(Props: Hiten Mitsurugi)

CagePotato reader Andrew K. sent this to us with the brief message “The newbs deserve to know.” And indeed, they do. Above is part one of a new highlight series featuring the best moments of PRIDE’s early days, mostly soundtracked by obscure video-game music. (It’s amazing how well that works together.) Give it a look and you will witness…

- Gary Goodridge, back when he was still one of the scariest men to ever enter a cage or ring.

- Rickson Gracie armbarring Nobuhiko Takada on two separate occasions.

- Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Carlos Newton, aka The Greatest Grappling Exhibition in MMA History.

- Mark Kerr, in absolute beast-mode.

- Emmanuel Yarborough, doing whatever it is that he does.

And so much more! Check out parts 2 and 3 after the jump, which cover PRIDE 5-8, including the infamous Takada vs Coleman fight, and Sakuraba taking out his first Gracie. Here’s hoping this highlight series continues, because PRIDE 8 was immediately followed by one of the most epic tournaments in the history of the sport.

(The announcement, via MMAWeeklyVideos)

Last night following the TUF Live Finale weigh-ins at the Pearl Theater at The Palms in Las Vegas, seven-year UFC veteran Kenny Florian announced his retirement from the sport. The affable fan-favorite had compiled a 12-5 record in the Octagon with seven of his wins by rear-naked choke, and was the only fighter in UFC history to compete in four weight classes, starting with his entry as a middleweight on the first season of The Ultimate Fighter. His greatest success came as a lightweight, where he spent the majority of his career, scoring victories over top competition like Joe Lauzon, Roger Huerta, Joe Stevenson, Clay Guida, and Takanori Gomi, and competing for the lightweight title twice. Most recently, he made a run at the featherweight belt, losing a unanimous decision to Jose Aldo at UFC 136. Here’s how he explained his decision to walk away:

“I’ve dealt with injuries in the past, and back in November I was back into training and hurt my back working out, and it just hasn’t quite been the same. Been dealing with it, been trying to get back and doing rehab and things like that, and a few weeks ago I kind of re-injured it again. So it’s been tough, man, I haven’t been able to train, and I’ve always been that person, I don’t want to do anything half-assed. If I’m going to train for a fight, if I’m going to train doing what I’m doing, I want to be able to do it 100%, and if I’m not able to do those things, I can’t really do it. So it’s been several months, it’s been very, very hard. Your identity becomes what you do, and it’s been tough.”

If you’re like me, you are a YouTube Genghis Con subscriber, and you have a fondness for the theater of Japanese MMA. Also, you write rebuttal articles completely off the cuff, you’re not getting any younger, and you’re frustrated at the extra weight you’re putting on. And you’ve also been known to cry over Disney movies and those damn Pedigree commercials. Long story short, you’re a pretty cool person, and we should probably hang out and share some Ben & Jerry’s Americone Dream and talk about fighters with heart.

Ok, you’re probably not like me, and that’s probably just fine with you. But if you don’t enjoy a good scrap from the land of PRIDE, Shooto, and DREAM, then we probably shouldn’t hang out, because chances are we’re going to have less in common than Miley Cyrus and Emanuel Yarbrough. By the way, Ben says that picture is a celebrity with a random-ass fighter, which is totally different.

If you do dig JMMA and Genghis Con, go ahead and enjoy his latest effort, “Honor Among Champs”. Then you can rag on me for being a fifteen year old girl in the comments.

[RX]

(Props: Neon Bar Fights via MiddleEasy)

Not only does UFC light-heavyweight contender Jon Jones have a lot of hype, his hype has a lot of hype. By that I mean, Jones’s lofty reputation has become a major talking point in itself. Ryan Bader wants to end that hype at UFC 126; Jones wants to transcend it. On Sunday morning, Bones could be living with his first real defeat, while keyboard warriors claim he was never that great in the first place.

That’s because hype is fragile. Legacy, on the other hand, can never be taken away — and if Jones slashes through Bader tomorrow night, he’ll be one step closer to securing his own. What really makes Jon Jones interesting is that his journey in the sport is just beginning. His pro debut was in April 2008, less than three years ago. The path in front of him is limitless.

Anyway, check out this highlight reel, because it’s honestly one of the best we’ve ever seen.

(Props: James Blair-BDog7)

You can call him a loudmouth liar with no heart — damned reality-show editing! — but to me, Jamie Yager was by far the most interesting character on the eleventh season of The Ultimate Fighter. In the Octagon, he kept his opponents guessing with wild high-kicks and a relentless pace. (Not that we don’t love a long, drawn-out, wrestling-based grind.) In the house, he had a way of pushing his fellow fighters’ buttons.

Since he’s still so new to the game, the only non-TUF fight featured in the above highlight reel comes from another reality show, The Iron Ring, which he also appeared on. Unsurprisingly, the video doesn’t include the anti-climactic ending of his fight against Josh Bryant. Can Fro Cop redeem himself at this Saturday’s TUF 11 Finale against Rich Attonito?

After the jump: To get that oily Yager taste out of your mouth, here’s another highlight reel that James Blair did for a more deserving fighter…

(Liddell vs. Franklin hype reel, courtesy of 13berhanus.)

We don’t want you guys to panic or anything, but this coming weekend is utterly dead in terms of mixed martial arts competition. Seriously, even Bellator is taking a bye week. So, instead of wasting your time by asking you to enter MMA FightPicker pools for Triumph Fighter, Inferno!, we’re just going to have a two-week entry period for UFC 115 (June 12th, Vancouver). The question list for "Liddell vs. Franklin" is after the jump — study hard, make your predictions, and make us proud. No, you’ll never catch up with the Aaron Rampeys and surf_finlands of the world, but hey, if you’re doing it for the glory, you’re doing it for the wrong reasons.

As for UFC 114‘s pools, the less said about them the better. Mike Russow, John Hathaway, and Dong Hyun Kim pretty much shot my picks to shit. Men make parlay bets, and God laughs…

(Props: GenghisCon)

Just as he did with Rashad Evans, Genghis Con has put together a short profile video of Lyoto Machida in advance of UFC 98′s light-heavyweight title fight. It’s a huge file, so get the video loading, then go make yourself a sandwich, then eat the sandwich, then come back and watch this thing. And set your DVRs for UFC 98′s Countdown show on Spike, which airs tonight at 11 p.m. ET/PT. Apparently, it makes Hughes look significantly more likable than Serra.

After the jump: Steve Cofield raps with Rashad about poor fighter hygiene and Lyoto’s pee-drinking habit. Evans kind of suggests that they should test Lyoto’s urine for urine; he also admits that he manscapes. Also: An uncomfortable shirtless interview with Matt Hughes.