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By Dave Walsh

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When most people think of PRIDE fighters making the jump to the UFC, they will think of the death of the “PRIDE Myth.” If you are unfamiliar with the PRIDE myth, for years the talking point on the internet and through word of mouth was that PRIDE was home to better fighters. When you’d look at rankings on the internet, for years PRIDE fighters dominated them, with UFC being seen as having a shallow talent pool comparatively. Since then, top fighters such as Mirko Cro Cop, Wanderlei Silva, Mauricio Rua, Heath Herring and a few others have had a rough time transitioning to the UFC. Explanations have been everything from atmosphere changes, adapting to fighting in a cage as opposed to a ring to a stricter drug testing policy, implying that PRIDE fighters were all roided up monsters.

I think its safe to say that the debuts of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Quinton Rampage Jackson were less than stellar debuts for them, but from there UFC has helped propel them back to the very top of their respective weight classes. Nog’s debut win over the questionable Heath Herring featured a scary start, with Nogueira getting caught with a high kick and the fight almost ending right there. Nogueira held on (like he always does), but couldn’t pull off the decisive win, instead taking a decision victory. Rampage’s debut against Marvin Eastman was in the same sort of lackluster vein as Nogueira; actually the fight actually reminding many of Cro Cop’s lackluster debut win over Eddie Sanchez, as in both fights the UFC was presenting them as highlight reel fights. Rampage did pull off a TKO victory, but the way he was hyped up, and the level of competition he was handed, the assumption was that Rampage would come out swinging, and if he wasn’t going to get the win with a big right hand or some devastating knees, we were going to see Rampage slam Eastman to the mat, never to get up again. Instead Rampage struggled for a rather flat stoppage to pull out the win. It was rather disappointing, for me at least, as it was difficult to see that after explaining to friends who had never seen him before that he was a crazy, non-stop fighter and he went out and fought a more cautious fight.

This being said, both Rampage and Nogueira have one important thing in common; they are both champions in what is considered UFC’s banner divisions, the Lightheavyweight and Heavyweight divisions. When both men were going into their respective title fights, I think its safe to say that there were doubts and questions in the minds of many fans that both these fighters were as good as they were a few years ago in PRIDE. Rampage, while never known for having a spotless record, was known for either winning or losing by putting his all into his fights. Near the end of his PRIDE run he looked flat in the ring, he looked tired and the crazy, barking, dog-chain-wearing 205er was looking like his run at the top was over with. His two losses to Wanderlei Silva, then the loss to Mauricio Rua seemed to define Rampage against top-tier talent. Then Rampage left PRIDE, and had a single fight for WFA, where he fought perennial-favorite Matt Lindland to a tough decision victory, and it looked like his luck might change.

Rampage then proved himself in the UFC when he knocked out UFC’s golden boy, Chuck Liddell in the first round, taking the Lightheavyweight Championship and the hearts of fans. Then, to prove not only that he was in form, but that he belongs on the top of the 205 world, he won a tough-fought, exciting decision over PRIDE 205lbs champion Dan Henderson. I think its safe to say that any doubts that were lingering about Quinton Jackson have been washed away by his two recent victories.

Then this weekend we saw Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira take his place as the top heavyweight in the UFC (sadly not against Randy Couture) as he pulled out a breathtaking victory over not-so-fan favorite Tim Sylvia. Nogueira’s career was going much the same way that Rampage’s was; while he was stringing together victories, it wasn’t against top heavyweight competition, and against top competition he was hold and cold. The last big win for Nogueira would have be considered the decision over Josh Barnett, avenging a loss. Wins over Pawel Nastula, Kiyoshi Tamura, Fabricio Werdum and Zuluzinho were what they were, but in many fans eyes weren’t truly testing him (questionable on Werdum, of course). It looked like Nogueira in PRIDE was going to be stuck as the fighter that wasn’t quite as good as Fedor, but at one time was one of, if not the best heavyweight in the world.

I think it is fair to say that the UFC has given both of these fighters a new lease on their careers, as they seemed to be losing steam near the end of their PRIDE runs. While Rampage had left PRIDE and returned to America, he wasn’t fighting in a top company, but instead the WFA, which UFC then went ahead and bought out. While it seems that lately it is easy to pick on the UFC for their handling of Randy Couture, Andrei Arlovski, their payscale in general and just about anything that comes out of Dana White’s mouth, they have done lots of good things for fighters like Wanderlei Silva, Dan Henderson, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. In an interview last year, Rampage talked about the frustrations with PRIDE; “You know, the Pride organization in Japan, you know, for several years they really never treated me like their own, really. They always tried to set me up to lose…” When he compared this with how the UFC has treated him as he was going into his fight with Chuck Liddell, it was night and day; “The UFC, they treat me pretty good and I really like them. They mean a lot to me.”

I think that through everything, the UFC has proven to bring in top talent (if they are willing to sign a contract with them), and amidst some really confusing booking blunders and quirks has given big chances to fighters that many fans had simply written off, and given them another chance to be the best in the world. As a fan of both fighters, I think I can safely say that I have no problem with this at all, and am happy to see both men treated like elite fighters and given the level of competition to prove to the most harsh of fans that these guys are still some of the best in the world. While the “PRIDE Myth” might be dead in a way, we are still living in a world right now where three major titles (Heavyweight, Lightheavyweight, Middleweight) are held by former PRIDE fighters. All it took was a little faith and some top competition.