Sherdog’s Top 10: Largest Crowds in MMA History

10. Pride Shockwave 2005

A battle between Olympic gold medalists Hidehiko Yoshida and Naoya Ogawa was on the marquee when 49,801 fans poured into the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, for Pride Shockwave 2005 on New Year’s Eve. Yoshida submitted Ogawa with an armbar 6:04 into the first round. The card also featured the finals of the 2005 Pride lightweight grand prix and the 2005 Pride welterweight grand prix, as Takanori Gomi knocked out Hayato Sakurai in the former and Dan Henderson eke out a split decision over Murilo Bustamante in the latter. In addition, Wanderlei Silva took a split verdict from Ricardo Arona in their rematch, and Mark Hunt outdueled Mirko Filipovic to a split decision. Kazushi Sakuraba and Fedor Emelianenko were also victorious at the star-studded event.

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