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Pride 20: Armed and Ready
Official Results

By Aaron Crecy

Pride 20: Armed and Ready
Sunday, April 28, 2002
Yokohama Arena, Yokohama, Japan

Fight One
Bob Sapp def. Norihisa Yamamoto
by referee stoppage (strikes), 2:44 R1

Sapp simply overpowered his unfortunate opponent with a series of kneebuckling uppercuts. The former Minnesota Viking lineman calmly stalked the retreating Yamamoto around the ring and knocked him silly whenever he was close enough to land a punch. Certainly a work in progress, Sapp did not throw any kicks despite the fact that he represents K-1.

Fight Two
Quinton Jackson def. Masaaki Satake
by referee stoppage (slam), 7:07 R1

Jackson displayed a wider array of skills than in any of his previous fights. Now a member of Tito Ortiz's Team Punishment, Jackson incorporated newfound Muay Thai and groundfighting techniques, delivering an assortment of knees from both the clinch and the side mount. Old habits die hard, however, as Jackson ultimately stopped Satake--and sent him hobbling to the hospital with an injured back -- behind the strength of a suplay, his second high amplitude takedown of the fight.

Fight Three
Antonio Rogerio Nogueira def. Yusuke Imamura
by submission (guillotine choke), :35 R1

The lesser known of the Nogueira twins barely broke a sweat as he applied a guillotine choke to defend against an Imamura single leg attempt. After the Brazilian adjusted his hips to cinch the lock even tighter, the latest Takada Dojo disappointment could either tap out or pass out -- he tapped.

Fight Four
Ricardo Arona def. Dan Henderson
by majority decision, 2-1

This seesaw battle saw Arona bull his way forward to record strong takedowns, while Henderson scored damaging strikes and knees in the standup. On the ground, Henderson was able to score several escapes and reversals during the first two rounds. Bleeding from his right eye -- compliments of a crisp left hook -- Arona won the fight by controlling from the top position for almost the entire third round, gaining a full mount and nearly locking up a rear naked choke when Henderson tried to escape.

Fight Five
Murilo Rua def. Mario Sperry
by unanimous decision

Save for two occasions when Sperry seemed closed to securing arm lock submissions, Rua dominated this fight. He landed a series of damaging left hands, dropping Sperry early in the first round with one such strike. Maintaining his trademark frenetic pace, the chubby young Chute Boxer scored from Sperry's guard with knees and strikes. Obviously spent, visibly battered and bleeding from cuts over both eyes, the Brazilian Top Team patriarch nonetheless willed himself to the painful finish.

Fight Six
Sanae Kikuta def. Alexander Otsuka
by unanimous decision

Kikuta dominated the fight from beginning to end, demonstrating impressive grappling skills. However, Otsuka did nothing to test the Pancrase star, easily giving up the rear mount and the full mount several times. The most exciting moment of this bout occurred when Otsuka refused to shake Kikuta's hand before the opening bell -- after that, it was a yawner. Kikuta's striking was subpar while Otsuka's was nonexistent. However, a gruesome lump on Otsuka's bald skull did provide a certain amount of fascination.

Fight Seven
Vanderlei Silva and Mirko Filopovic,
Draw

While this fight had the potential to be a memorable one, it did not unfold as such. Instead, both fighters proved cautious -- Silva was worried about Cro Cop's striking while the Croatian was worried about giving up the takedown. Silva was the more aggressive of the two, scoring several takedowns and trying to land strikes. Filopovic was content to kicks, delivering several to Silva's ribs; however, he rarely let loose his fists. At the end of five three-minute rounds, the contest was declared a draw, an unfulfilling finish to an evening that seemed to climax after the fifth fight.


Complete coverage of the event in the
May 2002 issue of FULL CONTACT FIGHTER, subscribe now!


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