| | | | | GAME
PLAN | | Holy salkow, Batman, Miki’s back! Yes, Japan’s very own Babe on Ice, Miki Ando, roared back to form in the opening event of the Grand Prix figure skating series, not only winning October’s Skate America competition in Connecticut, but overshadowing younger teen star Mao Asada, everybody’s current tip for greatness. Ando, of course, was panned after finishing a disappointing 15th at the Turin Olympics, but she’s lost a bit of chunkiness and taken her skating to a higher level; maybe now she will start to fulfill her promise. Next up on the calendar is the NHK Trophy from November 30 to December 3 in Nagano. Japan’s women skaters are hot right now. Catch them while you can. FV See sports listings for details.
| By
Fred Varcoe
The power of PRIDE
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| A crowd-pleasing combination:
Kazushi Sakuraba (top) and Wanderlei Silva (bottom) |
The Japanese have long had affection for
fighting disciplines, be it classic martial arts (judo, karate,
kendo), the theater of pro wrestling, modern pugilism (boxing)
or the all-in-one fun of K-1. But there's one discipline
that prides itself on being the meanest, baddest, toughest
of them all. That is, PRIDE.
Like K-1, PRIDE is also an amalgam of various disciplines.
Others might say it's more a lack of discipline, and
the impression is that it's as near as you can get
to street fighting in a ring. As the organizers of PRIDE put
it themselves: "PRIDE is the fighting arena where real
men vow to fight for their pride." The idea is exactly
what it seems: To have a disciplined sport that comes as close
to real fighting (street fighting, if you like) as possible.
Combatants, who wear the lightest of gloves, can kick, punch,
grapple, hold and force submissions. PRIDE wants all practitioners
of fighting arts to be able to compete in the same arena.
So the karate expert can face up to the boxer, the kickboxer
can challenge the wrestler, and the judo master can take on
the Bob Sapps of the world. PRIDE has even provided events
where teams from specific fighting disciplines face up to
each other (judo vs. karate, wrestling vs. judo, etc.).
Sapp, the icon of K-1, briefly dropped into the world of PRIDE
but chose not to stick around. Big Bob's 170-kilogram
frame can deliver a mega punch, but he has yet to prove himself
as an all-around fighter. And PRIDE fighters regard themselves
as being the real McCoys, although the McCoys in this instance
are the Gracies, the legendary Brazilian family that essentially
founded the discipline and now provide the sport with four
top fighters (three brothers, Ricson, Royce and Royler, and
their cousin Renzo).
Unfortunately the Gracies won't be on show at the summer's
big PRIDE event, the PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix 2003 on
Aug 10 at Saitama Super Arena. However, Brazilian world middleweight
champion Wanderlei "The Axe Murderer" Silva
will be there, squaring off against seven rivals, including
a rare representative-Chuck "The Iceman"
Liddell-of America's rival to PRIDE, the Ultimate
Fighting Championship, whose president, Dana White, has been
having a war of words with his Japanese counterpart, Nobuyuki
Sakakibara.
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| Hidehiko Yoshida (left)
submitting Don Frye(right) with a triangle hold |
"President Sakakibara made some comments
about UFC and said he was declaring war," White told
Metropolis. "I see this as an opportunity for Chuck
to come in and face all the top middleweights in PRIDE and
win the PRIDE Grand Prix. Now Mr Sakakibara has to send some
fighters over to the UFC and put his money where his mouth
is." Fighting talk, for sure.
The Iceman may look meaner than most, but his fellow fighters
are fierce as well, including Barcelona's judo gold
medalist Hidehiko Yoshida, 33, who was 78kg then but is now
up to 100kg. Yoshida will face compatriot Kiyoshi Tamura while
Liddell will battle Dutch giant Alistair Overeem, a 1.96-meter-tall
kickboxer. The remaining matchups see Silva take on the third
Japanese in the draw, veteran PRIDE fighter Kazushi Sakuraba,
while the second American in the lineup, wrestler Quinton
"Rampage" Jackson, attempts to overcome the
second Brazilian, the overtly handsome Ricardo Arona. The
Saitama tournament is not a knockout event; the four winning
fighters will advance to the Final Conflict at the Tokyo Dome
on November 9.
Even the PRIDE website describes some of the action as "disturbing"
and, despite the pro-wrestling-type hype the organizers use
to pump up the bill, you can be sure these guys are out there
to hurt each other. If it's too gruesome to watch live,
you have the option of viewing from the comfort of your own
bathroom on Sky PerfecTV (pay per view), channel 180, 181
or 186.
Photos courtesy of PRIDE;
Fred Varcoe
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