Review of Pride FC: 21 and 22

Introduction

Continuing FightDVD`s excellent coverage of PRIDE Fighting Championships events, here we are presented with a 2-disc set of PRIDE 21 ("Demolition") and 22 ("Beasts From The East 2").

PRIDE 21 was held on 23rd June 2002, from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, and featured a battle of the professional wrestlers in the main event, as Don Frye faced Yoshihiro Takayama.

PRIDE 22 was held on 29th September 2002, from Nagoya Rainbow Hall in Nagoya, Japan, and culminated with a huge grudge match in Ryan Gracie vs Shungo Oyama.

Video

Video for both events is presented in 4:3 fullscreen PAL, and is very good for a DVD of this genre. If there is one complaint to be made about the image, it is that it is rather soft, a legacy of its NTSC origins. However, with an otherwise excellent image, this will not affect your enjoyment of either event.

Audio

Audio is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0, and is also good for a DVD of this genre. The rather reserved Japanese audience play a part in the audio capture, as they are generally rather quiet and respectful during the bouts, meaning that the smallest of nuances can be heard during many fights, such as instructions from the fighters` corners.

Commentary is expertly provided by Stephen Quadros (now the voice of Cage Rage) and "El Guapo" Bas Rutten.

Features

Although some of the extras here overlap somewhat, they are nice compliments to the in-ring action.

On PRIDE 21, there are text pages of the rules of PRIDE, a glossary of fight terms, fighter bios, and a photo gallery of the ring girls from the event.

On PRIDE 22, again there are the rules of PRIDE, the glossary of fight terms, and the fighter bios, but also a small fighter photo gallery, and a featurette "What is PRIDE?"

Conclusion

PRIDE 21 began with a very cool opening ceremony, after which the 350lb American monster Bob Sapp took to the ring to face the over-matched Kiyoshi Tamura. This was short, and brutal.

Gary Goodridge and Achmed Labasanov then fought a match that had potential in the standing position, but died on the ground, before an unfortunate stoppage claimed the bout between Anderson Silva and Alex Steibling. I say unfortunate, because this was turning into a very good bout.

In a complete style mis-match, the next bout featured kickboxer Gilbert Yvel against ju-jitsu practitioner Jeremy Horn. This was an interesting contest, although I have liked to have seen more in the way of stand-up.

Sadly, the proceeding match is clipped, so that the action begins in the second round. This was particularly grating because of the popularity of Shungo Oyama, as he faced Renzo Gracie. That said, the bout is a little tentative, and should have been a lot better.

The debut of Fedor Emelianenko is next up, as he faces giant Dutch kickboxer Semmy Schilt. The size difference is incredible, considering that Fedor is a big man in his own right. This bout is more intriguing than it is brilliant, though there are several brutal strikes utilised, both standing and on the ground.

If there was ever a definition of a one-match show though, then perhaps this is it, as professional wrestlers Don Frye and Yoshihiro Takayama battled in the main event. In truth, this was a bad example of an MMA contest, in that there was little technique involved in the fight, and it resembled more of a bar-room brawl than anything else. But both fighters displayed incredible desire for the win, Takayama in particular incurring an incredible beating, as the normally-reserved Japanese fans almost rioted in the arena. An absolutely brutal contest, this is one of the must-see bouts in MMA history.

PRIDE 22 opened up with Kevin Randleman facing Michiyoshi Ohara, in what was the debut of the former. He showed flashes of brilliance, but in typical Randleman fashion, failed to capitalise quickly on them. In any case, this bout is spoiled by a terrible editing decision, to leave out the third and final round of the contest.

Guy Mezger then faced Yoshihisa Yamamoto in a bout which was fought in a kickboxing verve, without the actual quality of connections that you would expect from that discipline. Anderson Silva then returned to face Alexander Otsuka, in a long, ground-based affair, which due to the excessive ground-work, will not be to everyone`s palette.

Paulo Filho vs Akira Shoji was an improvement in the next encounter (a great display of finishing ability the highlight) before Heath Herring and Iouri Kotchkine fought an excellent match, attacking and brutal, even when it was on the ground.

Mario Sperry and Andrei Kopylov couldn`t quite live up to that, with an unfortunate injury taking much of the responsibility. Igor Vovchanchyn and Quinton Jackson soon made up for that, however, producing a sparkling contest, which included fantastic striking, as well as Jackson`s patented body-slam technique. The ending was unconventional but that only made the fight all the more memorable.

The main event of Ryan Grace vs Shungo Oyama was another great encounter, and a grudge match from the previous event, which saw Gracie`s brother Renzo fall victim to Oyama. The bout showcased some tremendous technique, as well as a brutal finish, and was an excellent way to wrap up this event.

Overall, this 2-disc set is another mixed bag from PRIDE Fighting Championships. There are a number of disappointing matches on the card, but I am glad to say that these are more than made up for, by four fights in particular: Frye vs Takayama (PRIDE 21) and Herring vs Kotchkine, Vovchanchyn vs Jackson, and Gracie vs Oyama (PRIDE 22). In particular, the former fight is an absolute must-see.

Video is good, audio is good, and the extras are reasonable, although I could have done without them to preserve the two missing rounds during this six hours of action.

If you are looking to fill a gap in your MMA collection, you could do much worse than take a look at this release.