Night of the Gracie Hunter: The PRIDE 2000 Grand Prix
Dear Patreon Boys,
By the year 2000 the UFC had ceased holding tournaments after noticeably poorer four-man affairs. No Holds Barred / Vale Tudo events were appearing all over the world and declaring their own champions. PRIDE’s 2000 Grand Prix was a true tournament of champions, containing Mark Kerr (2x UFC tournament champion), Mark Coleman (UFC tournament and heavyweight champion), Igor Vovchanchyn (winner of half a dozen eight man, one night tournaments), Enson Inoue (Shooto heavyweight champion who had just armbarred UFC champion, Randy Couture), Kazushi Sakuraba (UFC Japan tournament champion and first man to submit a Gracie in the ring), and Royce Gracie (3 x UFC Champion). In The Night of the Gracie Hunter we examine these interweaving tales and the fallout from the greatest tournament MMA had seen to that point.
Please feel free to share this episode with your friends and thank you sincerely for your continued support of the Fights Gone By podcast!
Cheers,
Jack
Previous Episodes
The Great Depression Hodgepodge
The Hunger of Jack Dempsey
Jack Johnson and the Colour Line
An UnAmerican Trilogy
The Four Pillars of Pugilism Part II: Mendoza and Jackson
The Four Pillars of Pugilism Part I: Figg and Broughton
Comments (6)
Best video you've done so far for the Patreon boys. Thank you so much!
So happy to see this one. I like the thought of running through the heavyweight boxers, but as a break or a next topic, a good dive in to catch wresting or the integration of catch in Japan would be great. I started as a Shoot Fighter and always wished we had a more revered lineage like BJJ.
Ive heard that the reason Fujita didn't drop out of the tournament after the victory against Kerr was that he'd be paid more for being knocked out in the semi final. I'm pretty sure that in a backstage segment from The Smashing Machine that Kerr tells Coleman that Fujita isn't going to continue or at the very least that 'he'd got this'.
Also, please keep going with HW boxing title lectures. I can't wait to listen about Joe Louis and Rocky Marcciano and maybe Archie Moore onde day? The Old Mongoose? Cheers!
Very interesting lecture and props for Arrested Development reference :D
Setting up a podcast feed for the backer episodes would be greatly appreciated! Love what you do, by the way.