Seriously now...was this the most exciting, technical, crazy match in the history of the game, or what?
It definitely ranks up there, KKM. Good call.
Sperry is good at grappling, but not fighting. This fight proved it.
i disagree that sperry isn't good at fighting, he did very well in that fight despite a bad knee injury at the start of the fight, plus the fight before that he completly owned Vovchanchin, who with the exception of his Cro Cop fight, has never been beaten as quickly as he was by Mario
Sperry just got cocky in the beginning vs. Rua. A rematch would look a lot different. Henderson made the same mistake against Silva. They both went toe to toe for a second, though "hey, this guy isn't so tough" and proceeded to have a few million brain cells killed in the first minute. It's hard to come back after that when you're primarily a grappler, even when you're as tough as those guys.
Love that fight.
And also, maybe the All-Time BEST ring entrance ever.
courtesy of.....Murilo "Ninja" Rua!!!!!!!!
I hate watching Sperry fight. He's truly one of my heroes as a grappler/jiu jitsu legend, but just like Royler, he's not really that great a MMA fighter. I always get nervous when he fights.
I was on the edge of my seat that entire fight. The 2 of them put it out there. Typical PRIDE fight.
I loved that fight.Ninja beat his ass and almost KO'ed him twice!
SPERRY IS A GOOD FIGHTER......AND THAT WAS A GREAT FIGHT.
Sperry is a great grappler and one of the first to be able to combine jiu-jitsu with somewhat effective striking. He's a legend, regardless of what some people think.
It's insulting to say that he's not a good fighter. Top of the 'A' list? Maybe not...but remember: many, many people on this forum learned a LOT from his Vale Tudo series. Give credit where credit is due.
That was a great fight
Sperry may not be top 10, but he is a great fighter. He subbed Igor when it seemed impossible to do so.......and remember that Sperry hadn't even been fighting very much at the time.
Sperry is a good grappler, his stand up game isn't great, so I don't think that makes him an all around good fighter b/c you got to have both.
Ninja got his black belt for defeating Nog's mentor. Nog was even crying at the end.
It was one of my favorite fights, watching it air live was amazing, I remember, I almost spilt my beer when Ninja knocked down Sperry with a right. AWESOME FIGHT.
I wonder if that fight had been in the UFC if they would have stopped it when Sperry dropped in the first exchange?
I think John would have stepped in.
That was a great fight.
Ninja was the better fighter on that day.
Great fight. Not as good as Penn v Serra, but close.
Ninja has some slick sub defense
"Ninja was the better fighter on that day"
Ninja is the better fighter no matter what the day!
Ninja's tencacity really showed in this one. Guy just keeps coming at ya...