How former PRIDE fighters have fared
The 15 former PRIDE stars who came to UFC and WEC over the past two years have a combined 20-13 record (.606 winning percentage) in their new settings, compared to their 129-45-2 record (.741 winning percentage) in PRIDE. A look at how each fighter has fared:
Marcus Aurelio: A lightweight jiu-jitsu expert, Aurelio is 1-1 in UFC, losing to Clay Guida and beating Luke Caudillo. He was 3-3 in PRIDE, but made a name by shocking PRIDE's lightweight champion Takanori Gomi with a one-sided submission win on April 2, 2006. Gomi won a split decision in a close rematch seven months later.
Ryo Chonan: Chonan debuted in UFC on Nov. 17 in Newark, N.J., losing via decision in a disappointing fight with Karo Parisyan. Chonan, fighting as a welterweight in UFC, was a 183-pounder in PRIDE and had a 6-4 record with losses to Paulo Filho, Phil Baroni, Dan Henderson and Ricardo Almeida. On December 31, 2004, in a highlight reel finish, he used a flying scissors takedown into a heel hook to tap out Anderson Silva.
Mirko Cro Cop: The Croatian Sensation was PRIDE's most popular foreign fighter. While he lost to both Fedor Emelianenko and Nogueira in PRIDE, he was a far bigger star to the public than either. He's been the biggest washout of the post-merger era, going 1-2, with losses to Cheick Kongo and Gabriel Gonzaga, neither of whom had major reputations when facing him. He went 4-0 in 2006, including winning its Open Weight Grand Prix, all four via quick knockouts. But his biggest weapon in sporting a 19-4-2 record in PRIDE over six years, was a left high kick, and in throwing one to knock out Wanderlei Silva on September 10, 2006, he shattered his ankle. When UFC signed him for a $2.4 million six-fight contract at the end of 2006, it was a huge blow to a dying PRIDE, but they may have gotten damaged goods.
Paulo Filho: The current World Extreme Cagefighting (UFC's sister organization) middleweight champion is 2-0 in WEC competition. He was 7-0 in PRIDE, with none of his opponents even testing him. However, he was dominated and looked sluggish in his Dec. 12 title defense where he was losing the entire fight until catching Chael Sonnen with an armbar. The two have a rematch on March 26 in Las Vegas.
Akihiro Gono: Gono debuted in UFC on Nov. 17 in Newark, N.J., beating Tamden McCrory. He was a popular PRIDE regular, best known for his flashy "Saturday Night Fever" style ring entrances and had a 6-3 record there, considered more as a mid-level fighter, before signing with UFC.
Dan Henderson: A U.S. Olympic wrestler in 1992 and 1996, Henderson fought early in his career in UFC, winning twice, before switching to PRIDE in 1999. Henderson is the only fighter in MMA history to win major world titles in two different weight classes at the same time. He won the PRIDE welterweight title (which would be called middleweight now) beating Murilo Bustamante on December 31, 2005. He then won the middleweight (presently light heavyweight) title by knocking out Wanderlei Silva on February 24, 2007, in Las Vegas. In his only UFC fight, billed as the PRIDE vs. UFC unification at 205 pounds, Henderson lost a close decision to Jackson on September 8, 2007, in London, England. In his next fight, he'll face Anderson Silva to unify the middleweight titles on March 1 in Columbus, Ohio. Henderson was RINGS champion in 2000, who went to PRIDE from 2000-2006 and had a 13-5 record.
Heath Herring: A journeyman fighter in UFC today with a 1-2 record, although he did knock Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira down and nearly finished him in his most recent fight. Herring fought 2000 to 2004 in PRIDE, before moving to the Hero's promotion and then coming to UFC. He was 12-5 in PRIDE, but aside from a decision loss to Vitor Belfort that was bad judging, his other losses in PRIDE were two to Nogueira and one each to Cro Cop and Fedor Emelianenko. It's the same guy who struggled to beat Brad Imes in his only UFC win.
Quinton Jackson: UFC's light heavyweight champion is 3-0 in the octagon over the past year, with notable wins over Liddell and Dan Henderson. He had been a top star in PRIDE from 2001 to 2006, sporting a 12-5 record, but lost twice via knockout to champion Wanderlei Silva, and once to Rua.
Dokonjonosuke Mishima: A mid-level PRIDE lightweight fighter who went 2-2 between 2003-2005, is now 0-2 in UFC with quick submission losses to Joe Stevenson and Kenny Florian.
Kazuhiro Nakamura: A former Japanese national champion in judo, Nakamura was a popular mid-level fighter in PRIDE from 2003-06 with an 11-6 record. His UFC debut was a one-sided decision loss to serious light heavyweight contender Lyoto Machida on Sept. 22 in Anaheim
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira: Realistically, Nogueira was the No. 2 heavyweight in the history of PRIDE. He first made his name in Japan with RINGS, a pro wrestling company that turned to real fights, and was its world champion in 2001. He then signed a bigger money deal with PRIDE, and beat Herring on November 3, 2001, to become PRIDE's first world heavyweight champion. He lost via unanimous decision to Fedor Emelianenko on March 16, 2003. Nogueira is 2-0 in UFC after going 17-3 in PRIDE, with 11 wins coming via submission. He had two decision losses to Emelianenko, who was a bad style match-up because Emelianenko was immune to his submission attacks and Emelianenko was better at both stand-up and stronger at wrestling. His other loss was to Josh Barnett, who he then defeated via decision in a rematch.
Mauricio "Shogun" Rua: At the age of 25 last summer, Rua was ranked No. 1 in the light heavyweight division since winning the talent-laden 2005 PRIDE Grand Prix tournament with consecutive wins over Jackson, Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (the twin brother of the UFC star), Alistair Overeem and Ricardo Arona. He came into the Griffin fight on Sept. 22 with a bad knee, but in fairness, Griffin had a shoulder injury that required surgery. The loss to a popular but unranked UFC fighter in his only bout so far in the organization was probably the most bitter medicine to date for those who felt PRIDE was overall superior. His second fight will be even bigger, since he's facing Liddell, tentatively set for June 14 in London, England. Rua was 12-1 while fighting 2003-07 in PRIDE.
Anderson Silva: UFC's middleweight champion is 5-0 in UFC, with only one fight getting out of the first round. He was 3-2 in PRIDE fights between 2002 and 2004, losing major upsets via submission to Daijyu Takase and Ryo Chonan. On the ground today, he's clearly a different fighter than during that period, while retaining his stand-up skills that were his base.
Wanderlei Silva: The 31-year-old Brazilian is a Hall of Fame lock in the sport. His series of matches with Kazushi Sakuraba moved PRIDE from large arenas to its first sellout at the 53,000-seat Tokyo Dome on November 3, 2001, where he became the first PRIDE middleweight (now light heavyweight) champion. He was the longest reigning major champion in history, holding it for more than six years, where, weakened by a severe flu, he was knocked out by Henderson on February 24, 2007, in Las Vegas. However, PRIDE's champions rarely defended the title so it wouldn't be the equivalent of a six-and-a-half year UFC run, although he did have an 18-match unbeaten streak from 2000 to 2004. Few remember that Silva's first title shot was for the UFC light heavyweight title, losing a decision to Tito Ortiz to determine the new champion on April 14, 2000, in Tokyo, after Frank Shamrock left UFC. Silva's UFC career record is now 1-3 after his return on Dec. 29 and losing to Chuck Liddell. He was 22-4-1 in his PRIDE career.
Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou: "The African Assassin," shocked the world last year in PRIDE with first-round knockout wins over Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and Ricardo Arona, two of the top ranked light heavyweights in the world. But in his UFC debut, he was dominated and lost via submission on Dec. 29 in Las Vegas to Lyoto Machida.
Fabricio Werdum: A submission specialist, Werdum is 1-1 in UFC, losing to Andrei Arlovski but beating Gonzaga on Jan. 19, putting him in the heavyweight title mix. He fought 2005-06 in PRIDE, going 4-2, with losses to Nogueira and Sergey Kharitonov.
