Review of Pride FC 29: Fists of Fire

Introduction

Held on 20th February 2005 from the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, "PRIDE 29: Fists of Fire" was highlighted by a main event of expert kickboxer Mirko "CroCop" Filipovic vs 1992 Olympic wrestler Mark "The Hammer Coleman".

The entire card was as follows:

- Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic vs. Mark Coleman
- Quinton "Rampage" Jackson vs. Murilo "Ninja" Rua
- Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Alistair Overeem
- Kiyoshi Tamura vs. Aliev Makhmud
- Sergei Kharitonov vs. Mu Bae Choi
- Kazuhiro Nakamura vs. Stefan Leko
- Igor Vovchanchyn vs. Yoshiki Takahashi
- Mauricio "Shogun" Rua vs. Hiromitsu Kanehara
- Fabricio Werdum vs. Tom Erikson
- Mario Sperry vs. Hirotaka Yokoi

Video

Video is presented in 4:3 fullscreen PAL and is excellent for a DVD of this genre. PRIDE events look much different to their American counterparts, as whilst the fighters` entrances are beyond spectacular, the crowd is dimly lit during the matches to allow few ringside distractions.

In any case, this is an excellent transfer from the original NTSC.

Audio

Audio is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0 and is very good for a DVD of this genre. Commentary is superbly provided by Mauro Ranallo and Bas Rutten, with Ranallo in particular providing tremendous background on the fighters and recent bouts.

Features

There are a remarkable amount of extras present here, given that the main feature itself runs for 2 ¾hrs. There are two music videos - highlighting the fighter entrances and the ring girls of PRIDE - an event photo gallery, several (extremely well produced) interviews with the fighters, an amusing look behind the scenes at PRIDE, a gallery of the event poster and program cover, a "What is PRIDE FC?" featurette, fighter biographies, details of the rules of PRIDE, and a glossary of fight terms.

All of these features help to compliment the main feature, with the fighter interviews particularly interesting.

Conclusion

PRIDE 29 began with Mario Sperry facing Hirotaka Yokoi, in a match which featured some brutal strikes from Sperry, but little else aside from that. Equally, there was nothing to write home about in the Werdum vs Erikson match, although Hiromitsu Kanehara and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua then had what would prove to be the best match of the evening, a tremendously positive match which involved some brutal striking.

Igor Vovchanchyn debuted a new slender physique in the next bout, a short but spectacular contest against Yoshiki Tanahashi. Stefan Leko then faced Kazuhiro Nakamura in a bout which was much too one-sided, before Choi Mu Bae and Sergei Kharitonov clashed in a match notable only for a good knockout finish.

Unfortunately, the next bout between Aliev Makhmud and Kiyoshi Tamura was an anti-climax due to injury, although things did take a step up in the next encounter, as Alistair Overeem faced Antonio Rogerio Nogueira (not be confused with his more illustrious brother) in a match-up where both displayed tremendous technique. Quinton Jackson then emerged for his bout with Murilo "Ninja" Rua, who seemed to want to sabotage the bout but clinching with Jackson at every opportunity.

The main event was undoubtedly the most highly-anticipated match on the card, a true kickboxer vs wrestler bout as Mirko CroCop faced off against Mark Coleman. The match was rather one-sided, however, and by the end, didn`t feel much like a main event calibre match.

Overall, PRIDE 29 was an average event, which had two quite good matches in Overeem vs Nogueira and Kanehara vs "Shogun" Rua. I`m afraid that two out of ten bouts simply isn`t enough, however.