10 Things the UFC Should Do to Make 144 Feel Like a Pride Show

This Saturday, the UFC makes its return to the land of the rising sun, as Frankie Edgar looks to defend his lightweight title against Benson Henderson at UFC 144.

There will be seven fights on the main card, four on FX and one on Facebook. This card is absolutely stacked, and there are sure to be great fights across the board.

Many fans were hoping that the UFC would do something to make it feel like a Pride show, and while Dana White has said that won't be the case, let's take a look at 10 things he could have done if he wanted to.

Have a Ring

Obviously this one is almost assured not to happen, but if the UFC wanted to make it seem like a Pride show, they would have a ring.

However, this would change the dynamics of the fight, and many fighters wouldn't be used to having ropes instead of the cage.

Allow Kicks/ Knees/ Stomps to a Grounded Opponent

Another one that is almost assured not to happen would be allowing kicks, knees and stomps to the heads of grounded opponents.

This one would require a deviation from the Unified Rules of MMA and fighters would not be used to the ability to use the new strikes.

Stage and Intros

One of the coolest parts about Pride was the fact that they made the fighter walk-outs a huge spectacle. Much more so than the UFC does.

The entire intro was a show within itself, and the fighters really appreciated the opportunity to entertain the fans with their introductions.

Of course, you can't do the Pride intros without...

Lenne Hardt

Lenne Hardt was the Pride announcer who absolutely amped the fans up like nobody else can.

Her way of screaming the introductions just sent shockwaves of psychitude through the masses that were at the events live.

Recently, Ms. Hardt announced the weigh-ins for ProElite 3, and can be heard in the new UFC video game, UFC Undisputed 3.

Different Judging Criteria

For those that don't know, Pride fights were judged on a different criteria than UFC fights are today.

UFC fights are scored on the 10-point-must scoring system, which means that the winner of the round gets 10 points, and the opponent gets nine or less.

In Pride, fights were judged based on their entirety, and whoever the judges felt won the fight overall, and not just round by round.

Fans would likely welcome this new judging system, until someone got screwed over with a "bad" decision.

Penalty Cards

When there was stalling or another type of infraction in a fight or does not follow a referee's instructions, there were certain "penalty cards" that were given.

A "warning" was given in the form of a yellow card or a green card—the green card gives a 10 percent deduction of a fighter's purse. Three warnings would result in a disqualification.

Different Round System

In Pride, the first round was 10 minutes long, and the next two were each five minutes.

Many have said lately that a 10 minute first round would improve the quality of fights in the UFC, and Pride certainly did have some great fights using that system.

Additionally, the rest periods were two minutes each, as opposed to the one minute that UFC fighters get now.

White Octagon

In Pride, the ring had a white canvas. Blood would show up a lot more, but it also looked pretty darn cool.

This would be the most likely possibility if the UFC were to do anything to make it like a Pride show.

Different Weight Classes

In Pride, there were only four weight classes, and they were slightly different from those in the UFC today.

Lightweight was considered 161 pounds and under. Welterweight was 183 and under. Middleweight was 205 and under. Heavyweight was anything above 205.

Any fighter could be booked against any fighter of any weight class. There was no requirement to fight at a certain weight on the lower end.

With that in mind...

Have Stefan Struve Fight Demetrious Johnson

Because Pride was always good for a freak-show fight every now and then.

Thanks for reading!

Tim McTiernan is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. For the latest news on everything MMA, follow me on twitter @TimMcTiernan.