's surprise either.

The beauty of this particular card was that it contained essentially two main events in one. The Grand Prix Final, crowning a deserved champion and the Heavyweight Championship battle between two of the most dangerous fighters in the world. Fedor Emelianenko has been the man to beat in MMA since his crushing defeat of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at Pride 25 in March of 2003. Fedor's dominance of top-notch opposition coupled with an uncanny ability not to tire or get hurt was part of his impressive arsenal. As a sambo stylist, his submissions were slick and his hands were like to sledgehammers. To this point no one had come close to beating him, but to this point no other fighter as dangerous as Mirko ""Cro Cop" Filipovic had faced him. Cro-Cop had his eyes on Fedor and his championship for a while now. His fight against Fedor would have to be a long one as he would face a couple of losses along the way. With hard work though and a string of impressive victories, Cro Cop finally had his shot. This encounter would live up to the hype and wow many fans with the power unleashed by both fighters

The main event, the 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix championship would end in very dramatic fashion, crowning a deserved champion and putting an exclamation mark on an impressive night"

FEDOR THE RUSSIAN EXPERIMENT!!!!

francisco olalde | elgin illinois | 03/29/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This DVD has to be one of the best is fully loaded with quality fights. Fedor vs Cro Cop is a classic, Fedor is unhuman he is without question the best fighter in the world yes including ALL UFC fighters. Also you will get to see Mauricio "shogun" Rua this kid is amazing and he is the next superstar in MMA"

Excellent fights

Juan Manuel Tello Contreras | México | 03/27/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The final Conflict Championships have 3 excellent fights especially Emelianenko vs Cro COp. Buy it worth every dollar"