Pride Fighting Vs. UFC

I'm a little out of the whole MMA, but does one have tougher fighters than the other?

I keep hearing Fedor Emelianenko......I saw his clips on youtube...seems like a really tough guy....
does pride have tougher fighters...or does pride just happen to have a really tough heaveyweight guy right now?

I mean...ufc matt hughes.....he;s tough...not heaveyweight...but for his class is tough....

So basically, I'm just saying I don't know just to keep this kicked.

do u watch the series ulltimate fighter on spike?

But I did catch a bunch of season two when they had a marathon one weekend.

But from what I've read they been in trouble lately over iN Japan... the television station they were on has not renewed their contract due to a Yakuza connection scandel or something. I'm not completely sure so I don't want to give insufficient information.

I know quite a few MMA fans though that prefer Pride fighters to UFC but I myself can't give an answer.

I wonder if the rules are strciter in Pride....

Got huge into it when I lived over there. Pride pays (or rather paid) a lot more than any American company, and, as such, they pull some absolutely tremendous talent to their organization. Fedor is quite possibly the toughtest MMA fighter currently working on the planet, and he has been ranked the number one world heavyweight fighter for about a year and a half now (he's going through major hand problems at the moment, so he might be losing that designation shortly.). He is almost impossible to submit and even harder to hurt--his most famous "Hulk up" of all time was when Kevin Randleman gave hima massive suplex and dropped him directly on his neck. Fedor calmly scooted sideways after landing and locked on a submission for the win. The guy really is the best in MMA.

Pride is definitely world-class, or was until last week, and I do recommend tracking down some of the more recent shows--especially the 2004 middleweight Grand Prix that ended with Wanderlei Silva's domination of Quentin Jackson.

Rules are quite a bit different than UFC--fighters fight in a normal ring, no elbowing allowed, knee strikes are allowed, attacking a downed opponent--including kicks to the head--is allowed, and there are generally 3 rounds of 10 minutes-5 minutes--5 minutes.

Unfortunately, Pride is in a massive amount of trouble right now due to very public ties with the Yakuza, and have just lost their TV contract. A lot of Pride talent are now taking offers from other companies, and it is possible that Pride will become a bit player in the scene soon. Most fighters will probably jump to K-1 and HEROES--I doubt that UFC will match their very hig fight purses (Fedor, Wanderlei, Mirko Cro Cop, and some others can make between 500,000 and 1,000,000 per fight--UFC's show openers make about 6,000, and their top stars like Lidell clear just over 250,000.).

you seem extremely knowledgable...
thanks for all the information.

Is that just another league? I see their pay per view stuff advertised all the time. It seems like the quality of fighter in that one isn't up to par with UFC/Pride. Is it like a minor league organization or what? I see that Quentin Jackson is fighting in one of their events.

Thanks for your input, I'm new to the world of MMA.

America has a number of shows that are second tier to the big 3 (K-1, Pride, and UFC), and King of the Cage is one of those. Actually, it might be a bit further down than 2nd tier which includes much larger venues like Superbrawl and Strike Force. King of the Cage has a lot more sloppy fighters, a lot more ref mistakes, and some pretty brutal KOs as a result of both. It also has money to attract one or two big names per PPV (generally fighting no-names) at the expense of everyone else earning anywhere from a couple hundred dollars to a few thousand for fighting.

Jackson is something of a free agent right now, as he and Pride are in a bit of a war--UFC execs have said, so far, they have no interest in signing him, so he is working pretty much anything and everything between dates in Japan (Jackson has also lost his last few fights, which is hurting him.).

As I said before, Pride is in some trouble, so we will see if it survives as one of the big dogs. Unfortunately, without it the Japan scene is a bit lifeless--the K-1 MMA shows are generally put together for freakshow entertainment as opposed to a more "scientific" approach that Pride embodies. Also, the yakuza are pretty much everywhere in kick-boxing, MMA, and wrestling in Japan, so there will be more fall-out coming soon.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=8MV61Ohfn2Q&search=pride%20fighting is a highlight video of the KOs in Pride (has few submissios, for some reason). A lot of big names appear in here including CroCop, Liddel, Silva, Don Frye, Bob Sapp, Ken Shamrock, Fedor, and Nogueira.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=IP1LNZPGsXI&search=fedor is a clip montage of Fedor Emelianenko--the Pride heavyweight champion. He is undefeated in Pride and is the single best puncher/ground and pounder (GNP) in the world of MMA.