2002 in Pride FC

The year 2002 was the 6th year in the history of the Pride Fighting Championships, a mixed martial arts promotion based in Japan. 2002 had 10 events beginning with, Pride FC: The Best, Vol. 1.

2002 in Pride FC
Information
First date	February 22, 2002
Last date	December 23, 2002
Events
Total events	10
Fights
Total fights	80
Title fights	2
Chronology
2001 in Pride 2002 in Pride FC 2003 in Pride

Title fights

Title fights in 2002
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Event	Notes
Middleweight	Wanderlei Silva (c)	def.	Kiyoshi Tamura	KO (Punch)	2	2:28	Pride 19: Bad Blood	[a]
Middleweight	Wanderlei Silva (c)	def.	Hiromitsu Kanehara	TKO (Corner Stoppage)	1	3:40	Pride 23: Championship Chaos 2	[b]

1. For the Pride Fighting Championship World Middleweight Championship.
2. For the Pride Fighting Championship World Middleweight Championship.

Debut Pride FC fighters

The following fighters fought their first Pride FC fight in 2002:

Achmed Labasanov Aji Susilo Akira Nitagai Alistair Overeem Anderson Silva Andrei Kopylov Antônio Rogério Nogueira Bazigit Atajev Bob Sapp Daisuke Nakamura Daniel Gracie Demetrius Gioulacos Eiji Mitsuoka Fatih Kocamis Fedor Emelianenko Gilles Arsene Han Ten Yun Hidehiko Yoshida Hidehisa Matsuda

Hiromitsu Kanehara Hirotaka Yokoi Jerrel Venetiaan Joe Son John Alessio Jong Wang Kim Jukei Nakajima Kazuki Okubo Ken Orihashi Kenichi Yamamoto Kestutis Smirnovas Kevin Randleman Kiyoshi Tamura Kyosuke Sasaki Lloyd Van Dams Paulo Filho Ron Waterman Rory Singer Scott Bills

Shinichiro Takamura Sokun Koh Steve White Takahiro Oba Takashi Sugiura Tatsuya Iwasaki Tim Catalfo Togo Togo Tomohiko Hashimoto Xue Do Won Yoshinori Kawakami Yoshinori Sasaki Yuji Hisamatsu Yuki Sasaki Yukiya Naito Yuriy Kochkine Yushin Okami Yusuke Imamura Yutaro Miyamoto

Events list

Main article: List of Pride FC events

#	Event	Japanese name	Date held	Venue	City	Attendance
30	Pride 24 - Cold Fury 3	—	December 23, 2002	Marine Messe Fukuoka	Fukuoka, Japan	—
29	Pride 23 - Championship Chaos 2	—	November 24, 2002	Tokyo Dome	Tokyo, Japan	52,228
28	Pride FC - The Best, Vol. 3	—	October 20, 2002	Differ Ariake Arena	Tokyo, Japan	—
27	Pride 22 - Beasts from the East 2	—	September 29, 2002	Nagoya Rainbow Hall	Nagoya, Japan	—
26	Pride FC - Shockwave	Dynamite!	August 28, 2002	Tokyo National Stadium	Tokyo, Japan	91,107
25	Pride FC - The Best, Vol. 2	—	July 20, 2002	Differ Ariake Arena	Tokyo, Japan	—
24	Pride 21 - Demolition	—	June 23, 2002	Saitama Super Arena	Saitama, Japan	—
23	Pride 20 - Armed and Ready	—	April 28, 2002	Yokohama Arena	Yokohama, Japan	18,926
22	Pride 19 - Bad Blood	—	February 24, 2002	Saitama Super Arena	Saitama, Japan	—
21	Pride FC - The Best, Vol. 1	—	February 22, 2002	Korakuen Hall	Tokyo, Japan	—

Pride FC: The Best, Vol. 1

Pride: The Best Vol. 1
Promotion	Pride Fighting Championships
Date	February 22, 2002
Venue	Korakuen Hall
City	Tokyo
Event chronology
Pride 18 Pride: The Best Vol. 1 Pride 19

Pride FC: The Best, Vol. 1^[1] was an event held on February 22, 2002 at the Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan.

Results

Main Card
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
	Yusuke Imamura	def.	Joe Son	TKO (Elbow Injury)	1	0:33
	Sokun Koh	def.	Amir Rahnavardi	KO (Punch)	2	1:19
	Takayuki Okada	def.	Soichi Nishida	TKO (Punches)	1	2:00
	Daiju Takase	def.	Johil de Oliveira	Decision (Unanimous)	3	5:00
	Jong Wang Kim	def.	Yoshinori Sasaki	Submission (Guillotine Choke)	1	0:25
	Eiji Mitsuoka	def.	Anthony Macias	Decision (Unanimous)	3	5:00

Pride 19: Bad Blood

Pride 19
Promotion	Pride Fighting Championships
Date	February 24, 2002
Venue	Saitama Super Arena
City	Saitama
Event chronology
Pride: The Best Vol. 1 Pride 19 Pride 20

Pride 19: Bad Blood^[2] was an event held on February 24, 2002 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

Results

Main Card
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
Middleweight	Wanderlei Silva (c)	def.	Kiyoshi Tamura	KO (Punch)	2	2:28	[a]
	Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira	def.	Enson Inoue	Technical Submission (Triangle Choke)	1	6:17
	Don Frye	def.	Ken Shamrock	Decision (Split)	3	5:00
	Heath Herring	def.	Igor Vovchanchyn	Decision (Unanimous)	3	5:00
	Carlos Newton	def.	Jose Landi	Submission (Armbar)	1	7:16
	Rodrigo Gracie	def.	Daijiro Matsui	Submission (Guillotine Choke)	3	0:28
	Alex Stiebling	def.	Wallid Ismail	Decision (Unanimous)	3	5:00
	Tom Erikson	def.	Tim Catalfo	Submission (Rear-Naked Choke)	1	2:35

1. For The Pride Fighting Championship World Middleweight Championship.

Pride 20: Armed and Ready

Pride 20
Promotion	Pride Fighting Championships
Date	April 28, 2002
Venue	Yokohama Arena
City	Yokohama
Attendance	18,926
Event chronology
Pride 19 Pride 20 Pride 21

Pride 20: Armed and Ready^[3] was an event held on April 28, 2002 at the Yokohama Arena in Yokohama, Japan.

Results

Main Card
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
	Wanderlei Silva	vs.	Mirko Cro Cop	Draw	5	3:00
	Sanae Kikuta	def.	Alexander Otsuka	Decision (Unanimous)	3	5:00
	Murilo Rua	def.	Mario Sperry	Decision (Unanimous)	3	5:00
	Ricardo Arona	def.	Dan Henderson	Decision (Split)	3	5:00
	Antônio Rogério Nogueira	def.	Yusuke Imamura	Technical Submission (Guillotine Choke)	1	0:35
	Quinton Jackson	def.	Masaaki Satake	TKO (Slam)	1	7:07
	Bob Sapp	def.	Yoshihisa Yamamoto	TKO (Punches)	1	2:44

Pride 21: Demolition

Pride 21
Promotion	Pride Fighting Championships
Date	June 23, 2002
Venue	Saitama Super Arena
City	Saitama
Event chronology
Pride 20 Pride 21 Pride: The Best Vol. 2

Pride 21: Demolition^[4] was an event held on June 23, 2002 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. This event featured the PRIDE debut of MMA all-time greats Fedor Emelianenko and Anderson Silva.

Results

Main Card
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
	Don Frye	def.	Yoshihiro Takayama	TKO (Punches)	1	6:10
	Fedor Emelianenko	def.	Semmy Schilt	Decision (Unanimous)	3	5:00
	Daniel Gracie	def.	Takashi Sugiura	Decision (Split)	3	5:00
	Shungo Oyama	def.	Renzo Gracie	Decision (Unanimous)	3	5:00
	Jeremy Horn	def.	Gilbert Yvel	Decision (Unanimous)	3	5:00
	Anderson Silva	def.	Alex Stiebling	TKO (Doctor Stoppage)	1	1:23
	Gary Goodridge	def.	Achmed Labasanov	Decision (Split)	3	5:00
	Bob Sapp	def.	Kiyoshi Tamura	TKO (Punches)	1	0:11

Pride FC: The Best, Vol. 2

Pride: The Best, Vol. 2
Promotion	Pride Fighting Championships
Date	July 20, 2002
Venue	Differ Ariake Arena
City	Tokyo
Event chronology
Pride 21 Pride: The Best, Vol. 2 Pride Shockwave

Pride FC: The Best, Vol. 2^[5] was an event held on July 20, 2002 at the Differ Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.

Results

Main Card
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
	Sokun Koh	def.	Bob Schrijber	Decision (Split)	2	5:00
	Antônio Schembri	def.	Daiju Takase	Decision (Split)	2	5:00
	Alistair Overeem	def.	Yusuke Imamura	TKO (Knee and Punches)	1	0:44
	Takayuki Okada	def.	Tomohiko Hashimoto	KO (Punch)	1	2:10
	John Alessio	def.	Eiji Mitsuoka	TKO (Cut)	2	3:13
	Fatih Kocamis	def.	Takahiro Oba	Decision (Unanimous)	2	5:00
	Daisuke Nakamura	def.	Shannon Ritch	Submission (Armbar)	1	4:28
	Jukei Nakajima	def.	Joe Son	TKO (Shoulder Injury)	1	0:54
	Yushin Okami	def.	Hidehisa Matsuda	KO (Punches)	1	3:52
	Yukiya Naito	def.	Ken Orihashi	Decision (Split)	1	5:00

Pride FC: Shockwave

Pride Shockwave
Promotion	Pride Fighting Championships, K-1
Date	August 28, 2002
Venue	Tokyo National Stadium
City	Tokyo
Attendance	91,107
Event chronology
Pride : The Best, Vol. 2 Pride Shockwave Pride 22

Pride FC: Shockwave^[6] was an event held on August 28, 2002 at the Tokyo National Stadium in Tokyo, Japan. The event was co-promoted by the PRIDE Fighting Championships and K-1

Results

Main Card
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
	Mirko Cro Cop	def.	Kazushi Sakuraba	TKO (Eye Injury)	2	5:00
	Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira	def.	Bob Sapp	Submission (Armbar)	2	4:03
	Gary Goodridge	def.	Lloyd Van Dams	TKO (Punches)	1	3:39
	Jerrel Venetiaan	def.	Daijiro Matsui	Decision (Split)	3	5:00
	Wanderlei Silva	def.	Tatsuya Iwasaki	TKO (Head Kick and Punches)	1	1:16

Pride 22: Beasts from the East 2

Pride 22
Promotion	Pride Fighting Championships
Date	September 29, 2002
Venue	Nagoya Rainbow Hall
City	Nagoya
Event chronology
Pride Shockwave Pride 22 Pride: The Best, Vol. 3

Pride 22: Beasts from the East 2^[7] was an event held on September 29, 2002 at the Nagoya Rainbow Hall in Nagoya, Japan. It featured the Pride debut of former UFC Heavyweight Champion Kevin Randleman

Results

Main Card
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
	Ryan Gracie	def.	Shungo Oyama	Technical Submission (Armbar)	1	1:37
	Quinton Jackson	def.	Igor Vovchanchyn	TKO (Injury)	1	7:17
	Mario Sperry	def.	Andrei Kopylov	TKO (Cut)	1	6:02
	Heath Herring	def.	Yuriy Kochkine	TKO (Knees)	1	7:31
	Paulo Filho	def.	Akira Shoji	Submission (Armbar)	1	2:48
	Anderson Silva	def.	Alexander Otsuka	Decision (Unanimous)	3	5:00
	Guy Mezger	def.	Yoshihisa Yamamoto	Decision (Unanimous)	3	5:00
	Kevin Randleman	def.	Michiyoshi Ohara	Decision (Unanimous)	3	5:00

Pride FC: The Best, Vol. 3

Pride: The Best, Vol. 3
Promotion	Pride Fighting Championships
Date	October 20, 2002
Venue	Differ Ariake Arena
City	Tokyo
Event chronology
Pride 22 Pride: The Best, Vol. 3 Pride 23

Pride FC: The Best, Vol. 3^[8] was an event held on October 20, 2002 at the Differ Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan.

Results

Main Card
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
	Daijiro Matsui	def.	Rory Singer	Decision (Unanimous)	2	5:00
	Yuji Hisamatsu	def.	Demetrius Gioulacos	Decision (Unanimous)	2	5:00
	Eiji Mitsuoka	def.	Scott Bills	Decision (Unanimous)	2	5:00
	Yushin Okami	def.	Steve White	TKO (Submission to Punches)	2	3:25
	Kestutis Smirnovas	def.	Takahiro Oba	Submission (Armbar)	1	0:55
	Yusuke Imamura	def.	Han Ten Yun	Submission (Guillotine Choke)	1	2:15
	Aji Susilo	def.	Xue Do Won	Submission (Rear-Naked Choke)	2	0:42
	Takayuki Okada	def.	Jong Wang Kim	TKO (Broken Hand)	1	0:24
	Kyosuke Sasaki	def.	Akira Nitagai	Submission (Armbar)	1	4:35
	Yutaro Miyamoto	def.	Yoshinori Kawakami	Decision (Unanimous)	1	5:00
	Shinichiro Takamura	def.	Togo Togo	KO (Punches)	1	4:59

Pride 23: Championship Chaos 2

Pride 23
Promotion	Pride Fighting Championships
Date	November 24, 2002
Venue	Tokyo Dome
City	Tokyo, Japan
Attendance	52,228
Event chronology
Pride: The Best, Vol. 3 Pride 23 Pride 24

Pride 23: Championship Chaos 2^[9] was an event held on November 24, 2002 at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan.

Results

Main Card
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
	Kazushi Sakuraba	def.	Gilles Arsene	Submission (Armbar)	3	2:08
	Kiyoshi Tamura	def.	Nobuhiko Takada	KO (Punch)	2	1:00
	Hidehiko Yoshida	def.	Don Frye	Technical Submission (Armbar)	1	5:32
Middleweight	Wanderlei Silva (c)	def.	Hiromitsu Kanehara	TKO (Corner Stoppage)	1	3:40	[a]
	Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira	def.	Semmy Schilt	Submission (Triangle Choke)	1	6:36
	Fedor Emelianenko	def.	Heath Herring	TKO (Doctor Stoppage)	1	10:00
	Ricardo Arona	def.	Murilo Rua	Decision (Unanimous)	3	5:00
	Kevin Randleman	def.	Kenichi Yamamoto	TKO (Knees)	3	1:16
	Hirotaka Yokoi	def.	Jerrel Venetiaan	Submission (Armbar)	2	3:29

1. For The Pride Fighting Championship World Middleweight Championship.

Pride 24: Cold Fury 3

Pride 24
Promotion	Pride Fighting Championships
Date	December 23, 2002
Venue	Marine Messe Fukuoka
City	Fukuoka
Event chronology
Pride 23 Pride 24 Pride 25

Pride 24: Cold Fury 3^[10] was an event held on December 23, 2002 at the Marine Messe Fukuoka in Fukuoka, Japan.

Results

Main Card
Weight class				Method	Round	Time	Notes
	Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira	def.	Dan Henderson	Submission (Armbar)	3	1:49
	Kevin Randleman	def.	Murilo Rua	TKO (Cut)	3	0:20
	Alistair Overeem	def.	Bazigit Atajev	TKO (Knee to the Body)	2	4:59
	Yoshihisa Yamamoto	def.	Alexander Otsuka	TKO (Leg Injury)	2	5:00
	Rodrigo Gracie	def.	Yuki Sasaki	Decision (Unanimous)	3	5:00
	Ron Waterman	def.	Valentijn Overeem	Submission (Keylock)	1	2:18
	Antônio Rogério Nogueira	def.	Guy Mezger	Decision (Split)	3	5:00
	Daijiro Matsui	def.	Kazuki Okubo	Decision (Unanimous)	3	5:00

See also

• Pride Fighting Championships
• List of Pride Fighting Championships champions
• List of Pride Fighting events