Before One Championship there was Pride FC

Asian MMA is seemingly making a huge comeback with One Championship consistently putting on some spectacular shows. The level of Mixed martial arts is constantly evolving. Fighters are reaching new heights everytime they make that walk into the arena.

We live in an MMA world today where a balanced skillset is becoming the norm rather than the exception. This wasn’t always the case though, especially in the Pride FC days. Pride FC was the gem of Asian MMA long before One Championship came around. The first ever Pride FC event was held in 1997 in the Tokyo dome and quickly became the premier MMA event in Asia. In the early days of MMA, fighters were known more for their specialized skills than for their well balanced style. Of course, there were feared strikers like Mirco ‘Cro Cop’ Filipović and BJJ specialists like Rickson Gracie. However there was also some fighters that mixed it up beautifully even in the good ol’ days.

This article will bring to light some of the legendary Pride FC fighters. The ones that were an absolute terror both on the feet and the ground. Making their offensive and defensive capabilities difficult to handle, they paved the way for fighters in One Championship today.