2. Nobuhiko Takada and PRIDE Fight Fixing
Current matchmaker for Rizin and former Pride FC executive, Nobuhiko Takada was the genesis of the Japanese MMA boom in the late 90s and early 2000s. He’s also the reason MMA almost turned into a new version of pro-wrestling during the same time period.
Takada was a pro-wrestler with New Japan Pro Wrestling, but wished to be seen as a legit martial artist. As a result he was scheduled to main event the first Pride event against Rickson Gracie. When Takada tapped in 2.5 minutes against Rickson, it started the first domino of fight-fixing that almost killed the sport in the country.
The next bout for Takada is widely presumed to have been fixedt. Takada submitted Kyle Sturgeon in just over 2 minutes. Then Takada again lost to Rickson Gracie at Pride 4. His next bout afterwards has been confirmed as a fixed fight by Mark Coleman, who would later admit to taking a dive in his bout against Takada at Pride 5.
