Rizin debut leaves questions unanswered

Photo via Bellator MMANobuyuki Sakakibara's attempt to revive the memories of the Pride Fighting Championships, built around the stars of a decade ago, was a reminder, sometimes fun and sometimes painful, that time marches on.

Aside from the presence of John McCarthy as a referee, and a few fighters familiar to U.S. fans, the show seemed like a different animal to the MMA presented by UFC and Bellator, even with some Bellator stars on the shows.

From late 1999, when Pride really hit its stride on the back of Kazushi Sakuraba, until 2006, when it lost its television deal due to a Yakuza scandal, Pride was the biggest MMA promotion in the world. It was by modern terms, both freak show and…