Japan should be ashamed!

[Balisong]

GROUND CONTROL,

Renzo clearly won the first round, but there was that time in the 1st rd where Renzo had his arms wrapped around Sakuraba, and he held him against the ropes to catch his breath or plan his next move or something. Sak did not do anything at all either, but Renzo was in control and let the clock run. Also, it's fair to say that both of them may have been waiting for a restart, but-

Let's forget about names for a second....

Fighter A has his arms wrapped around fighter B. A pins B to the ropes. A has B in control, and B looks like he is waiting to counter what A attempts. However A is in control but doesn't do anything for a significant amount of time so the ref restarts.

That's precisely what happened with Renzo and Sakuraba. Renzo was fighter A, and Sakuraba was fighter B.

I also saw the Abu Dhabi photo of Sak and Renzo. After the Royler fight in Pride 8, Sak also had the icebags around his ankles at the post fight interview. After typing this long thread, i'll put some ice bags on my fuc#ing finger tips.
It doesn't matter though. I still think Renzo got his arm dislocated because he fell asleep in the last minute. I already learned this lesson in a BJJ match where they announced 1 minute left, and for some stupid reason, I decided to give only about 50% of what I had. I believe I was better than my opponent, but in that last minute, he turned up the heat, got side control and keylocked me.

I hope everybody who saw the fight did not learn from Renzo's error because it will give me the advantage in the same situation.

As for Renzo and Sakuraba it's a little obvious that the fight could have gone either way.



[Edited by Balisong on 10-01-2000 at 09:58 PM]

[E1am]

It's all about what the fans want ...

Keith,

The fact is that the Gracie name is what draws fans in Japan. And the art of jiu-jitus gets a lot of respect. DSE is making money selling Pride to the Japanese public, not to us MMA geeks on Mousel's Forum. Most Japanese fans want to see their pro-wrestling heros kick the crap out of foreign fighters. That's why Fujita is so popular even though he had so much less skill that a lot of other Pride fighters. It's the Japanese fans that wanted to see Takada vs. Rickson, not once but twice. But luckily, non-Gracie foreign fighters seem to be gaining in popularity here. So I wouldn't be suprised if in the near future the Japanese MMA scene will be more about the best fights possible than the best arranged fights to get a Japanese win. Look at K-1. Their biggest stars aren't Japanese.

[EJ]

SCOREBOARD

Renzo lost.

[Zhoozhitsu]

Exactly E1. NHB promoters aren't exactly raking in the dough. So if the Gracies have to get the livin' sh*t beat outta them for purses to rise, then that's a small step for the Gracies and a large step for mankind.

[cello]

I agree with you kiethws, we do have some real tough guys here that are willing to fight, and pose a serious threat to sak. Hell, i said it before, i dont think dudes like ryan can pull it off. All I'm asking, and maybe Im just asking for too much is alittle respect. But its all good, everyone is entitled to there own opinion and are accountable for there own actions.


c