Contrary to popular belief, there is no Year Zero. Decades run from XXX1 to XX10. So while other MMA sites erroneously ran decade retrospectives last year, Bloody Elbow stayed the course of truth and fact. We polled the staff for their picks in a variety of topics covering the first decade of the third millennium A.D. Here’s what they had to say.
Kid Nate: The emergence of the U.S. as the center of the MMA world. For 10 the first 15 years of modern MMA’s existence, the center of gravity was in Japan. From the start of Pride in 1997 to its collapse in 2007, the biggest names, the biggest audiences, the biggest fights and the most spectacular events in the sport all happened in Japan. The rise of the UFC, beginning with Griffin vs Bonnar and climaxing with Brock Lesnar’s triumph at UFC 100, in conjunction with the end of the MMA boom in Japan completely changed the sport.
Brent Brookhouse: I’d say the UFC’s dominance of MMA is the story of the decade. They buried every significant competitor and then even put the WEC under because the little promotion couldn’t escape big brother’s shadow.
Mike Fagan: It might be hard to understand the gravity of Pride’s extinction for newer fans of the sport. Imagine if a scandal broke that revealed the UFC and the mob had been fixing fights since it was purchased by Zuffa in 2001. Spike dropped programming, pay-per-view carriers refused to broadcast events. And then the company just sort of disappeared. The MMA landscape would be forever altered. Yeah, that’s kind of what happened in Japan in the middle of the decade.
Scott Haber: The dissolution and purchase of PRIDE by the UFC. Just because of the fact that fans are still discussing Pride vs. UFC rivalries today as if Pride never disappeared, this has to be the biggest MMA story of the decade. Despite the occasional freak-shows and shady behind-the-scenes dealings, Pride was the only truly strong competition (in terms of the quality of fighters) the UFC has had, and Zuffa’s purchase of the assets only reaffirmed the UFC’s enormous stature and omnipotence in the MMA world.
Jonathan Snowden: The death of PRIDE is still being felt, its mere aftershocks occasionally rocking the MMA world from time to time even now. Just a scant few years ago we had two major promotions, each dominating in their respective sphere. It was a glorious time and to its fans PRIDE will surely never die. Nothing that great ever could. That’s what memories are for.
Chris Barton: As an avid supporter of “One Org Rules Them All” I always wanted PRIDE to win out. I already felt they had the best fighters in the first place, so bringing in the few really talented guys from the UFC made sense. Then one day I got half of my wish, one of the big two went down. Just not the one I preferred. The Fall and Sale of PRIDE has to be the most important story that happened this decade. Its effects still reverberate around the sport internationally. Japanese MMA has never recovered and I doubt it ever will.