#3 Mark Kerr vs. Yoshihisa Yamamoto – PRIDE 27 – 02/01/04
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PRIDE 27 was evidently a weird show, between Ninja/Otsuka and then this one. PRIDE had planned a Heavyweight Grand Prix for 2004 and wanted Kerr to be part of it, so he was matched here against Yamamoto – a pro-wrestler and RINGS veteran with a middling record of 13-16-1. It was expected that Kerr would pick up an easy win, even coming off such a long layoff.
It wasn’t to be, but not exactly for the reasons you’d expect.
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Sure, Kerr didn’t look as physically powerful as he’d done in his previous run, as you’d expect I guess if he were off the PEDs, but Yamamoto didn’t seem like he would be a match for the ‘Specimen’. Kerr opened the fight by shooting for a takedown as was customary for him, and from there he picked Yamamoto up and delivered a high-impact slam.
As soon as the fighters hit the ground, though, it wasn’t Kerr working for some ground-and-pound. Instead, Yamamoto reversed over to top position, full mount to be exact, and rained down punches onto Kerr until the referee stepped in.
Confusion followed until the replays confirmed what had happened. Kerr had spiked his own head into the mat during the slam, knocking himself out without Yamamoto needing to do a thing. Announcer Mauro Ranallo – a pro-wrestling enthusiast currently working for WWE – dubbed this the ‘DDT effect’.
The hype for Kerr’s return was immediately deflated in the most bizarre fashion possible, giving him another weird fight on his PRIDE ledger. He would never compete for PRIDE again, although he did have some more MMA fights before he retired.
Yamamoto meanwhile, rather than being allowed entry to the Grand Prix, was placed in another qualification match....this time with Mirko Cro Cop. You can guess how that one ended for the poor guy!
