Inspired by the legendary PRIDE, Imperium MMA promotes GP in the second semester

Caique Costa (right) is the first athlete confirmed in the bantamweight GP. Photo: Pedro de Souza/Imperium MMA

The events promoted by the extinct Japanese organization PRIDE FC marked an era in mixed martial arts and are always remembered with nostalgia by those who followed the sport in the first half of the last decade. One of the highlights of the PRIDE calendar were the tournaments, which inspired Imperium MMA, a Bahian organization founded in 2011, which will promote a Grand Prix among 16 fighters in the second semester.

The motivation awakened by the legendary Japanese event was revealed by Leonardo Pateira, one of Imperium's partners. “I was inspired by the format of the old and historic Japanese event, Pride, which had as its highlight the tournaments that took place every year and revealed great champions such as Wanderlei, Shogun, Fedor, Gomi, etc. The significant change is that there will not be more than one fight on the same night. There will be four fights in four different stages so as not to wear out the athletes too much,” he said.

The first stage of the “Imperium GP 2014” in the bantamweight category is scheduled for August 24th and so far only the name of Caique Costa, Luiz Dórea's pupil, has been revealed as a member of the tournament. The agenda of Grand Prix continues with the quarter-finals taking place on September 28th, the semi-finals on December 9th and the grand final in an event scheduled for December 14th. Fight nights take place at Clube Espanhol, in Salvador (BA).

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