The Pride Grand Prix 2000 Finals was a mixed martial arts

Mixed martial arts

Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...

 event held by the Pride Fighting Championships. It took place at the Tokyo Dome

Tokyo Dome

Tokyo Dome is a 55,000-seat baseball stadium located in Bunkyo Ward of Tokyo, Japan.The stadium opened for business on March 17, 1988. It was built on the site of the Velodrome which was next door to the site of the predecessor ballpark, Kōrakuen Stadium...

 in Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 on May 1, 2000. The event concluded the Pride open-weight tournament of 2000. It is famous for containing one of the most anticipated matches in mixed martial arts history, Royce Gracie

Royce Gracie

Royce Gracie is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist, a UFC Hall of Famer and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. A legend and pioneer in the sport of mixed martial arts, he is widely considered to be the most influential figure in the history of modern MMA.Gracie gained fame for his...

 vs. Kazushi Sakuraba

Kazushi Sakuraba

is a Japanese professional mixed martial artist and former professional wrestler. He has competed in pro-wrestling for New Japan Pro Wrestling, UWFi and Kingdom Pro Wrestling. He has fought in MMA competition in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, PRIDE Fighting Championships, K-1 Hero's and Dream...

.

Quarterfinals

Gary Goodridge

Gary Goodridge

Gary Goodridge , nicknamed "Big Daddy", is a Trinidadian and Tobagonian-Canadian former super heavyweight kickboxer and heavyweight mixed martial artist fighting out of Barrie, Ontario. Goodridge is known for his hard-hitting fighting style and showmanship...

 vs. Igor Vovchanchyn

Igor Vovchanchyn

Igor Yaroslavovich "Ice Cold" Vovchanchyn is a retired Ukrainian mixed martial artist and kickboxer. He won seven mixed martial arts tournaments, as well as acquiring a 37 fight unbeaten streak, and reaching the final of the Pride Grand Prix 2000....

Vovchanchyn defeated Goodridge by TKO at 10:14 into Round 1.

Royce Gracie

Royce Gracie

Royce Gracie is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist, a UFC Hall of Famer and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner. A legend and pioneer in the sport of mixed martial arts, he is widely considered to be the most influential figure in the history of modern MMA.Gracie gained fame for his...

 vs. Kazushi Sakuraba

Kazushi Sakuraba

is a Japanese professional mixed martial artist and former professional wrestler. He has competed in pro-wrestling for New Japan Pro Wrestling, UWFi and Kingdom Pro Wrestling. He has fought in MMA competition in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, PRIDE Fighting Championships, K-1 Hero's and Dream...

Sakuraba defeated Royce Gracie by TKO (Corner Stoppage) after 90 minutes of fighting. The rules were modified for this bout so that the number of rounds was unlimited and there were no referee stoppages. After the sixth 15-minute round, Royce could no longer continue due to damage to his legs. His corner threw in the towel. This marked the first loss of Royce Gracie.

Mark Coleman

Mark Coleman

Mark Coleman is an American mixed martial artist, professional wrestler, former NCAA collegiate wrestler and former Olympic amateur wrestler. In MMA, he was the UFC 10 and UFC 11 tournament champion, the first Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion, and the Pride Fighting...

 vs. Akira Shoji

Coleman defeated Shoji by judge's decision.

Kazuyuki Fujita

Kazuyuki Fujita

is a Japanese professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and a former amateur wrestler. He has fought in mixed martial arts promotions including PRIDE, K-1 and currently fighting in Sengoku....

 vs. Mark Kerr

Fujita defeated Kerr by judge's decision.

Non-Tournament Bout

Guy Mezger

Guy Mezger

Guy Mezger is a retired American martial artist who competed in professional combat sports ranging from full contact karate, kickboxing, and boxing, but is most recognized as a mixed martial arts fighter . He is associated with Lion's Den Dallas...

 vs. Masaaki Satake

Masaaki Satake

is a Japanese former super heavyweight karateka, kickboxer and mixed martial artist. He was one of the pioneering heavyweight fighters in K-1, after being a member of Kazuyoshi Ishii's Seido-Kaikan school and organization.-Biography and career:...

Mezger defeated Satake by judge's decision.

Semifinals

Kazushi Sakuraba

Kazushi Sakuraba

is a Japanese professional mixed martial artist and former professional wrestler. He has competed in pro-wrestling for New Japan Pro Wrestling, UWFi and Kingdom Pro Wrestling. He has fought in MMA competition in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, PRIDE Fighting Championships, K-1 Hero's and Dream...

 vs. Igor Vovchanchyn

Igor Vovchanchyn

Igor Yaroslavovich "Ice Cold" Vovchanchyn is a retired Ukrainian mixed martial artist and kickboxer. He won seven mixed martial arts tournaments, as well as acquiring a 37 fight unbeaten streak, and reaching the final of the Pride Grand Prix 2000....

Vovchanchyn defeated Sakuraba by TKO at the end of Round 1. Sakuraba held his own with Vovchanchyn, despite his extended fight earlier in the night. Exhaustion ultimately got the best of Sakuraba, and his corner threw in the towel after Round 1 was completed and called draw. His final total for the night was 115 minutes of fighting.

Mark Coleman

Mark Coleman

Mark Coleman is an American mixed martial artist, professional wrestler, former NCAA collegiate wrestler and former Olympic amateur wrestler. In MMA, he was the UFC 10 and UFC 11 tournament champion, the first Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion, and the Pride Fighting...

 vs. Kazuyuki Fujita

Kazuyuki Fujita

is a Japanese professional wrestler, mixed martial artist and a former amateur wrestler. He has fought in mixed martial arts promotions including PRIDE, K-1 and currently fighting in Sengoku....

Coleman defeated Fujita by TKO. Suffering from injuries from his previous fight with Kerr, Fujita's corner threw in the towel immediately, effectively giving Coleman a bye into the finals.

Superfight

Alexander Otsuka

Alexander Otsuka

, better known by his ring name Alexander Otsuka, is a Japanese mixed martial arts fighter and professional wrestler. He competes in the Light Heavyweight division. He won his last fight at VFX - Vale Tudo Fighters Mexico against Masada Masada on May 27, 2006...

 vs. Ken Shamrock

Ken Shamrock

Kenneth Wayne Shamrock is an American mixed martial arts fighter, UFC Hall of Famer and professional wrestler...

Shamrock defeated Otsuka by TKO, 9:43 into the first round. The referee stopped the fight as Otsuka was succumbing to Shamrock's punches.

Finals

Mark Coleman

Mark Coleman

Mark Coleman is an American mixed martial artist, professional wrestler, former NCAA collegiate wrestler and former Olympic amateur wrestler. In MMA, he was the UFC 10 and UFC 11 tournament champion, the first Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight champion, and the Pride Fighting...

 vs. Igor Vovchanchyn

Igor Vovchanchyn

Igor Yaroslavovich "Ice Cold" Vovchanchyn is a retired Ukrainian mixed martial artist and kickboxer. He won seven mixed martial arts tournaments, as well as acquiring a 37 fight unbeaten streak, and reaching the final of the Pride Grand Prix 2000....

Coleman defeated Vovchanchyn by submission

Submission (combat sport term)

A submission is a combat sports term for yielding to the opponent, and hence resulting in an immediate defeat...

, 3:09 into Round 2. Vovchanchyn tapped out as Coleman was delivering several knee strikes

Strike (attack)

A strike is an attack with an inanimate object, such as a weapon, or with a part of the human body intended to cause an effect upon an opponent or to simply cause harm to an opponent. There are many different varieties of strikes...

to his head. With his victory, Mark Coleman won the Pride Grand Prix championship and a $200,000 prize. It completed Coleman's comeback as a top fighter.

Pride 2000 Grand Prix Bracket