Krazy Horse submitted Actor Kaneko via arm bar. James Thompson KOed Giant Silva via bull rush (or "gong & dash"). I actually reached the Saitama Super Arena right after these two fights. I sure didn't miss too much. Perhaps a bit of the Krazy mocking the "crazy" would have been somewhat amusing. And a dose of basketball lynching would have been a blatantly sadistic relish. Perhaps, and that's fine. Life's a party. But after a moment of thought, man, there's some darkness involved.

With two amateurs down, we witnessed a slight evolution. Grabaka Kikuta was to face J-Rock Takimoto, a MMA amateur with a solid Judo background with exactly a year of MMA training since his first MMA fight against Sentoryu. Behold, Takimoto has his own web site. Type in TakimotoMakoto and add a nice little .com. He's already got a T-shirt out for sale. Is he getting ahead of himself? Well, this match is an indicator.

Kikuta pretty much toyed with Takimoto via grappling. Kikuta also was dominant striking but we didn't get to see a whole lot of stand-up. The two did a lot of nice rolling, with Kikuta repeatedly passing, mounting, reversing, and attempting submissions. Takimoto managed to survive through the chokes and did manage to get a shallow kimura to no avail. Kikuta dominated but couldn't finish, still earning him a well-deserved UD.

At the post-fight interview, Kikuta emphasized his joy in having defeated a Judo medalist. As many know, Kikuta trained Judo in middle school, high school, and college. He won the first place in the 86 kg division of the Japanese high school nationals. Takimoto's accomplishments in this field was miles ahead with 1st place win in the 1999 and 2000 Japanese "by-weight" nationals, the 2000 German Internationals, and the Sydney Olympics.

Kikuta got a nice little redemption, and he was happy. He gave himself a 10% for his performance vis-a-vis the general spectators, an 80 or 85% for redemption, and I think  100% for technical dominance. I'm a bit unsure about the exact numbers for the latter two. The point is, Kikuta was aware that he wasn't super entertaining, and that he wanted to finish Takimoto who he gave credit for a tight defense (thanks partly to the judo-gi, which worked both ways).

During the match, a good number of people scattered around the arena called out Kikuta's name while a few others threw mean criticism of Judo's ineffectiveness and exclaimed their wish for a finish, finish, finish.

Takimoto’s post-fight interivew was short and pessimistic. He was aware of his powerless defeat and didn’t have any ideas about the future. Usually not a passionate talker in front of the camera, today, he sounded even more depressive.

Now we come to: Big Alek versus Pawel Natsula. I expected Alek via "KO" but we instead got a submission. Much ground work. Later on, at the post-fight interview, Alek declared that he had intended to work on the ground to submit Pawel in order to show the superiority of Sambo over Judo. (A quick recollection of Fedor's armbar against Ogawa.) He seems to be disregarding the size difference. Perhaps the Emelianenko brothers will be kind enough do the same against top-level BJJ. "In good time", they'd perhaps say with their Russian smile.

A MMA monster against an out-sized newbie. Regardless, Alek is still riding the wave... Who is left? Fedor.

Speaking of the wolf, next up: Fedor vs Zulu (Jr).

Zulu's got an entertaining allure. He’s legendary father can make funny faces. I think the pre-fight video mentioned that he has 30 some wins under his belt with no defeat. That is no longer true. Fedor popped Zulu with two powerful hooks that ended the fight in 26 seconds. Fedor came in and got out with a big, big cheer from the crowd. They adore him.

Post fight interview. Zulu's eyes are red. He probably shed some tears. His big and looks sort of "mean"-ish but sounds pretty soft spoken and simple. Perhaps we'll see a bit more of him. He seemed in fine shape. He has a solid constitution. Whether he'll become a contender or a mere "freak" cast, we shall see. He carries on his father’s legacy.

Fedor showed up with Alek. A reporter asked him (Fedor) about the hand injury. He said he hurt it a bit during the fight, he doesn't yet know the situation, and that he intends to have it operated on at the end of January, after which he won't be able to fight for some time. He still intends to fight in the GP, where, he is prepared to fight his brother Alek. Pride Heavyweight 2006, the year of Fedor vs. Alek? The Red Devil is smiling.

Next-up: "Hendo" vs Busta 2.

First round, Busta got several nice takedowns. He'd outside hook his leg around Hendo's leg, then grab that leg to get a single leg takedown. Busta would also get some fine double underhooks standing. I was surprised to see a world-class Greco-Roman wrestler so often out-wrestled in free and Greco style. Of course, Dan got some nice takedowns. Anyhow, the fight involved Busta throwing fine straights, lefts and rights. Dan kept throwing wild hooks that often missed. Busta won the tag war but didn't inflict conclusive damage. Straight tags and fine takedowns, but not much damage making.

Second round, similar scenario, A moment of inattention, Dan lands a nice knee to Busta's face. In slow-motion, you could see Busta's face frozen for a moment. Still, our BTT master managed to endure the follow-up strikes and survived the round. SD for Dan.

At the post-fight interview, Dan was accompanied by his wife, his chiropractor, and Matt Lindland. He was happy to have won the belt and didn't care whether he fought at middle weight or light heavy. A reporter mentioned to him that Gomi wished (?) to fight the winner of the middle weight finals. Dan laughed it off saying Gomi should stick to his weight class. (Interview happened after Gomi's fight.)

What's next for Dan and Busta?. Neither were dominant. Hmm.

Next fight: Gomi vs Mach, the battle of generations.

Down at the interview room, we were actually talking to the Emelianenko brothers while the Light weight final was unraveling. I caught up on the action via replay of the whole match.

Gomi knocked out Mach with two nice hooks a la "vs Luiz Azeredo 1". Points of notice: Mach strongly hugged Matt Hume before the fight, a symbol of how much he cares about this fight; Gomi has the punching edge; Mach has some okay inside kicks; the KO happened after Mach fell to the ground in an attempt to head toss Gomi; Gomi got the back, then mount, and it lead to the KO. Another sample of the risky nature of head tosses.

Mach didn't show up for the post-fight interview. Nor did Giant Silva, Busta, Mirko, Hunt, or Arona.

Gomi did show up. His naturally happy. I asked for his message to BJ Penn. He said "whatever", and added that BJ should come to Pride if they were to fight. I guess the essential message is mutual. When will the re-match happen? Is Mach still in the grand picture? Gomi stands alone and atop. Who's next?

Sakuraba vs Minowa is next. Tamura rejected each of them. Now it’s a battle over showmanship orthodoxy, or something.

Saku shows up in a "HardGay" costume, which he takes it off pretty quickly as his shy self had to wear the darn thing via some external pressure. This costume was modeled after that of "Razor Ramon HG". A comedian who is not gay at all but who plays the comical gay character with quite some success (for now). The humor-ization of exaggerated homosexual stereotypes is nothing new. HG is a combination of Duff man and the gay guy in South Park. "Whatever".

Moving on, Sakuraba beat Minowa via kimura. Same stuff that he did to Renzo, Royler, and so forth. Minowa didn't tap though. At the post-fight interview, he said the kimura was in but he was hoping that he'd see a way out before his bone actually cracked. Funny guy. Minowa seemed like an okay person, just doing his best. Still, even with the two eagerly wanting to be entertaining at the expense of their health or victory, the fight wasn't much fun.

Sakuraba's interview was similarly gloomy. I asked him about the prospect of re-matching Arona. He said "I don't know". I then asked him about his desire to re-match, Arona. Answer: "I don't know". A fight against Tamura? Who knows? Sakuraba remains a legend. The fact that he overcame his fear of taking the plane to train at Chute Boxe makes me still consider the chance for a "Sakuraba vs. Arona 2". Many fans would be opposed to this match-up after seeing four "Saku vs. Wand" fights. The value of the match will depend on the chance and the outcome. Sakuraba is in the air. Landing point: unknown.

Mirko vs Mark Hunt (2).

After just three fights, Hunt is facing the ex-contender. He’s going to redeem his K1 loss against Mirko who according to Hunt kept running away after he got the down via left highkick.

The match was a stand-up battle except for the several seconds at the end of the third and final round. Hunt blocked most of Mirko's high kicks. One landed mildly, and one landed pretty well, but didn't shake Hunt. Instead, the angry Samoan rushed back to Mirko with punches. Most of Hunt's attacks were powerful punches, with emphasis on hooks, body punch, and some upper cuts. Hunt even threw one high kick and one spinning hick kick to the amusement of myself. Mirko in turn threw several axe kicks a la Andy Hug with mild results. Most of the fight involved Hunting blocking or checking Mirko's kicks and landing a good bunch of his punches and knees. Mirko got overly tired pretty quickly. He was rumored to have caught a cold shortly before the fight, perhaps right before, which may be the reason why he missed out on the pre-fight press conference. A point of note: Mirko came in wearing wrestling shoes. He probably wore them to gain more friction on his foot to better neutralize the 20 kg weight difference. Crocop was maybe 102 kg and Hunt 128kg. I don't know the exact the weigh-in result but they probably came in with around a 20 kg dif.

Hunt was good. He landed quite a bit but also missed quite a bit. Hunt did dominate but wasn't conclusive enough. At the end of the third round, Hunt got irritated at Crocop's stalling attitude and rushed in for some more bombs to end up clinching Crocop and then running into the ropes to get bounced down to the ground with his (Hunt's) back down. Crocop got side mount. Then just as he got the full mount, the gong ranged to announce the end.

Hunt won by split decision. A MMA newbie defeated the ex-number-one-contender in MMA via kickboxing. Is Hunt going to be the Crocop #II that will get mixed into the Pride Heavyweight theme? Alek vs. Hunt may be in the horizon. Perhaps another Crocop vs Nog to see who gets a chance back into the mix. Thompson is probably in the GP mix but will he make a difference? The story revolves around the Emperor, Fedor Emelianenko.

Next on the card: Wand vs. Arona 2.

The entrance announcement for Wand resonated through the wild cheers of the crowd. They love Wand. Both champions, Fedor and Wand are the stars of Pride fans.

Wand wants redemption. Arona wants confirmation. Big difference in this re-match: Wand has a better sprawl and a better reversal. Round 1: Arona goes for take-down, Wand sprawls away. He defends well. Wand may have had a bit of edge standing. At the end of the round, Wand is on his back, attempts a submission but fails, giving Arona side-mount. Bottom-line, inconclusive but Wand may have won it by a bit due to the slight stand-up edge. Round 2: Arona gets some nice takedowns and positioning. Maybe two good strikes and the usual mild pounding. Arona wins this round by a bit. Round 3: The fight felt pretty even with maybe a slight edge to Wand. Arona needed to get a takedown to better even out the referee impression. Instead, he pulled guard. Result: SD for Wand. Arona is upset.

The decision is arguable. What we saw is that, right now, Shogun is above the two.

At the post-fight interview, I asked Wand about his mention in some interview that the Chute Boxe team had decided to let Wand win over Shogun if they were to meet at the finals of the previous GP. Wand denied the claim and emphasized that Shogun deserved his champion belt. Shogun may have felt a little uncomfortable while we spoke about this topic. Afterwards, I asked Wand about the rumor that he had sparred Shogun over the ownership of Shogun's dog, and that Wand came out victorious. They seemed happy to hear the story. Wand said that it was true but that the bet was whether Shogun would sell or give the dog away. The dog is apparently still at Wand's house. The Chute Boxe team seemed like a harmonious family. Ninja's come back is apparently on the horizon.

Meanwhile, the prospect of Shogun vs. Wand is in the gloomy air of Pride. The air in the hallways of the Saitama Super Arena is really gloomy as it is filled with cigarette smoke. Fans get out into the corridor to smoke. The lines to the toilet are long and the interview room gets chilly after some time. The show itself is wild. A real festivity. But when you are seated far away, I guess most people look at the in-Arena television wide-screens. Others use binoculars to get to see the athletes up close.

Final match-up: Yoshida vs Ogawa (2).

As one colleague said: "the match that no one cares about, except in Japan" (something like that). I got the quick pleasure to chat a bit with a few other journalists and a couple of spectators. The journalists were doing their job, and the spectators had their fun. And, this match-up was for the fun of the general crowd and the headliner of the general press. As Yoshida defeated Ogawa at one of the Japanese National Judo championships with no weight limitation, this is another redemption match. They apparently also never got along since their Meiji University days. I don’t know the details as to why.

Ogawa came into the arena widely welcomed by the crowd. I'd put Ogawa in the top 3 crowd favorites after Wand and Fedor. His entrance theme was dedicated Hashimoto Shinya's memory. He also got a new "Chicken" T-shirt featuring the Chicken inside the flag of the Basque region. Er? Anyways, he walked to the ring alone.

Yoshida's turn. He comes in with 13 people following him with neither choreography nor geometry. People of notice: TK and Nakamura, speaking of which, he won against Kondo. I apparently missed that fight too. One journalist I spoke to thoguht Kondo clearly won. I read the fight report on some site and it sounded inconclusive. Pedro Rizzo was cornering Nakamura. I don't know if Nakamura is going to amount to something grand. Kondo seems unable to reach the next level. Gloomy prospect.

Yoshida takes his gi off. Apparently, he got that idea after he saw Takimoto get whooped by Kikuta. The gi became a no-no against a guy with high gi grappling skills. Yoshida and Ogawa face up. Ref explains the rules. The Pride refs may have a policy of speaking predominantly in English even if the fighters are Japanese. I'm unsure. Perhaps they are taking in consideration foreign PPV. At the end the little talk, they don't shake. The mild grudge fight is on.

Highlight: The cheer for Ogawa overwhelms that for Yoshida. Then Yoshida gets the takedown via O-uchigari. Yoshida dominates. The call for Yoshida overwhlems that for Ogawa. Crowd psychology in action. Yoshida gets an ankle lock that pops Ogawa's ankle. Ogawa fights through it. Yoshida gets an arm bar. Ogawa doesn't tap although his arm is completely stretched. Ref stops the fight. Ogawa can't walk on his left ankle but manages to get the microphone before Yoshida. He wishes the best of luck to Yoshida for the future, apologizes for getting injured so early, and then invites Yoshida to "hustle" with him. Yosh thanks Ogawa for the fight but refuses the invitation. Ogawa says okay, and decides to "hustle" with the crowd. The fans welcome Ogawa's proposition. The"hustle" spirit is in the atmosphere. Ogawa does the count down a la Inoki, "Ichi, Ni", followed-up by "Hustle, Hustle!" Hmm. The idea of yelling out loud in a group to feel a sense of energetic unity is okay. But unlike Inoki's "Daaa!!", "Hustle, Hustle" sounds a little weak and perhaps pretentious. Knowing the grand fortune that Ogawa amassed through "Hustling", the whole theatrics seem somewhat tainted and unsubstantial. Although in the ring Ogawa declared his rise again, he is apparently retiring from MMA.

As one spectator said, the point is for the majority to enjoy. Some may mock the whole concept of "Hustling" or "Pro-Wrestling or even of "full contact fighting". Everything can be subject to mockery. The two counter-weapons against mockery and indifference are effective charm and structure with a standard. These two link up to form the dream stage for participants to build a story with meaning and significance.

Pride's mythology goes on. Who'll overthrow Fedor? Who'll overthrow Gomi? Who'll overthrow Wand? The story revolves around an imperial figure, a main character.

Why fight on? Why watch on? Why party? Why do anything? Because there's a reward, because there's a story, an evolution, a structure that keeps setting up an imperial main character that inherits the story of a dynasty of "champions", the subject figure of all conscious activities.

The 2005 Otoko Matsuri was festive but underlined by a good load of gloomy match-ups and story-making, mixed with bits of grudges, complexes, and a legacy to uphold. Kaneko, Giant Silva, Pawel, Zulu, Takimoto, Saku, and Minowa (and maybe Nakamura and Yoshida) are all rating feeds with shaky futures. DSE wants Yoshida to face Fedor and Ogawa to make a come back. Saku will still be fighting. Mach may even retire after the vicious KO by Gomi. Murilo might be done after this disappointing decision. (I'm just making speculations.) Kikuta rarely gets called back to Pride and seems to have reached his limit. Everyone is sacrificed to build up the significance of the main storylines. And what can’t be settled with words needs to be settled with images. So goes the mechanism of myth and emotions, the axiom of all systems...

Enough talking.

Pick the party or the gloomy.

Lead or follow.

Happy New Year.