Now that was a riot! Check out arguably the best MMA fight of 2002

The year was 2002, when Pride Fighting Championships, the largest MMA organization in the world at the time, was still operating independently. One of the best MMA fights in history took place under its banner at Pride 21.

Pride Fighting Championships was a Japanese MMA organization that operated from 1997 to 2007. During that period it held several tournaments and was one of the largest in the world, quite possibly the largest ever.

However, in 2007 it fell under the UFC brand and thus ceased to exist.

However, if there is one fight that Pride FC made history with, it is without a doubt the Don Frye vs. Yoshihiro Takayama fight.

Both fighters went all in from the start and didn’t wait for anything. The fight could be compared to a street fight, but neither fighter put up much of a fight.

In the end, the American fighter won the fight. After the fight, both opponents showed each other complete respect and showed what the sport is supposed to be all about.

It should be noted that at that time MMA was still in its infancy, still evolving. For some, however, this era is the best, for others it is a mere past that modern MMA should definitely not be inspired by or revisit.

Source: UFC