Touche salesman.

As a big PRIDE backer, I hate to admit that Anthony is right. Count me among the many who questioned the UFC’s worldwide legitimacy before the Pride acquisition. I thought the Pride guys would walk into the octagon and ride back to Japan with Chuck Liddell’s head on a pike.

As Anthony pointed out, I couldn’t have been more wrong. To go along with his theories, I think that steroids (Yes, I said it. All the PRIDE guys were juiced out of their minds. Don’t kid yourself) played a much bigger part than we could have imagined.

Think about what would happen to Major League baseball if there was no steroid testing. Baseball is a sport where the main needed attribute is hand eye coordination. Think about the effects of steroids on a sport that requires; strength, aggression, stamina and most importantly muscle recovery. Training for fight after fight is a lot easier if aided by Performance Enhancing Drugs.

What you didn’t mention was the “freak show” aspect of PRIDE. Japanese people love the David vs. Goliath angle. That meant that in between fights against top competition, PRIDE fighters got to pad their stats against walking talking jokes.

Look at Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira:

On New Years Eve 2004, he had an epic battle with Fedor Emilaneko. After that he fought the immortal (1-4) Pawel Nastula on 6/26/05.  On 2/26/2006 he fights Kiyoshi Tamura, who weighs probably 205 lbs soaking wet.

On 5/5/2006, he fights this guy.

A.K.A the 5-6 Zuluzinho.

So, by the time Nog faces his real next test, Fabrico Werdum on 7/1/06, a full year has gone by since the Nastula fight and 19 months have elasped since he fought Fedor!

Then, Nog comes to the UFC and beats Heath Herring, who is a C+ level fighter but still better than most of the competition in Japan, and almost gets KO’d in the process.  Five months later he beats Tim Sylvia, who has since been exposed as a joke of a fighter, in unimpressive fashion. Ten months later, he gets KO’d by Frank Mir.

Up until the Mir fight, Nog had never been finished in his storied MMA Career, and of all people Frank Mir (yes that Frank Mir) is the first to do it?

It shocked the world at the time but maybe it shouldn’t have. Maybe the reason Nog looked sluggish in that fight is because he didn’t have the aid of PED’s. Maybe it’s because he didn’t have 19 months to recover between real, competitive fights. Maybe it’s because after almost 40 pro fights his age (33) finally caught up to him. Maybe it’s just that he was never that good in the first place. Who knows.

What we do know for sure is that PRIDE built up the legacy of their fighters but having them smash scrubs. It’s sad but it’s true.