PRIDE Fighting Championships was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion company. Its inaugural event was held at the Tokyo Dome on October 11, 1997. Pride held more than sixty mixed martial arts events, broadcast to about 40 countries worldwide. PRIDE was owned by the holding company Dream Stage Entertainment (DSE).
Joachim B. Hansen is a Norwegian retired mixed martial artist. He began his career fighting for FinnFight before moving on to fight for Shooto where he became the first Scandinavian person to hold an MMA world title after winning the Shooto World Lightweight Championship in 2003 from Takanori Gomi. Hansen later fought for the Pride Fighting Championship and most recently Dream where he became the Dream Lightweight Champion.
Kaoru "Caol" Uno is a Japanese mixed martial artist and professional wrestler. He is the Co-Champion of the UFC 41 Lightweight Tournament and a former Shooto Lightweight Champion. As one of the early Ultimate Fighting Championship's elite Lightweight competitors, Uno competed for the UFC Lightweight Championship on two occasions. Despite falling short in both championship bouts; losing a five-round decision against Jens Pulver at UFC 30, to determine the inaugural UFC Lightweight Champion as well as a draw against B.J. Penn at UFC 41, Uno is acknowledged as a pioneer for his impact and influence during the early era of the UFC Lightweight Division.
Hayato Sakurai also known as Mach, is a Japanese mixed martial artist. A professional competitor since 1996, he has formerly competed for the UFC, PRIDE, DREAM, Shooto, Vale Tudo Japan, DEEP, and participated in the Yarennoka!, Dynamite!! 2008, Dynamite!! 2009, Dynamite!! 2010, and Fight For Japan: Genki Desu Ka Omisoka 2011 events. Sakurai finished second (Silver) in the Absolute Class ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship in 1999 at just under 77 kg. During the height of his career in 2000 and 2001 he was considered to be one of the top pound for pound fighters in MMA. He is the former Shooto Middleweight Champion.
Norifumi "KID" Yamamoto was a Japanese mixed martial artist and kickboxer who competed in the bantamweight division of the UFC. He quickly gained popularity in the Shooto organization due to his aggressive, well-rounded style and controversial persona. He moved on to K-1 Hero's, where he became the K-1 Hero's 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix Tournament Champion in December, 2005 after defeating Genki Sudo via a controversial TKO due to punches.
UFC 41: Onslaught was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on February 28, 2003, at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The event was broadcast live on pay-per-view in the United States, and later released on DVD.
UFC 64: Unstoppable was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on Saturday, October 14, 2006. The event took place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, on the Las Vegas Strip in Nevada and was broadcast live on pay-per-view in the United States and Canada.
Shinya Aoki is a Japanese mixed martial artist, professional wrestler and grappler currently competing in ONE Championship's and Rizin Fighting Federation's Welterweight division. He also competes in DDT Pro-Wrestling where he is a former three-time DDT Extreme Champion. A professional competitor since 2003, he is noted for being the DREAM Lightweight Champion, former two time ONE Lightweight World Champion, former WAMMA Lightweight Champion and former Shooto Welterweight Champion. Aoki is an A-class Shootist and BJJ black belt, both under his long-term mentor Yuki Nakai, as well as a Black Belt Judoka. As of 2008, Aoki, along with DEEP champion Masakazu Imanari, and Sengoku champion Satoru Kitaoka have founded the "Nippon Top Team" as a group of elite Japanese grapplers competing in MMA. As well as his MMA credentials, Aoki has garnered several submission grappling accolades including two All Japan Jiu-Jitsu Championships, a Japan Open Jiu-Jitsu Championship, a Budo Open Championship, and an ADCC Japan Championship. As of October 6, 2022, he is ranked #5 in the ONE Lightweight rankings.
Hero's was a Japanese mixed martial arts promotion operated by Fighting and Entertainment Group, the parent entity behind kickboxing organization K-1. Grown from and branched off of K-1's earlier experiments in MMA, including the K-1 Romanex event and various MMA fights on its regular K-1 kickboxing cards, it held its first show on March 26, 2005. The promotion was handled by former Rings head Akira Maeda. At a press conference on February 13, 2008, FEG announced that they discontinued Hero's and were creating a new mixed martial arts franchise, Dream, in collaboration with former Pride FC executives from Dream Stage Entertainment.
Mitsuhiro Ishida is a retired Japanese mixed martial artist who competed in Shooto, Strikeforce, PRIDE, DREAM, and DEEP. A professional competitor from 2001 until 2011, Ishida also participated in the Yarennoka event in the Saitama Super Arena in Japan.
Gesias Cavalcante is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Lightweight division. He was the 2006 and 2007 K-1 HERO Middleweight Champion, and has also fought for Strikeforce, DREAM, Shooto, World Series of Fighting, and Cage Rage. Cavalcante also participated in the Dynamite!! USA event.
Dream 2: Middleweight Grand Prix 2008 1st Round was a mixed martial arts event promoted by Dream. It took place on Tuesday, April 29, 2008, at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama City, Japan.
Hideo Tokoro is a Japanese mixed martial artist who last competed in the Bantamweight division. A professional competitor since 2000, Tokoro has also formerly competed for Vale Tudo Japan, ZST, Shooto, Rings and K-1 Hero's. He is notable for holding the record for most weight divisions competed in by a professional MMA fighter, at seven, ranging from flyweight through to heavyweight.
Dream 3: Lightweight Grand Prix 2008 2nd Round was a mixed martial arts event promoted by Fighting and Entertainment Group's mixed martial arts promotion DREAM. The event took place on Tuesday May 11, 2008 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan and hosted the second round of the promotion's 70 kilograms (154 lb) Lightweight tournament.
Dream 4: Middleweight Grand Prix 2008 2nd Round was a mixed martial arts event held by FEG's mixed martial arts promotion DREAM. The event took place on June 15, 2008 at Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan, featuring the second round of the promotion's Middleweight tournament, with winners advancing to the Dream 6: Middleweight Grand Prix 2008 Final Round at the Saitama Super Arena on September 23, 2008.
DREAM.5 Light Weight Grandprix 2008 Final Round was a mixed martial arts event promoted by Fighting and Entertainment Group's mixed martial arts promotion DREAM. The event took place on Monday July 21, 2008 at the Osaka-jo Hall in Osaka, Japan and hosted the final round of the promotion's Lightweight tournament.
Dream 6: Middle Weight Grandprix 2008 Final Round was a mixed martial arts event promoted by Fighting and Entertainment Group's mixed martial arts promotion Dream on September 23, 2008. The event hosted the crowning of Dream's first Middleweight Champion, Gegard Mousasi, after the conclusion of the Middleweight Grand Prix.
World Victory Road Presents: Sengoku 6 was a mixed martial arts event promoted by World Victory Road. The event took place on November 1, 2008 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama City, Japan. It featured the semi-final and final matches of the organization's Lightweight- and Middleweight Grand Prix tournaments, allowing each tournament winner the opportunity to fight for the promotions championship.
Hiroyuki Takaya is a Japanese mixed martial artist currently competing in the Featherweight division. A professional competitor since 2003, Takaya has fought in the WEC, Strikeforce, DREAM, Shooto, K-1 HERO'S, Pancrase, RIZIN, Vale Tudo Japan, and Cage Force. Takaya is the former DREAM Featherweight Champion. He also competed at the Japanese MMA events Fight For Japan: Genki Desu Ka Omisoka 2011 and Dynamite!! 2010. Due to his experience in street fighting, Takaya is known as the "Streetfight Bancho".
The year 2006 was the 10th year in the history of the Pride Fighting Championships, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan. 2006 had 10 events beginning with, Pride 31 - Unbreakable.
Saitama, Japan