"I think after he fought Takada he figured well, I'm done with this, I've beaten the best in Japan so my Dad's happy and that's what I want".
uuummmmm.... are you insane? Takada (the pro wrestler) had only one MMA win before his SECOND fight with Rickson, and the dude he beat (Kyle Sturgeon) was a nobody who had never fought MMA before or after.... fishy?
Yeah he sure stepped up to the best in his time. People say that he did but you have to realize on that same card was Igor Vovchanchyn, Mark Kerr, Kazushi Sakuraba... who would have all killed him... oh but they aren't considered top competition? nope, Rickson is smart... played his career safe, and made millions. i can almost respect that i guess... Mark Kerr then would have raped him... Rickson would fight that fight for ten times the money he got for his bullshit Takada fights...
oh and Yuki Nakai would have stepped up to Kerr and the rest of the Pride 4 cast cuz he had heart...
i believe part of zulu's mma background was capoeira, surprisingly.. but he seemed to be just a freak of nature physically.
Thats an awesome pic, I have never seen it before. where did u get it??
About Zulu style, he was basically a brwaler with an unthordox(sp?) training methods, includings pushing walls, running among the threes and carrying big trucks wheels.
When i buy the Magazine, i'll try to sacn it and post more pics and details about the fight.
More pics: Zulu throwing Rickosn outside th ering
Rei Zulu today:
LOL he wasnt thrown of of the ring dumb ass... they slid under the ropes!
Check the third picture on the left corner. And yes, all the descriptions about the fight said that Zulu throw Rickson outside the ring at least at two opportunities.
I'm not talking about the phoot which shows the momment which Rickosn finished th fight with a Mata-leão.
You see Rolls trying to catch Rickson while he is falling out of the ring.
omoplta:you're right. That's what the legend says.
Zulu had won a ton of fights and was undefeated up until the Rickson fight. He was labeled as a Luta Livre fighter, but yes, was more of a wild brawler. The kickboxer who he chokes out in GIA is actually Sergio Batterelli, the guy who ran the IVC and is now involved with promoting K-1 in Brazil. Zulu resurfaced many many years later and fought in shooto, and got beat up pretty badly by Enson Inoue. Zulu was really old by the time that happened though, I think he was around 50 when he fought Enson.
A better match up would have been Zulu vs. Ron Van Clief!!!
Company Blue:you're 100% correct. Zulu chocked out Sérigo Batarelli with a front choke on the Jiu-jitsu vs Luta-Livre challenge which was held on Maracananzinho stadium.
Peace and'um grande abraço''
LOL at the haters who said "see i told you Rickson only fought nobodies".
That was in the 80´s, when you people didn´t even know what vale tudo was. Zulu may have been from luta livre, capoeira, and pro wrestling, but so what? At the time he was fucking legit. He was a brawler. A streetfighter who was undefeated before fighting Rickson.
No one here is comparing him to fighters from nowadays. Stop searching for reasons to hate on Rickson.
ttt
rolls catching rickson
zulu did train a bit of grappling it is a fact and plus it shows because even for a master grappler like rickson it was really hard to tap him out.
and by his movement it is clear he did some boxing and capoeria
Mauriciolopez is correct.
well, the thing with the Zulu legend thing is that they say that everyone was afraid to fight him, but that at the same time that everyone knew that Rolls was the best...doesn't work both ways really.
Still, it is amazing that he fought in 1980 AND 2000! (he being Rickson) While he didn't fight much (2 pro fights in Brazil, both against Zulu, 2-8 man tournaments in the mid-90s, 2 Takada fights, and the Funaki fight), he did fight over a 20 year period which is impressive.
Takada was the man to beat b/c of the payday, not b/c of his skill.
That being said, for Rickson's time he was the best. Zulu, like some have mentioned, was legit as hell back then. Plus a very scary man. And Rickson beat him. So gotto be reasonable and fair. B/c if you are not then a person is just bashing and hating.
As for Rickson's fights in Japan. The 8 man tourney was fair b/c MMA just came on the scene. His fights with Takada were jokes. No one can ever look at those fights seriously. And the fight with Funaki was impressive. But I would fairly but Funaki at the lower end of the A list fighters.
Just my .02 cents.
damn I want to get a copy of that mag, anyone know
how?