Pride FC VS UFC: Who Was Better?

Firstly to start I would like to state that these fights would take place in an octagon (mainly because most Pride fighters have fought in both while most UFC fighters haven't) and the predictions are based on the fighters when they were in their prime. So lets start.

UFC Welterweight (170lbs) VS Pride Lightweight (161lbs)

First off I know technically these two weight classes aren't the same but they are as close as possible. 

GSP 18-2 VS Takanori Gomi 30-5

To the fight, Gomi's main strength is his wrestling, which he uses to control fights. GSP also uses his wrestling to control fights but his wrestling is a grade above Gomi's which should allow GSP to easily dominate the fight on the ground. Also the level of GSP's opponents shows how good he really is. 

His most recent fight against BJ Penn is testament to his wrestling ability, he dominated the fight right from the start and grounded and pounded Penn into tapping, whereas Gomi's fight against Penn was a much different affair with Penn winning by rear naked choke.

Verdict: An easy win for GSP

UFC Middleweight (185lbs) VS Pride Welterweight (183lbs)

Anderson Silva 24-4 VS Dan Henderson 24-7

I know what you are all saying, easy win for The Spider right? But consider this the whole idea of these match-ups is to determine whether current UFC champs would beat the best of Pride when they were in their prime. So the question to ask is was Hendo in his prime when he fought Anderson Silva?

The answer is a hesitant no, Hendo's prime was around 2003-2006 when his record was only blemished by the likes of Nogueira and Misaki. So he was two years out of his prime when they faced each other. But there are other reasons why he might have lost their first encounter.

Firstly it was only his second fight in the octagon and he was coming off a loss to Rampage. Everyone knows that Anderson Silva is seemingly unbeatable at middleweight but Hendo performed the best out of anyone against Anderson so far and his big right hand kept Anderson weary through out their fight.

Verdict: A win for Anderson but not as comfortable as his recent opponents

UFC Light Heavyweight (205lbs) VS Pride Middleweight (203lbs)

Lyoto Machida 15-0 VS Wanderlei Silva 32-10-1

Lyoto seems unbeatable at the moment, no one has figured out a way to even hit him and he has bulldozed his way through previously undefeated fighters on his way to the UFC championship. While this has happened The Axe Murderer has lost five of his last sx fights but in his prime Wanderlei also seemed unstoppable. Wanderlei was Pride's golden boy, admired by fans for his reckless fighting style that earned him his nickname.

Some highlights included being the only man to knock Rampage into unconciousness and going on a 13 fight win streak from 2000-2003. This is truly an intriging match-up that I would love to see, the true technician against the battle hardened warrior. Would Wanderlei's unpredictable striking be his downfall or would it be the key to beating the undefeated karate master.

Verdict: Lyoto would just edge this for me, although I wouldn't at all be surprised if Wandy did drop The Dragon

UFC Heavyweight (265lbs) VS Pride Heavyweight (more than 205lbs)

Either Brock Lesnar 3-1 or Frank Mir 12-3 VS Fedor Emelianenko 30-1

Because of the two UFC Heavyweight titles I have to compare how both Mir and Lesnar might do against Fedor. Firstly Lesnar, Lesnar proved that he was the real deal at UFC 91 when he beat UFC hall of famer Randy Couture to win the title. Lesnar utalises his unique combination of incredible speed and strength to dominate his opponents, but surely this would not work against Fedor?

Yes he may get him down but Fedor is one of the most dangerous heavyweights when he is on his back and Fedor would surely win the standup with his superior striking. The only way Lesnar coud win at the moment would be to take Fedor down then straight away get back up and then take him down again for 25 minutes to win by decision.

Verdict: Easy win for Fedor, Lesnar struggles against good jiu jitsu and Fedor's jiu jitsu is just too good.

Frank Mir has already beaten Brock but that was a far from convincing performance, pulling out a leg lock after being hammerfisted for what seemed like an eternity. But against Fedor Mir would struggle. Mir has basically no wrestling so wouldn't be able to take Fedor down and Fedor has much the superior striking not to mention conditioning and takedown defence. Also Mir's main weapon, his dangerous guard, wouldn't be that effective against Fedor because of Fedors methodical approach to being in half guard rather than the sporadic Lesnar.

Verdict: Another easy win for Fedor, probably by knockout. Maybe if Lesnar and Mir had babies together the super-babies could beat Fedor? Hmmmmm

So there you go, it looks like a 3-1 victory for the UFC but with the exclusion of Fedor and GSP dominating their fights the other two were very close. So unfortunately no definative conclusion for you MMA fans except in 25 years time Frank Mir and Brock Lesnars babies will surely dominate the heavyweight division and will challenge an 57 year old Fedor at UFC 1000!