PRIDE Fighting Championship 1 took place on 11 October 1997, and in time established itself as one of the great promotions in mixed martial arts history. PRIDE employed different scoring criteria, based on damage, rather than the boxing-based round by round accounting used in the now very widespread Unified Rules. And, while PRIDE prohibited elbows to the face, it did allow knees and kicks to a downed opponent.
In the West, there remains a marked distaste with kicking a man while he is down. It is considered something like spitting on someone, and is not likely to ever find its way into government regulated contests in the West.
However, at the San Pablo Casino, in Anaheim, Calif. on 9 June 1989, some eight years before PRIDE, Muay Thai legend Saekson Janjira was in a mixed rules Muay Thai vs. Kickboxing match with Rod Kei. Janjira improvised some MMA techniques, including PRIDE rules knees, right in the middle of the ring.
Janjira was disqualified. Although the tape cuts out, what transpired that little dance caused a rain of chairs. If you have ever been to a combat sports event, you may have noticed the chairs are tied together. This is why.
Saeksan was disqualified, and Kei left the ring. Then Kei’s cornerman, Rugen Urquidez, came back into the ring, and had words with Janjira. The Thai fighter then shoved the much larger Urquidez. Urquidez then punched Janjira repeatedly in the face. Janjira threw a low kick, and then, rain.
Bonus: Beloved referee Cecil Peoples gets a beatdown at the 3:00 mark.
Action begins at the 1:30 mark.
Saekson Janjira started fighting at age eight, and fought professionally at126-130-136-140-145 lbs. He is widely considered to be one of the all time greats in his sport. He is also a famed trainer, whose students include Maurice Smith, Rick Rufus, and Danny Steele.
He currently teaches at:
Janjira Muay Thai Martial Arts
033 W Parker Rd # 202
Plano, TX 75023
972.769.8663
