Why I miss "the old days"

I was watching Pride DVD's and started to realize why I love MMA, but at the same time am not sure what to think about the state of today's MMA scene.

The Open Weight Grand Prix of Pride gave us the opportunity to see the 'what if' fights that can now only be imagined. Now, it is turning into a fanboy dominated sport, where we, as the old guys, remember the Bushido that was the MMA truth.

Maybe I am getting too old, and many of the fighters I remember watching on shitty VHS or scrambles satellite feeds are now retired, but I will always like and daily miss the pure sport of MMA. Phone Post

I miss Brock too. Phone Post

I hear you, and agree to an extent. On the positive tip though you get to watch guys like Jones, Cain, dos santos etc. These guys still fight to finish and show that spirit. Phone Post

Pessimist_Pete - I miss Brock too. Phone Post

Lol Phone Post

Pessimist_Pete - I miss Brock too. Phone Post

Who's Brock? Phone Post

UGCTT_stu0411 -
Pessimist_Pete - I miss Brock too. Phone Post

Lol Phone Post

LOL Phone Post

You just got a +3, my friend.

+6

I stayed up at all times of the night waiting for PRIDE to come on, it didn't matter when. If a UFC was announced at 3AM it would get Tivo'd.

I'm not saying that to diss UFC, I'm just saying how I felt about PRIDE. It was a SHOW, a real, live show.

I'm fortunate to be able to say I got to see PRIDE USA when it came here. I was right next to the ring....not too far away from Chuck Norris.

ABE FROMAN -

You just got a +3, my friend.

Thanks!! Good to know I am not the only one. I still laugh about the crappy quality of the video I was watching at the time. May explain the glasses I wear now. Phone Post

I agree, ABE. It was an event with Pride. The UFC is certainly trying, and the production values have gone up exponentially since the Fox deal. However, for pure spectacle, Pride was off the charts.

The fights were awesome as well. Granted it went south after a while, but there is something about the fighters, the teams (Hammer House vs Chute Box), and the overall skill demonstrated that is missing now.

I do enjoy the UFC, don't get me wrong. Just think that having multiple outlets for both athletes and fans created much better MMA in terms of both the fights and the skills that are refined. Phone Post

JoeMimic -
AceofSpades -
Pessimist_Pete - I miss Brock too. Phone Post

Who's Brock? Phone Post

Brock Larson of course! Phone Post

AWESOME JOB!!! Phone Post

VU for the OP and ABE for knowing.

 

Bushido is lacking but I understand the dynamic of money now, and how quickly a loss can turn your career now. I miss the old fights and the old mentality all the time, but I also appreciate the extreme levels of technical skill we get to see now. It's a double edge sword. Pros and Cons both ways. Glad I have every PRIDE dvd I could find. Nothing like kicking back, rolling a fat one up, and throwing in Shockwave 2004 :)

Fireworks, Lenny hart, little trophies and big checks. Phone Post

oh man... I have said that so many times.

here in Switzerland, it took forever to be able to see a UFC or Pride fight. But not for me! I had this one guys who always would go to japan, and somehow was able to get all the VHS types. After I copied them (cause I had to return them soon), all of them where slightly green.

To this day my friend who always used to watch them with me says: I miss the time of the green blood and exciting fights.

I loved it. I would not miss a second of it, and I'm just talking about the walk-in! No way in hell I would allow myself to blink while a fight was going on. Each and every fight that was on, somehow felt like the most crazy/dangerous fight that had ever taken place. And I can't recall how many oooh's and aaaah's Pride and early UFC made me deliver...

I love you old times.

Where there still were styles. Where, if this all were arcade games, some characters had all their attributes in maybe one or two categories. Nowadays, 90% of the fighters are characters that have all their attributes evenly spread out in all categories...

Character 43 and 26 are interchangeable. And most of the time, the only thing that enables you to tell them apart, is their pre-game smack talk and twitter messages.

In the old days, you would recognize any fighter by his silouette if a fight was on and they were moving. Now? No chance. Clones. (of course with a few standouts, but I'm not talking about the best 10%, I'm talking about everything else....)

i like the ufc and still watch all events. but i just really miss pride and wec. just a different mentallity when it came to the fights. ive come to the conclusion that mainstream american culture and mma just need a couple more years till we see the style of warfare we saw in pride. it seems because of the culture influence all these guys during the fight cant help but fighting to lnot lose. not fighting to win. there are currently warriors in the ufc but we just barely get to see our favoorite fighters fighting more than 4 times a year.

I loved the rules and the entrances,but the best part of pride was the way the fighters fought, they didn't play it safe, they took chances to finish the fights, the aggression was unreal I miss them days Phone Post

best of pride is on right now on fuel TV always exciting fights Phone Post

The TUF grand prix part 3 was pretty talent rich. Phone Post

Signed Phone Post