The lights are dimming, Yuji Shimada assumes his ringside seat, and somewhere amidst the third row, Bas Rutten is flirting with Japanese women adorned in schoolgirl outfits. The confusing/compelling opening ceremony rolls on the big screen while an arena of 90,000 MMA fans sit in funeral-like silence. It could only mean the long time revival of Pride FC, featuring the stars that made it shine for a decade of MMA’s most innovative era. Unfortunately, last week, Dana reminded us that Pride is a cold, lifeless corpse and Rampage returning to Japan for UFC 144 is the closest thing to a resurrection of Pride FC we’ll live to see (aside from ONE FC). Regardless of the pageantry the UFC is likely to omit from the former Japanese promotion, all the old school MMA fans will be hollering their finest Lenne Hardt impressions, screaming the names of the combatants entering the Octagon as they return to the land that grew the sport to cult-like proportions. Rampage is excited to revisit the land of the rising sun, he’s also excited to be fighting Ryan Bader, but he’s not so excited about Joe Rogan continuously calling him a one dimensional fighter and telling him what he ‘should’ be doing inside the Octagon. In this interview with Fighter’s Only, Rampage showcases some choice words for the UFC’s most beloved commentator and acknowledges that Joe Rogan’s ground game is probably better than his.
