After the tournament, more of the best fighters in the heavier weight classes flocked to PRIDE. Among hardcore MMA fans around the world, PRIDE was generally regarded as the best organization in the world.

Many current MMA stars rose to fame in PRIDE over the next three years, including
Dan Henderson, Wanderlei Silva, Ricardo Arona, Quinton Jackson, Minotauro Nogueira,
and Fedor Emelianenko.

At PRIDE 10, Sakuraba, who had become an idol in Japan, fought Renzo Gracie
in a fight that had one of the most memorable endings we have ever seen. Sakuraba
secured a kimura. Like Hélio and Royler before him, Renzo refused to tap. He watched
helplessly as his arm was being torn from his shoulder. After the fight, Renzo said,
"Many people make excuses when they lose. I have only one. He was better than me tonight."

But Sakuraba was introduced to the next generation of MMA fighters when he clashed with
Wanderlei Silva. Wanderlei knocked him out less than two minutes into the fight.

PRIDE decided to introduce HW and MW (93kg / 205 lb) championship belts in 2001.

The MW contest featured a rematch between Kazushi Sakuraba and Wanderlei Silva. Sakuraba
had earned the rematch by beating the bigger, faster, and stronger Quinton Jackson. He
performed much better agaist Wanderlei than he did in their first fight, but lost when his left
shoulder was injured during a slam. The age of Wanderlei Silva had begun.

Meanwhile, the HW title fight pitted Heath Herring against Antônio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira. Herring had made his name in PRIDE by going 5-1. But Nogueira proved to be too much for the
Texas Crazy Horse, defeating him in a 20 minute war, where some heavy blows were exchanged
and Herring narrowly escaped the Brazilian's submission attempts.

PRIDE champion Nogueira continued to dominate the PRIDE HW division over the next year and a half, and avenged his only loss. In 2002, PRIDE teamed up with K-1. The event, called Shockwave, attracted more than 90,000 fans. In one of the most anticipated matches in MMA history, PRIDE's HW champion was matched up against Bob Sapp, who outweighed him by over 45kg (100 pounds). Sapp manhandled Nogueira for the majority of the fight. One of the commentators said, "I don’t care how much experience you have, you can not overcome that kind of power". But somehow, Minotauro managed to survive long enough to submit The Beast in the second round. Nogueira became an idol in Japan and at 17-1-1, with no unavenged losses, he seemed unstoppable.

Some questions arose in 2003 when PRIDE’s president was found dead, hanging from ceiling of his hotel room. Some speculated that the Yakuza was behind his death.

In the MW division, Wanderlei was beating every challenger. He often took advantage of
PRIDE's rules, which allowed kicks, knees, and stomps to the head of a downed opponent.
After eleven PRIDE fights, he remained unbeaten. To give Wanderlei the challenge he
deserved, PRIDE decided to hold another Grand Prix.

Liddell was defeated by Jackson in the second round, when his corner threw in the towel due to Rampage’s dominant position and devastating strikes.

Jackson and Wanderlei met in the finals and there was bad blood. Wanderlei continued his reign of the division by beating Rampage by TKO. The two would meet again, and while Rampage put up a better fight the second time, he became the victim of a brutal knockout.

PRIDE's 2004 GP featured HW fighters. Many of the world's best HW's entered the sixteen fighter pool, but Emelianenko and Nogueira would meet in the finals. Fedor went on to defeat Nogueira again, becoming the 2004 GP champion and retaining his belt.

Fedor would continue to dominate the deepest HW division in the world. He not only established himself as the greatest HW in MMA, but as the greatest fighter ever to walk the earth. His only missteps in PRIDE came against Fujita and Randleman. Fujita landed a hard punch, and Fedor was out on his feet. But the Russian regained his composure and proceeded to knock Fujita down and apply a nasty rear naked choke. Against Randleman, he was suplexed and
landed on his neck. Seconds later, Randleman was tapping out to a kimura.

2004's Shockwave card was amazing. It featured nine current or former PRIDE or UFC champions, and some very memorable fights. Among them was Ryo Chonan's shocking upset of Anderson Silva, and Wanderlei Silva's war with Mark Hunt.

PRIDE's seventh Bushido event, held in 2005, marked a transition from the cards featuring
up-and-coming fighters to featuring fighters from PRIDE's two lightest weight classes.

Bushido 9 contained the first round of the organization's
WW (83kg/183lb) and LW (73kg/161lb) tournaments. Not only would the winners be crowned tournament champion,
they would also receive the inaugural championship belt
for that division, which they would go on to defend. Many
fans consider Bushido 9 the greatest MMA event of all time. After a night of fourteen exciting
fights, Takanori Gomi and Hayato Sakurai would battle for the LW belt, and Dan Henderson
would fight Murilo Bustamante for the WW belt. The finals were held at Shockwave 2005,
where Gomi scored a knockout and Henderson would win a close decision. Neither fighter
would ever lose their belt.

In 2006, PRIDE held its second Open Weight Grand Prix. With Fedor injured, it was the perfect opportunity for
another PRIDE HW to earn a title. All three events
were very exciting, and featured some of the world's top ranked fighters, including Wanderlei Silva,

Mirko Cro Cop, Minotauro Nogueira, and Josh Barnett. Cro Cop earned his place in the finals by brutally knocking out Silva. Barnett did so by beating Nogueira in a controversial decision. In the finals, Cro Cop finally won an MMA belt by beating Barnett a third time.

Unfortunately, after the 2006 GP PRIDE's Japanese TV deal fell through. The network cited a breach of contract, but many speculated that it was because of the organization's alleged Yakuza ties. Without a TV deal, the organization's only chance to stay afloat was on pay-per-view. Thanks to
the UFC, the USA was the largest market for MMA PPV buys, so PRIDE decided to leave Japan
for the first time in nine years to attempt to break into the USA market.

In PRIDE's second USA show, WW champion Dan Henderson challenged MW champion
Wanderlei Silva for his belt. Wanderlei had defeated Henderson earlier in his career, but after
more than five years as champion, Wanderlei finally lost his belt. Dan Henderson became
the first fighter in PRIDE to hold two belts simultaneously.

Despite two very entertaining cards in the USA, PRIDE's president, Sakakibara, announced
that PRIDE had been sold to the owners of the UFC. This news excited many MMA fans, who
were thrilled about the possibility of dozens of UFC vs PRIDE superfights finally coming to fruition.

Sakakibara said that his goal in selling PRIDE to Zuffa was to make sure that the PRIDE ring, where miracles have happened,
would not go away. He said to the Japanese fans, "Fear not, PRIDE is here to stay". Zuffa co-owner Lorenzo Fertitta claimed,
"This is not about business, this is not about money. It brings me a huge amount of joy that I'm able to bring these two great organizations together. I think we'll see some incredible PRIDE events and some incredible UFC events." Dana White said,
"We as an organization, PRIDE as an organization, and you the fans will all benefit."

Twelve days after Sakakibara announced that PRIDE had been sold, the organization held its final event, PRIDE 34. Six months
later, Zuffa laid off every PRIDE Worldwide employee. Dana White said, "I've pulled everything out of the trick box that I can and
I can't get a TV deal over there with PRIDE. I don't think they want us there. I don't think they want me there". After ten years of producing many of the most memorable moments in MMA history, PRIDE FC was finally knocked out.