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).
Royce Gracie is a Brazilian retired professional mixed martial artist, a UFC Hall of Famer, and a Gracie Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. A member of the Gracie family, he is considered to be one of the most influential figures in the history of mixed martial arts (MMA). He also competed at PRIDE Fighting Championships, K-1's MMA events and at Bellator.
Kazushi Sakuraba is a Japanese professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and submission wrestler, currently signed to Rizin Fighting Federation and Pro Wrestling Noah, where he was formerly one-half of the former GHC Tag Team Champions with Takashi Sugiura. He has also competed in traditional puroresu for New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and shoot-style competition for UWFi and Kingdom Pro Wrestling (KPW). He has fought in MMA competition in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Pride Fighting Championships, Hero's and Dream. He is known as the Gracie Hunter or the Gracie Killer due to his wins over four members of the famed Gracie family: Royler Gracie, Renzo Gracie, Ryan Gracie, and Royce Gracie. Sakuraba is famous for beating 15 champions of different top MMA organizations; opponents who were often many weight-classes above him.
Kiyoshi Tamura is a Japanese retired professional wrestler and mixed martial artist. Once a student of legendary professional wrestlers Billy Robinson, Lou Thesz and Akira Maeda, Tamura was known for his skills in catch wrestling and is considered to be one of the greatest shoot wrestlers of all time. Competing exclusively in shoot style wrestling, Tamura began his career with UWF Newborn and later joined its successor group UWF International before transitioning to mixed martial arts.
Paulo Fernando de Souza Leite Filho, better known as simply Paulo Filho, is a Brazilian retired mixed martial artist who last competed in the Middleweight division. A professional competitor from 2000 until 2014, Filho was the last WEC Middleweight Champion, and also competed in PRIDE, DREAM, Pancrase, DEEP, Impact FC, and the World Series of Fighting.
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.
Kazuo Misaki Japanese: 三崎和雄 is a retired Japanese professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 2001 until 2013, he was the 2006 PRIDE Welterweight Grand Prix Champion, and also competed in Sengoku, Pancrase, DEEP, and Strikeforce. His 2010 bout with Jorge Santiago for the Sengoku Middleweight Championship was InsideMMA's "Fight of the Year."
Melvin Manhoef is a retired Surinamese-born Dutch mixed martial artist and kickboxer. In kickboxing, he is a former It's Showtime Middleweight Champion, and in MMA he was the Cage Rage Light Heavyweight Champion. In mixed martial arts, he competed in Bellator's Light heavyweight and Middleweight division and has also formerly competed for Strikeforce, DREAM, RINGS, It's Showtime, K-1, ONE FC, and KSW. 29 of his 32 wins have come via knockout, the highest percentage of any MMA fighter with at least 15 wins.
Dream was a Japanese mixed martial arts (MMA) organization promoted by former PRIDE FC executives and K-1 promoter Fighting and Entertainment Group. Dream replaced FEG's previous-run mixed martial arts fight series, Hero's. The series retained many of the stylistic flourishes and personnel from Pride FC broadcasts, including fight introducer Lenne Hardt. In America, the promotion was aired on HDNet. They promoted over 20 shows highlighting some of the best Japanese and international MMA talent, establishing or enhancing the careers of top ranked fighters such as Shinya Aoki, Gesias Cavalcante, Tatsuya Kawajiri, Ronaldo Jacaré, Eddie Alvarez, Jason Miller, Kazushi Sakuraba, Gegard Mousasi and Alistair Overeem.
Dream 1: Lightweight Grand Prix 2008 1st Round was the inaugural event of the mixed martial arts promotion, Dream. It took place on Saturday, on March 15, 2008 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama City, Japan.
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 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.
Dynamite!! 2008 was the annual kickboxing and mixed martial arts event held by K-1 & DREAM on New Year's Eve, Wednesday, December 31, 2008, at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. It featured eleven DREAM mixed martial arts rules fights in a variety of weight classes, four K-1 rules fights, and the inaugural K-1 KOSHIEN Under 18 high school tournament.
Dream.8: Welter Weight Grand Prix 2009 First Round was a mixed martial arts event promoted by Fighting and Entertainment Group's mixed martial arts promotion Dream on April 5, 2009. Unlike Dream's past tournaments, the Welter Weight Grand Prix is only scheduled to have eight participants. DREAM's welterweight division has a 76 kilograms (168 lb) weight limit.
Andrews Nakahara is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist, kickboxer and kyokushin karateka currently signed with K-1. He made his MMA pro debut against Kazushi Sakuraba at the Dream 2: Middleweight Grand Prix 2008 First Round. Andrews and Francisco Filho were awarded in 2008 a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Blue Belt under former Strikeforce contender Marcos Barbosa.
Dream 12 was a mixed martial arts event promoted by Fighting and Entertainment Group's mixed martial arts promotion Dream that took place on October 25, 2009 in Osaka, Japan. The event marked the first time Dream used a hexagon cage. Fights consisted of three five-minute rounds, as used in the North American system, though elbows remained illegal.
Fight For Japan: Genki Desu Ka Omisoka 2011, also known as Fight for Japan. How are you! New Year! 2011 was a mixed martial arts, puroresu and kickboxing event in the annual New Year's Eve event promoted by FEG, M-1 Global and the Inoki Genome Federation that took place on December 31, 2011 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.
The year 2017 was the third year in the history of the Rizin Fighting Federation, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan. 2017 started with Rizin Fighting Federation 5 in Yokohama. It started broadcasting through a television agreement with Fuji Television. In North America and Europe Rizin FF 5 was available on FITE TV.
The mixed martial arts fight between Kazushi Sakuraba and Royce Gracie was held in 2000 at PRIDE Fighting Championships. Due to its special rules, it lasted 90 minutes before ending with the victory of Sakuraba by TKO. It has been widely considered one of the greatest and most influential MMA fights of all time, as well as a vital part of the rivalry between the Gracie family and Sakuraba, who gained the nickname "Gracie Hunter" after the match. It was followed by a rematch in 2007 in K-1 Dynamite!! USA, where Gracie defeated Sakuraba by controversial fashion and tested positive for steroids after the bout.
Saitama, Japan
