Pride is the biggest MMA org in Japan, probably the world. The fights are in a ring with slightly different ruleset; Pride does not allow elbows to the face but (in Japan at least) they allow stomps, kicks, and knees to the head of a downed opponent, but this is not legal under the Nevada State Athletic Commision so it will not be allowed at this show. In Japan Pride's round and scoring system is different as well, they have a 10 min first round, 5 min second round, and depending on the fight they will have a 5 min third round; the fights are judged on the whole instead of round by round, but again this will all change in America and they will have to follow the NSAC rules.
In general Pride is known for having great fighters, but with an emphasis more on the entertainment side than the legit sporting side, so it can seem like a freak show at times. They just did a bunch of publicity with Mike Tyson, knowing full well that he will never have anything to do with Pride again, he won't box any exhibitions for them, and he damn well won't fight any MMA, they've also used Sumo wrestlers, masked mexican pro wrestlers who appeared totally untrained, a Japanese actor, and various other sideshows. They also tend to heavily favor whoever they prefer to win. There is no Athletic Commision governing MMA in Japan (well there is the shooto commision but Pride does not follow it) so Pride is not accountable to anybody but their company and is free to police itself, which leads to pretty questionable choices at times.
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