Sherdog’s Top 10: Pride Knockouts

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8. Wanderlei Silva vs. Kazushi Sakuraba
Pride “Total Elimination 2003”
Aug. 10, 2003 | Saitama, Japan

Two of the greatest fighters to ever grace the Pride ring, Silva and Sakuraba had gone to war twice before, with “The Axe Murderer” coming out on top on both occasions. Silva took him out with knees and soccer kicks at Pride 13 and then battered him for 10 minutes before the doctor stopped their rematch at Pride 17, but the grizzled veteran Sakurba gave it a go one last time. It did not go well for “The Gracie Hunter.”

Sakuraba threw out a rangy right push kick, but it missed. Silva stepped over to his right and unloaded a ferocious left-right to the jaw, sending Sakuraba back toward the ropes, counting stars. The Japanese legend fell flat on his back like a tree that had just been cut. The trilogy and rivalry was over, Silva’s superiority was magnified and the unconscious Sakuraba’s run as a genuine contender was at an end.

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