Review of Pride FC 24: Cold Fury 3

Introduction

This event, Cold Fury III, is not your typical PRIDE supercard. Yes, we have wonderful production values - CHECK. We have the typically respectful Japanese audience - CHECK. We have Stephen Quadros & Bas Rutten on the mic - CHECK.

But what we do not have are perennial favourites Kazushi Sakuraba, Emelianenko Fedor or Mirko Filipovic, I`m afraid. I`m a big fan of PRIDE heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, top of of the card here against Dan Henderson, but when I first saw the match list for this event, I became acutely aware that the fast striking action that I enjoy in PRIDE was going to be absent here, as many of the fighters listed preferred a ground-based, submission game.

Still, Cold Fury III, held on 23rd December 2002 in Fukuoka had some appeal, with the Nogueira main event & the bout involving Kevin Randleman offering particular potential for excitement. And by the time that a lone Japanese ceremonial drummer had begun proceedings with an interesting pre-bout display, I was ready to enjoy the card. FIGHT!

Video

At risk of repeating myself, this event is presented in 4:3 non-anamorphic PAL, and is tremendous considering that the event lasts almost three hours. Video is very sharp, and the visual experience is aided further by the quality of the ring lighting, the expansive introductions, and the camerawork which takes you inside the ring on occasion, making sure that you can see every choke, mount or guard that takes place.

Audio

Audio is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0, and is very good for a DVD of this genre. Everything is clear & there are no audio sync issues. Commentary by Stephen Quadros & Bas Rutten is also both informative and entertaining. As is always the case with PRIDE events, particularly interesting is the ability to hear everything that goes on inside the ring - even, on one occasion, a fighter gasping for air as he struggles with his opponent! - such is the reserved nature of the Japanese crowd.

Features

Extras on this disc are standard on Region 2 PRIDE DVDs. Therefore, we have the short "What Is PRIDE?" documentary (which, despite its brevity, is still worthwhile for first-time viewers), a list of the PRIDE rules, a glossary of fight terms, and a "Ring Girls" photo gallery. On this disc, also included is a bonus match with Norihisa Yamamoto vs Alexsander Otsuka. These extras are adequate considering that the main feature itself lasts almost three hours.

Conclusion

As I watched the full event I couldn`t help but think that my initial grievances about this disc were coming to pass in front of my eyes. The bouts involving Guy Mezger & Antonio Rogerio Noguiera (don`t confuse him with his more illustrious brother, the PRIDE heavyweight champion!) and Rodrigo Gracie & Yuki Sasaki were particularly cautious, whilst the Ron Waterman vs Valentijn Overeem bout was too short to gain any momentum.

Thank goodness then, for the semi and main events with Kevin Randleman vs Murilo Ninja and Antonio Rodorigo Nogueira vs Dan Henderson. Just like the last matches should be, these were excellent even if they involved little stand-up striking action. Henderson`s performance against Nogueira was phenomenal considering that the champion`s fans had expected a relatively quick win.

All in all, this is an average mixed martial arts event, and below par for PRIDE FC. Fans of ground-based action may find this appealing, but those with a passion for kick-boxing & stand-up fighting in general may wish to wait for the return of Filipovic, Fedor et al.