PRIDE RESULTS
A Night of Electrifying Upsets Signals Pride’s “Second Coming”
By Steven Marrocco
Saturday, February 24, Las Vegas- For all the promotional hyperbole that comes along with the exploding sport of MMA, the competition for fans hard-earned money, and rivalry between companies, Pride 33 proved once again that the quality of fights is the bottom line in success.
From top to bottom, the talent-laden card delivered, but the real story of the night was the performance of Pride’s co-stars, billed second fiddle to the marquee stars of the organization. Not in recent memory have so many of an organization’s cornerstone fighters been upset in one night.
Though Pride was still shy of selling out the Thomas and Mack Center , over 13,000 fans attended the evening, besting their last showing by around a thousand fans.
President Nobuhiku Sakikibara sidestepped questions of Pride’s proposed sale, responding to a request for the confirmation of a pending deal with a “maybe”. “They have to get in line,” Sakikibara followed. “I have two children…Pride is my third child.”
The imaginative scenario of a dual title-holder became reality, as Pride Welterweight Champion took the Middleweight belt from champion Wanderlei Silva in a dominating performance. After catching one of Wanderlei’s wild left hooks, Henderson rebounded early to dish out some punishment of his own on his feet before taking Silva to the ground and pounding him for the remainder of the first.
“I got a little bit of a slow start, but after that I felt great,” Henderson said shortly before being taken to the hospital for a broken hand. “None of his punches were really affecting me. I came out smiling, and I was thinking, next time I’m going to hit him harder.”
The new champ followed through on his promise, catching Silva with a vicious right that sent him staggering back midway through the second. The two traded punches as Henderson moved to capitalize, but a left hook had goodbye written all over it, slamming into Silva’s jaw and sending him hurtling straight to the canvas. The ref jumped to save Silva at 2:08 of the second round.
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