Susumu early PrideFC pictures

dont fear me

Fear the consequences.

crickets

Was anyone else as shocked to see Randy lose to Enson this way, especially since he was the UFC Heavyweight champ at the time?

I didn’t see that fight.Losing by armbar was so common back then.Was I shocked…you bet.

It was not all that shocking because Randy was not really what people think of as Randy today at that time in terms of people’s perception of him. He had just won the UFC title but was only 4-0 and not a “star” at all yet. Enson had already submitted Alger in the UFC and had had one of the best wars in MMA history up to that point the year prior in Vale Tudo Japan when him and Frank fought. I was picking Enson to win heading into the Randy fight.

It was also not a very big fight at all in terms of the buildup and buzz about it. I mean sure everyone in terms of hardcore fans was pumped about Pederneiras vs Sato, Trigg vs Machado etc… but those Vale Tudo Japan events were only big in the minds of the most hardcore fans and they were not all that big a deal in the US or Japan like UFC and PRIDE.

Have no idea how hard it was to watch live in Japan but in the US you had to watch VTJ shows on VHS after the fact.

I know casual UFC fans in the US were not watching and I assume casual Pancrase/RINGS fans in Japan were not watching those Vale Tudo Japan events though I loved getting my hands on those VHS tapes, they were like gold.

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image

kewl shit

Speaking of Vale Tudo Japan,

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Great post!