I was famous there but after the tour would fly home to Arizona and no-one would recognize me. Frye said: “I always wanted to see what the other guy had.
“His left eye was closing fast, so I took advantage with right hooks and uppercuts he probably couldn’t see coming. Takayama: “I felt our physical strength was equal when we were wrestling. Not when the “I loved pro-wrestling,” Frye said. He remembers: “We were both tired and beat up, but there’s a point in hard fights when size begins to matter a little less and technique and experience matters a little more.”The fight had reached the five minute mark, but PRIDE FC favored 10-minute opening rounds. Both warriors were dragging up reserves from the pits of their souls.
It was followed by another huge grudge match, also years in the making, vs Ken Shamrock.To note the build up to the PRIDE 19 showdown was marred by nasty personal insults would be to promote such antics to the level of respectability. That night Takayama earned the respect of millions of MMA fans, and made the normally hushed and respectful Japanese crowd roar. Don Frye vs Yoshihiro Takayama - CRAZY MMA FIGHT - YouTube
Frye said: “His legs looked like two welterweights with their heads up his ass. So I kept going back.”He fought another 15 times after the Takayama classic, winning only five.
If he could take my punch, if I could take his best punch. I thought if he can come back, so could I.”Frye was 35 and the advantages he enjoyed in the mid-90s – the boxing, NCAA Division 1 wrestling and judo experience – had long since been superseded. The American got to his feet only to be met with another gut churning knee to the belly.Takayama: “I was very confident after I threw him with the suplex and followed it up with a knee kick that was successful. “When I learned how bad Mark was hurt all I thought about was him being okay,” Frye said.
He finally retired, aged 46, in December 2011. But let’s just say ol’ Don Frye flying back to Arizona with all his teeth wasn’t a major concern for them.” Referee Shimada then noticed the grotesque damage to his countryman’s eye. “So - let’s really fight was my thought. He’s still a joker. You. I didn’t care who saw (my ear). Only then, with them locked together gasping for air, did the referee break them and replace Frye’s mouthpiece.The Predator shrugged: “That was PRIDE. No-one had anything to say (about it) then.”In the pro-wrestling lexicon, grapplers who can handle themselves in real fights are called a ‘shooters.’ When he joined the profession in 1992, it didn’t take the 6ft 6inch, 270lbs Takayama long to establish his shooter First, he worked the ultra-realistic style that was in vogue at the time and became noted for his ability to absorb pathological amounts of pain.
I threw down the bag of money and told the blonde behind the desk ‘I’m here to make a deposit and I’ll stand right here while you count it, darling.’”PRIDE promised Frye the Coleman match would happen, but the Predator’s first PRIDE fight was the foul-invested PRIDE 16 tangle with eye-raking sociopath Gilbert Yvel in September 2001. He was exhausted. The man had fought“God gave me the greatest opponent anyone could ever ask for. Please But everyone I meet who knows that I was a fighter, they always want to hear about the fight with Takayama-san. Nevertheless, PRIDE was thrilled to offer huge money to a former UFC champion who was already a massive star in Japan to boot. What history doesn’t record (and what no-one in my contact book can recall) is when each fighter was informed of the new main event.Let me explain. Debuting for UWF International (UWFI) in the 1990s, Takayama joined All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW) in 1997 after UWF-i folded. I landed on top. PRIDE boss Nobuyuki Sakakibara had personally begged Don Frye to appear on the card.
The July 1996 loss – painful and protracted over twelve long minutes – sat in the pit of Frye’s guts like a rusting nail. He surpassed that in the opening three minutes of the Takayama brawl.
“Takayama-san is very polite. Takayama, an accomplished and storied pro wrestler, had no business stepping into the Pride ring to fight a badass like Frye, but he did, and he wouldn’t give an inch.
You are the reason our fight beat the World Cup of Soccer head to head on TV. He didn’t have a lot of skills on the ground.