Review of Pride FC 27: Inferno

Introduction

Held on 1st February 2004 at the Osaka Castle Hall in Japan, PRIDE FC 27 - subtitled "Inferno" - was the host to four "Survival" matches, from which the winners would advance to the annual Grand Prix tournament. Those four bouts were not all, of course, as there were three other non-Survival bouts, none more interesting than the main event, which saw legendary striker Mirko "Cro-Cop" Filipovic face off against wrestler Ron Waterman.

Here is the rundown of the card:

Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic vs Ron Waterman
Heath Herring vs Gan McGee
Mark Kerr vs Norihisa Yamamoto
Kazuhiro Nakamura vs Dos Caras Jr.
Murilo "Ninja" Rua vs Alexander Otsuka
Cory Peterson vs Sergei Kharitonov
Igor Vovchanchyn vs Dan Bobish

Video

Video is presented in 4:3 fullscreen PAL and is very good for a DVD of this genre. The source clearly from the American television master, so the image may be a little softer than British viewers are accustomed to, but the transfer has held up very nicely considering the main feature is almost 2 ¾ hrs long.

Audio

Audio is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 and is also very good. One of the great things about PRIDE FC is it`s commentary team, and here we have Mauro Ranallo leading the show with Bas Rutten providing technical analysis. This works extremely well, as Ranallo is a more than equal replacement for Stephen Quadros, now working with the UK`s Cage Rage.

Features

I am happy to say that some effort has gone into this set of extras. Naturally, given the length of the main feature, it is unfeasible to expect a multitude of extras, but this is well done. There is a behind-the-scenes look at the participants preparing for the event, a nice music video on the fighters` elaborate ring introductions, interviews with Ron Waterman and Heath Herring, as well as a look at the ring girls. Furthermore, we have fighter photo galleries, biographies, a glossary of fight terms, the rules of PRIDE, the commerical for the event, and it`s program cover and poster.

Amongst all that - which admittedly is nice but non-essential viewing - is a little gem. I have already made mention of the presence of commentator Mauro Ranallo at the event, which I believe was only his second PRIDE show. As such, Mirko CroCop and Bas Rutten collude to play a joke on him, where CroCop - one of the most dangerous men in the fight world - gives us his best Joe Pesci "Goodfellas" impression by making it very clear that he is most upset with the way Ranallo called his last fight. Cue Ranallo looking very, very scared! And I don`t blame him…

Conclusion

February 1st was not a good night for PRIDE FC. Whilst Mirko CroCop was in good form, unfortunately the likes of Heath Herring and Igor Vovchanchyn could not make up for the absence of the likes of Kazushi Sakuraba, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira or Fedor Emelianenko.

Mark Kerr, for example, looked a shadow of the monster his reputation says he is, during a truly embarrassing bout with Yoshihisa Yamamoto. Igor Vovchanchyn and Murilo "Ninja" Rua don`t scale those depths, but the former in particular seemed a little off form. Furthermore, the bouts involving Kazuhiro Nakamura and Dos Caras Jr. and Heath Herring and Gan McGee, are much too long without any real substance.

Having had 26 previous events under their belt, PRIDE perhaps should have known a little better when it came to match-making for this card. The aforementioned Sakuraba, Nogueira and Emelianenko can`t all be left off a major show. As such, CroCop was left to carry the load, and whilst he personally produced a good performance, there are certainly better titles on which to spend your FightDVD allowance.