Don Frye & Yoshihiro Takayama Battle it Out in Iconic Showdown | PRIDE 21, 2002 | On This Day

On this day in 2002, Don Frye & Yoshihiro Takayama put on one of the most memorable performances in fight history at PRIDE 21. Just over six minutes into round one, Frye claimed the victory via knockout, cementing his name into history and delivery fans a moment they would not soon forget.

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[machcheckory]

I just learned Yoshihiro Takayama suffered a spinal cord injury awhile back and is paralyzed from the neck down. Don Frye's message to him was incredible:
“Takayama-san, God gave me the greatest opponent anybody could ever ask for, you. You made the greatest fight the world has ever seen. You are the reason that our fight beat the World Cup of soccer head to head on TV. You are the image of Bushido and strength and triumph. You are the first person everyone asks about when they meet me. You are the warrior we all look to be."

[DreamcastQ]

Mr. Frye & Takayama-san are two legendary warriors, this is already one of the most famous fights in history

[haruhashimoto]

The best part is they both showed sportsmanship at the end.

[Aphex]

Fun fact: The fights leading up to this had all been really boring and slow. Both men agreed to just go all out to bring some excitement to the event. They did not disappoint.

[pastepotthot]

“Takayama-san. God gave me the greatest opponent anybody could ever ask for. You made the greatest fight the world has ever seen. You are the reason that our fight beat the world cup of soccer head to head on TV. You are the image of Bushido, and strength, and triumph. You are the first person anyone asks about when they meet me. You are the warrior we all want to be. Takayama-san. If you are done with this life, and this adventure, and wish to move on — good luck. We are not ready to lose you and let you go, therefore we will always remember you. But if you must go, sir, God speed.” - Don Frye said to takayama when visiting him in the hospital.

[mmaaldente]

I love knowing, every time I see something commenting on this fight, that it's somebody's first time being exposed to this fight. It puts a smile on my face, imagining their jaws dropping.

[SpeedOfThought]

This is the DEFINITIVE "I'm not backing down" fight!

[johndoe-vucy]

Back in the days when competitors had true respect for each other, hell, even enemies had respect for each other

[brandoncook]

More or less Striking really does make a difference in watching an MMA fight. Man Don Frye was one tough dude.

[roydaroyni]

Most brutal frontal fight that I have ever seen. Respect to both warriors!

[StuFlyboyReay]

One of the greatest ever mma fights.
Pride was so good.
Not always great fights, but at least a few class fights per event 👍🏻

[hmngvaj]

Real men block with their face. The mustache was the deciding factor in this fight.

[gti]

Even the women in attendance grew balls after witnessing this fight

[chaseruss]

Don Frye is a legend one of my all time favorites

[Patryk....]

PRIDE had this vibe. Never forgotten...

[TYSLAPE]

This is simply beautiful.. The respect and love for the fight from both. Top 3 Greatest fights of all time.

[Improvediam]

full fight is basically a highlight video

[eifelitorn]

LMFAO look at Wanderlei in the back at 0:19 🤣. You know you have a wild one in your hands when one of the craziest fighters is looking with his mouth open.

[SpacedOutDoonie]

Legendary.

I remember this was one of the first mma fights I seen back when you had to go somewhere like the library or at school to get on the internet.

[swerve]

I had to be a freshman in high school I was scrolling through the channels & seen these two literally holding each other giving each other CTE..I was on the wrestling mat the next year & been in love with mma every since