Cristiano Marcello remembers well one of the more infamous out-of-competition brawls in mixed martial arts history, for he was one of the participants.
The pieces were set in motion by Pride Fighting Championships matchmakers when actor and MMA debutant Ken Kaneko was booked opposite Charles Bennett at Pride Shockwave 2005 on New Year’s Eve at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. Kaneko—who submitted to an armbar from Bennett in a little more than four minutes—had previously joined Japanese legend Kazushi Sakuraba for a training camp at the famed Chute Boxe academy in Brazil, where Marcello served as the Brazilian jiu-jitsu coach.