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By Eduardo Alonso It would be very hard, if not impossible, to top PRIDE's last two great shows. With the cards loaded with top fighters, the drama and anticipation leading up to the events and so much on the line, with excitement that perhaps only the tournament format can provide, how could they top or even match the recent events? Apparently DSE knew this was pretty much impossible, and took a different approach with this show -- opting for a card that would give proven fighters another chance and build momentum and expectation for their future appearances in upcoming shows, billing PRIDE 30 as "Starting Over" in Japan. It made much sense if you consider all the aspects, and there you had names like Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, Kazushi Sakuraba, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Murilo "Ninja" being given a chance to shine again, and shine they did! Over the course of four hours, PRIDE 30 presented some of their old stars, giving the fighters' fans hope of improved performances in the future. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson showcased some of his old aggressiveness in his winning effort against Hirotaka Yokoi. Although Yokoi, to the surprise of many, had his moments in the fight, managing to even work from the top for a while, only to see Jackson reverse the fight and impose his typical severe ground-and-pound game, getting himself back in the winner's circle. Kazushi Sakuraba's recent training with his former nemesis at the Chute Boxe academy seems to have paid off quite nicely. After an initial feeling out period by both sides, Sakuraba surprised Shamrock with punches that had the veteran turning his back to the assault. Shamrock ate a couple more strikes in the process and the referee stopped the fight. Although Shamrock looked to be okay and argued with the referee over the stoppage, he was not defending himself from Sakuraba's attack. Sakuraba celebrated the victory with his new Chute Boxe friends. The famous team from Curitiba had plenty of reasons to celebrate, as Murilo "Ninja" Rua showed up fit and eager for a very action-packed fight against Golden Glory's own Murad Chunkaiev, that lasted less than four minutes. During several scrambles and exchanges, in typical Ninja fashion, the Brazilian was able to hurt his opponent a couple of times with knee strikes and kicks. The end came when Murad got a reversal and Ninja adjusted to lock up a sweet heel hook for the tap. It has been years since Ninja was this fit, active and fast in a fight; after the bout he issued a challenge to BTT representative Paulo Filho, speaking to the camera in Portuguese on his way out. However, another game Brazilian was unable fare as well, as Fabricio Werdum put in a very solid effort, but came up short against Russian sensation Sergei Kharitonov. The fight was mostly spent with Werdum trying for takedowns after boxing for a while, and Kharitonov defending the attempts, and refusing to engage on the ground. Smart move, because Werdum was connecting with up-kicks from his back on the ground, and moving well. However, even though the Brazilian landed some shots of his own standing up, Kharitonov got the better of the exchanges, opening some cuts and working for a fair split decision win that moved him a bit higher in the heavyweight rankings. Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic erased any doubts left by his first match against Josh Barnett, as both battled through three tough rounds, that mostly saw Barnett pressing action and trying to work at close range, while Mirko would move and hit, getting the better out of the punches. The surprise came with Cro Cop's successful ground dominance, achieving mount a couple of times and working safely on the ground, while hitting his opponent. A flurry of punches that dazed Barnett also added to Filipovic's lead on the cards, granting him a unanimous decision win. Cro Cop has something to settle with Nogueira in December, on what promises to be an electrifying card. Here are the results: PRIDE 30: Fully Loaded/Starting Over Held October 23, 2005 Saitama Super Arena Saitama, Japan
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