Bushido 9

It's unfortunate that PRIDE Fighting Championships is no longer in existent anymore because it was considered to be one of the world's most premier MMA organization. What set PRIDE apart from other organizations is the unique rules, awesome production values, and spectacular mega fighting cards that seldom disappointed.

I was on MMA forum few days ago and smarks (hardcore fans who takes everything seriously) had mentioned that UFC 73: Stacked, which will be shown tonight, isn't actually that stacked. Only 4 fights on card looks solid but not spectacular and it cannot be said the same for the rest of the undercard, which I felt is somewhat lackluster. So they say, out of PRIDE events, Bushido 9 is one of the truly most stacked card in MMA history, which is amazing because they kept producing awesome fighting card on consistent basis.

I had became very curious about this event so I hit up Best Buy and purchased the copy of Bushido 9 and I was blown away, which is just amazing. I hadn't been this rocked so hard in long time because I had been fan of combat sports for a while now but the fights on this card are just plain out awesome, even if I'm not familiar with some of the fighters. All I know is that they can kick major asses and it represented true MMA as it is, not just knockoff crap from UFC. Bushido 9 had 14 fights, nearly all of them are bloody amazing, since it used the tournament format. That's why people will always regard UFC as second rate to PRIDE because UFC is not willing to produce tournament format, due to stupid rules that was stipulated by NSAC. What makes tournament in MMA so amazing is that it produce lot of amazing new fighters that are not familiar with the audience without having to resort to stupid reality shows. Here, the tournament weed out the pussies and only true warrior will stand in the ending. No wonder PRIDE still has following, despite its recent destruction. What makes Bushido 9 so amazing is that it has 2 different weight class tournament, welterweight and lightweight, which results as one of the greatest fighting cards ever produced.

Alright, let's go with my thoughts on fights on Bushido 9.

Welterweight Tournament

Dan Henderson vs Ryo Chonan: Very short fight with Henderson overwhelming Chonan in matter of seconds. To be honest, I haven't seen much from Henderson but he seem to be solid fighter. What a shame, this could have been interesting contest, due to Chonan's amazing stand up game and his flying scissor heel hook is thing of legends. Can you see that in UFC? Nope.

Akihiro Gono vs. Daniel Acacio: Pretty solid fight, despite my not being familiar with those fighters.

Murilo Bustamante vs. Masanori Suda: Good solid fight. I was rooting for Suda but Bustamante's superior grappling got better of Suda.

Paulo Filho vs. Ryuta Sakurai: I heard so much about Filho and he really impressed me a lot in this fight with his amazing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu skills.

Dan Henderson vs. Akihiro Gono: Wow, a solid match. Henderson is really amazing fighter.

Murilo Bustamante vs. Ikuhisa Minowa: Damn, I wish Minowa would take this one because he has so much heart and his training methods are very eccentric, when compared to other MMA fighters' methods. But good solid fight.

The Lightweight Tournament:


Hayato "Mach" Sakurai vs. Jens "Little Evil" Pulver: Wow, amazing match. What a way to kick off the one of the most wicked tournament ever.

Joachim Hansen vs. Yves Edwards: Just one of the amazing match that displayed true mixed martial arts with striking and grappling.

Takanori Gomi vs. Tatsuya Kawajiri: Solid lightweight bout. Gomi is truly amazing fighter with heavy hands. But one thing that stand the most about this match is that Gomi refused the medal from ring girl and instead gave it to Kawajiri as part of the respect.

Luis Azeredo vs. Naoyuki Kotani: Every time one watch Luis Azeredo fights, it's like watching kickass martial arts flick in the ring. It's just awesome stuff. Reminds me of Genki Sudo.

Dokonjonsuke Mishima vs. Charles "Krazy Horse" Bennett: One thing that stand out the most about this match is stare down because they didn't really look at each other at all. Bennett just makes face at the camera while the referee is explaining the rules, then Mishima make his own face to the camera, too. Very very very entertaining.

Hayato "Mach" Sakurai vs. Joachim Hansen: Just great match with lot of hearts from both fighters. This fight managed to stand out, despite so many amazing fights on this card.

Takanori Gomi vs. Luiz Azeredo: Yes, revenge martial arts flick in the ring! Azeredo is seeking a revenge against Gomi for whaling on him, even when the referee step in and other referee, too. Unfortunately, Gomi still pwned him because he's badass.

One of the most amazing fighting cards you will ever seen. Yes, sir, it's the truth. You can trust me on this one.