Here's what was going on with Dan on Dec 31st . . .
At 1:30 AM the morning of the fight he woke up incredibly sick and threw up most of the night. All he could do was lay there and was not able to eat or drink anything.
We arrived at the arena around 2:00 PM. The Pride doctors measured his temperature at 104 degrees and they kept an IV in him until his fight.
There was supposed to be a 15 minute intermission before Dan's fight but it was cancelled. Unfortunately no one told us and Dan was only able to warm-up for 1 minute.
He walked into the fight with as sick as I've ever seen him with no warm-up at all. There are few athletes in the world who are like Dan. His toughness is second to none.
Dan was never hurt and even said Kondo doesn't hit hard at all. He was a little surprised. I don't remember him saying he needs to fight more often but he would like too.
MMA King,
I don't know when I'll be back there. Hopefully soon. Sydney's one of my favorite places. Give my best to Larry and the boys.
I was pretty sure I saw him say "I can take him down" or "I can't take him him down" which looks very similar, while in the corner. Maybe you could clarify Ryan? Which did he say, and what was it about? Was he trying to conserve energy?
"A rematch won't prove anything, as Dan got the win"
Actually, I think a rematch is perfect. Yes, Dan got the win, but it was close and controversial. Dan should want the rematch to prove that he can beat Kondo convincingly, Kondo should want the rematch because it was a very close fight and he deserves a chance at redemption. I'd love to see a rematch and I think it would be best for both guys.
"Dan was never in any danger and didn't get hurt" sorry, thanks for telling us the scoop on the pre-fight info, but i have to disagree with you here. he was nearly submited and was rocked a couple times standing up. cant believe hendo said kondo didnt hit hard..
Everyone sees a fight through their own filters and I am no exception.
As far as Dan not getting hurt or being in danger this is what Dan said and my interpretation of what I saw. I had a pretty good seat. He commented in between rounds that Kondo had no power. Dan has been rocked on several occasions but during the fight with Kondo was not one of them.
Kondo controlled the top position very well, countered a takedown attempt and took Dan down once but did not do nearly as much as Dan when it came to attempting to finishing the fight.
I think a lot of people don't understand the criteria that Pride uses to score a fight. Based that criteria I thought Dan clearly won that fight. The Pride judges seemed to agree.
ryan, yeah i actualy agreed with the decision, but I just had the impression kondo was connecting pretty good on those shots, maybe it just seemed that way because hendo was gassed/sick. ill agree to disagree with you on this one... btw- were you the guy with blonde hair in his corner?