Strange are the paths of life – for if for some of us existence is meaningless, chaos reigns and events take place at random, for others each piece fits into the next, and a painful experience has the mysterious function of making us properly prepare for the next challenge.
 
Five months after his first PRIDE match, Renzo was invited to fight again, this time in the second edition of the event.
 
PRIDE 2 took place on March 15, 1998, once again based in Tokyo.
 
The opponent designated by the organization was Sanae Kikuta, a fighter who had 7 wins on his record, 6 of them by submission. A judoka specializing in grappling; a warrior who dominated the same martial territory as Renzo.
 
So, a fight with a high probability of a draw and, looking back, a draw would be exactly what would happen – if the previous fight hadn't existed. Because with the knowledge acquired, and thanks to the weight of his status as an MMA star, Renzo made a demand to change the rules, which completely changed the perspectives of that fight: because according to Gracie's request, the fight would never end. Not until one of the fighters gave up. The 10-minute rounds would be infinite and the dispute would last as long as necessary, until one of the contestants unequivocally won. 
 
Renzo's demand was accepted and thus a draw was no longer a possibility on the horizon of that confrontation. 
 
The fight was marked as one of the longest in MMA history: it took 5 and a half rounds, almost 1 hour, for the fight to find its winner. 
 
(to be continued)