Who watched Pride Critical Countdown Absolute and what did you think of the results?

Question

I didn't watch the fight because it isn't available in Australia but the out come was what i expected. I was glad to see that Vitor Belfort was back to his old self scoring a KO over Takahashi in just 36 seconds. I was suprised that Barnett submitted Hunt so quickly i was expecting a long war good for him. Every thing else wen't as i expected and it was good to see that only one fight wen't the distance. Has the next round been announced and who do you think will win.

Answer 1

Well tournament bouts went pretty much as expected.

The only suprise as you said was Josh finishing Hunt so early. But we have to give credit where credit is due. Josh was in excellent shape for the fight. He wasted no time, took Mark down as soon as they got to the first clinch, got the side mount and went for the kimura. Hunt managed to escape the first attempt but after slight repositioning Barnett went for another one, got it on perfectly and it was all over. I think that Josh put on the most convincing fight of the evening and if he brings this shape to the finals on September 10 he is going to be a real threat to take the tournament.

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira got the decision against Fabricio Werdum, which was expected. Nogueira was a lot better in the first round. He outboxed Werdum and even managed to knock him down at one stage. He was dominating on the ground as well but was unable to finish it. During the second and third round fight was mostly taking place on the ground with both fighters being more less even. In the end it was 3-0 for Nogueira, well deserved but to be honest I really expected this to be a better fight.

Silva vs Fujita was a very good match. Silva almost finished it early on when he got Fujita to the corner and dropped him with a combination of punches. Then he kicked him in the head twice but still Fujita somehow got his leg and managed to get the takedown to save him self. They were on the ground for a while where Silva had an excellent armbar attempt but was unable to fully extend it. Then referee stood them back up and disaster for Fujita was coming soon after. In one exchange of punches Silva dropped him with a right hook and what followed then was a real onslaught. Silva was butchering defenseless Fujita with hooks, uppercuts and on the ground hit him with two or three clean soccer kicks to the head and only then referee decided to stop the fight. It was a terrible mistake which could have cost Fujita dearly and match should have been stopped at least 15 seconds sooner. In the end it was convincing TKO for Wanderlei and in this shape and frame of mind he will also be a real threat in the finals.

Mirko vs Yoshida was main event. Yoshida couldn't really do anything in this fight. He had Mirko in the clinch at one stage and tried to hip toss him down, like he did Silva in their match, but to no effect. Mirko was tearing his left leg apart with chrushing right low kicks and Yoshida had no defense against that. Right before the end Mirko dropped him with a left uppercut. Yoshida then barely stood back up only to be knocked down again by a powerfull right low kick after which he was unable to continue and the match was stopped. Even though it was a convincing TKO in the end, Mirko again had huge stamina problems in this fight and he will have to improve his conditioning a lot if he wants to have any chance of winning in the finals because with Nogueira there and Silva and Barnett in shape that they are in right now competition is going to be just awesome and not to mention vicious and unforgiving. I personally can't wait to see how it ends.

In the under card bouts Antonio Rogerio Nogueira beat Alister Overeem once again, this time by TKO. Alister was slightly better throughout the fight but midway through the second round Rogerio perfectly counterd his low kick with a straight punch got him on the ropes and unleashed series of punches to which Alister had no answer and his corner threw in the towel to stop the fight. So convincing TKO win for Rogerio.

Kazuhiro Nakamura completely dominated Evangelista Santos in their match and finished him off with a really vicious, Ron Waterman like, keylock midway through the first round. His hand was twisted fully back and it looked extremely painfull. All credit to Santos for holding out as long as he did.

It was an early night for Vitor Belfort against Yoshiki Takahashi as you already mentioned. A perfect left hook got him a quick one punch knockout and a great, much needed win. It's good to see Vitor bounce back after all the problems that he's been having recently in his life and I hope that he'll be in action again soon.

Pawel Nastula was in control in his match against Edson Drago and beat him by an armbar and Yosihiro Nakao beat Eun Su Lee by TKO (doctor stop). I didn't see these last two fights so I can't give you any details, sorry.

So in the end I think that this was really an outstanding event and if you get the chance to see it, by all means do. But the next PRIDE show is definitely going to be the one to remember. I can't wait to see it. Up until yesterday I was sure that Mirko or Nogueira are going to take the GP, but now, after seeing what Barnett and Silva did I really don't know. But one thing is sure, this will be the best, the most exciting final PRIDE could have ever hoped to have.

Answer 2

It was a very good event. They had a lot of bouts and some very good matchups. The Phenom looked excellent for a 36 second fight. The KO was a stem twister! Sorry that you already know the results before watching the event. I will spare you the details as I'm sure you were already on pridefc.com. Nogeira/Overeem was an interesting fight. The outcome doesn't tell the story of how the fight transpired.

Answer 3

again ribafish got his facts right!