Were the Rings in Japan Mic'd?

[Severn]

It's something I've always meant to ask. The reason I ask is that I watch the old Pancreas and Pride vids and I notice how loud the hits and slams are. When Fedor was reigning body shots against Big Nog the first time you could really hear them (which made Stephen Quadros say "it sounds like someone hitting a buffalo with a baseball bat").

I know that in pro-wrestling the rings are mic'd and calibrated and maybe they used that same approach towards their MMA rings. Maybe it was because the Japanese crowd was so quiet that you could hear everything. I don't know. The sounds are noticeably louder in Japanese rings.

Anyone have an idea?

[Gmunit]

with the pro wrestling appeal in Japan I would think they are mic'd

another possiblity is that the ref is mic'd, many dailymotion video's are "Ref Cams" so who's to say they couldn't have a microphone too

[KcMizzou]

I'd guess so... Watching Dream, you can hear the guys breathe.

[prophet665]

I would place money that you are hearing the ref cams, but I would not in any way be surprised if they put microphones in, around, and under the ring.

[homegrowncone]

The ref had a mic over his ear under the "ref cam" helmet , it looks like a stylus. Both EliteXC and Strikeforce have used this in the past, and yes, it is awesome.

[Bigshanks666]

I think the difference might be that the crowd in japan is so quiet during an MMA match that you can hear every strike. I was blown away the first time I watched a DREAM event live via stream and I could hear the fighters breathing.

[valheruking]

Yeah the ref has the camera thing so I'm sure there's a mic on there somewhere, and probably around the ring too.