Zuffa Buys PRIDE

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

From Meltz

 

--Nobuyuki Sakakibara yesterday told several members of the U.S. Pride staff that the company is in the process of being sold to Lorenzo & Frank Fertitta. He said the agreement in principal is done but there are still some minor points to be worked out and the contract is not signed. Sakakibara said he would be leaving the company but that everyone would be keeping their jobs. The company would be operated separately from UFC, but obviously UFC could use any Pride fighter for a big match that it needed.

 

Ok, so while it's not signed, all we are talking about now is formalities. Zuffa will own PRIDE. Zuffa will own PRIDE's video library. Zuffa will own PRIDE's contracts with its fighters. Zuffa will own PRIDE's titles.

 

This is huge. This is unbelievable. The more I think about it, the more I freak out. Truly this will be a new age of MMA.

[vivalaultra 0]

Oh mah God...

 

I wonder how long Zuffa's gonna keep up w/ Pride being a 'seperate promotion' before they go the WWE route and just take all the big names and let Pride die off...

[Guest]

I sure hope that they do keep them separate, and only have their belts be unified.

[vivalaultra 0]

I guess this ruins Cro Cop wanting to win the UFC title just to bring it back to Pride...

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

I think another question is if they do continue to run PRIDE, will they keep up with the expensive production costs? It's a staple of PRIDE events, but one that put the company in the red. Maybe with Zuffa-ownership, they can get a TV deal again for PRIDE and then they can have a network like FujiTV foot the bill.

 

There are lots of potential ramifications to this purchase. I don't even want to think about unification. Or. Dare I dream? Fedor vs. Couture.

 

A year ago, this would have never seemed possible. 4 years ago, it probably would have been the other way around. Change, motherfucker, it's a fuckin head-scratcher.

[vivalaultra 0]

And to think...just a couple weeks ago, all we had to look forward to was Cro Cop vs. Couture. Man, Fedor/Couture would be brutal. Oh shit, Shogun vs. Chuck. I'd even like to see Mark Hunt vs. Tim Sylvia. This is gonna be great.

[Guest]

I wouldn't want to see them blow their load at once like that though. I'd prefer to see them get the one champ for each weight class, and then have them make defenses on both "brands" (I hate saying that, but I don't know what the fuck else to call it). That way, Zuffa will be able to get consistent buys and consistently fresh matchups.

 

A different thing that could be nice is a ranking system, just like in boxing, so the fighters and mainly the public, know where each fighter stands as far as getting a title shot. You get guys climbing up the ladder and going from place to place taking on all fighters in an attempt to move up.

 

Mainly I just want to see GSP fight Hendo. Or Hughes fight Hendo. FUCK, there's SO MANY great fights to be made.

 

If nobody gets what I'm trying to say for the first part, I'll explain it better in the morning when I've had time to digest this whole thing.

[starvenger 0]

I sure hope that they do keep them separate, and only have their belts be unified.

If by unified you mean similar to the IBF/WBA/WBC idea of unified, I'm all for it. I don't know that a Pride belt should be defended in the Octagon, or a UFC belt in a ring. If you're gonna be the "undisputed" MMA champion, you should have to prove it in both venues.

 

I think what we will see is Pride make a full shift to Unified Rules though.

[Lord of The Curry 0]

Let me just get some things out of the way here......

 

FEDOR VS RANDY

RANDY VS NOG

FRANKLIN VS HENDO

HENDO VS CHUCK

SHOGUN VS CHUCK

FRANKLIN VS FILHO

SILVA VS FILHO

OKAMI VS KANG

GOMI VS FISHER

AOKI VS SHERK

 

Phew. Ok, I'm better now.

[Guest]

I sure hope that they do keep them separate, and only have their belts be unified.

If by unified you mean similar to the IBF/WBA/WBC idea of unified, I'm all for it. I don't know that a Pride belt should be defended in the Octagon, or a UFC belt in a ring. If you're gonna be the "undisputed" MMA champion, you should have to prove it in both venues.

Yeah. Make the champ travel around and defend.

 

Let it be known that I really don't want to see Randy face Fedor. Really...really...really don't.

[snuffbox 0]

I don't want to see Randy vs. Fedor either.

[Hawkius Maximus 0]

I took my time to think about this, and to formulate a solid opinion.

 

This isn't probably isn't going to work the way Zuffa wants it to.

 

It's pretty obvious that Zuffa wants to keep PRIDE going as a separate entity, and for good solid logical reasons. UFC isn't very popular in Japan, it would take them time, a lot of resources, and a lot of micromanaging to break into that market, and once you do you have a lot of established smaller feds, and K-1 to deal with. Japan is a HUGE market for MMA, only rivaled by the United States, and I'd argue far stronger. It's like a gold trinket just...sitting there, waiting to be snagged.

 

So the idea is buy PRIDE, since despite their issues, UFC was the only fed PRIDE really allowed to work with them that could buy PRIDE, and then keep it alive in Japan. Rebuild it, get them back on TV, and aim for gigantic shows and crowds. With the right lineup, enough momentum, and some type of hook PRIDE could easily still advance on the Tokyo Dome, or Osaka Dome and do astronomical numbers.

 

It's a fantastic idea...on paper.

 

The problem doesn't come from the setup, but from how different the two markets are. Japan doesn't just watch MMA for the fighting like American's do. Japan wants something MORE. They want to feel like they are watching a spectacle, like a roman gladiator event. In America, it's driven by who the best is. In Japan, it's driven by what's the most interesting match. Japan really doesn't care about wins or losses, they just want to be ENTERTAINED. It's why someone like James Thompson kept being booked by PRIDE. He's not a great fighter...but he's entertaining as hell with his style. That alone is a huge hurdle to pass.

 

Another problem, is while MMA is real in Japan...they still kayfabe it. They don't come out and say Pro-Wrestlers are fake, instead, they say they are "adapting" their style to MMA. PR is soooo important in Japan, that Takada and Sakakibara just MADE UP shit that may or may not happen just to keep their names in the paper. Dana can't just go on some news show and air out all the dirty laundry in Japan. That shit don't fly. You have to CAREFULLY manage both your image and other groups, so that you can work together. With so many freelance based fighters, pro-wrestlers, and groups in Japan, it'd be suicide to upset any of them. Once again, hugely different then in the US.

 

Another big hurdle, is the fact that MMA is primarily judged by TV ratings in Japan. PPV buys really don't mean jack. Hardcores will buy the PPV's to see the full show, but the vast majority of the fans will watch the TV show. TV Companies invest money into the feds to up the production, to get better ratings. K-1 in Japan has the PERFECT setup for this. Their shows don't draw well, PRIDE consistently outdrew them pretty much every time they ran near to each other...but K-1 does monster ratings based off their native fighters, and freakshow draws. Which means their TV company pours more money into K-1, which offsets their costs from the attendance, and helps them continue to grow. It's not really pretty, the shows generally suck...but K-1 knows exactly how to draw in Japan. When PRIDE lost TV, they effectively got their arm chopped off and never got treatment, and slowly died. TV was big in getting UFC popular in the states...but TV is ESSENTIAL in Japan. You cannot exist without it.

 

The big question is, how much will Zuffa pour into PRIDE to make it viable. WEC is easily workable since it's just going to be a low-scale UFC...but PRIDE will require massive amounts of money to pay for production, and the fighters. The fans will not come to see PRIDE inless it's the same product as before. They HAVE to retain that status quo. Zuffa has the money to run PRIDE easily, but at some point if it doesn't take off, the costs versus the gains has to be explored.

 

My final point, is PRIDE's image in Japan is very tarnished. Not only was there the Yakuza scandal (Which I remember saying would kill PRIDE when it came out, but was told no way...HUZZAH!), but they don't have TV and now they'll have the stigma of being sold ... to American's at that. However, there is one thing Zuffa can do immediately to salvage PRIDE's image: Keep Nobuhiko Takada. Takada is largely just an on screen figurehead, but he's IMPORTANT. He gives PRIDE an aura of credibility with the Japanese that they badly need. He's been there since the first show, and without him PRIDE would have never existed (Many call Sakuraba the man who built PRIDE...that's a bogus claim. Sakuraba fueled PRIDE, but he didn't build it. Without Takada, there would have never BEEN a PRIDE. Takada sacrificed his image as one of the elite pro-wrestlers in history to make PRIDE. *THAT'S* building PRIDE.). They either need to give Takada an expanded role backstage to keep him, or offer him something else. It sounds little, but the credibility Takada will give them is massive. Plus, he wears a man-thong on NYE and beats on a gigantic fucking drum. In tune with the PRIDE theme. Without missing a beat. He is god.

 

I think the next few days are going to be very, very important. PRIDE's going to hold a press conference in a few days, that will either announce PRIDE has been sold and will keep going, or PRIDE has been sold and is dead. I think Zuffa CAN keep PRIDE going, but they have to be smart and put people in positions of power that know the fight culture of Japan intimately. If they charge in there guns blazing thinking it'll be just like the US, then it'll already be over.

[razazteca 0]

Let me just get some things out of the way here......

 

FEDOR VS RANDY

RANDY VS NOG

FRANKLIN VS HENDO

HENDO VS CHUCK

SHOGUN VS CHUCK

FRANKLIN VS FILHO

SILVA VS FILHO

OKAMI VS KANG

GOMI VS FISHER

AOKI VS SHERK

 

Phew. Ok, I'm better now.

Hello, Absolute and Bushido Grand Prix 2007. I want to see Mark Hunt vs Tim Silva and Dan Henderson vs Matt Hughes.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

Fedor vs. Couture is an awesome match. Two of the smartest fighters in the game who match up very well with each other. Great cardio, great training and strategy, both use the clinch and leg trips for their takedowns, both use gnp, though very different kinds, their stand up is very different as Randy uses more calculated jabs while Fedor throws bombs. Both would be fighting around 225, so it's not like there would be huge gap that was there when Randy faced Josh/Ricco. Height and Reach wouldn't be much of a factor. I see Randy taking Fedor down before Fedor takes Randy down. Fedor is better off his back, but he has never been held down by someone like Randy before, and Randy won't plant his hand like Coleman did (twice). It's just a really, really, good fight. Plus they respect the hell out of each other, so you know they will both be game.

[AmericanDragon 0]

They would have fought back in Rings if Fedor didn't lose to Kohsaka.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

Fedor didn't lose to Kohsaka. Ok?

[Lei Tong 0]

His skin lost to TK's elbow.

 

Better?

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

ILLEGAL LUCKY MISTAKE OF AN ELBOW THAT BARELY CONNECTED AND IS A GODDAMNED JEW OF A MOVE.

[Lei Tong 0]

Jew move? What, like a nose to the eye?

[starvenger 0]

I was thinking something like taking a pound of flesh myself.

[Your Paragon of Virtue 0]

Couture vs. Nog is something I've been personally wanting to see for years. I hope that happens in the UFC with elbows. That would be a tremendous fight.

 

I also want to see Chuck knock out Shogun (which is what would happen) and Fedor bounce Tim Sylvia's head off the mat.

 

Fedor in a cage? Awesome.

[starvenger 0]

I also want to see Chuck knock out Shogun (which is what would happen) and Fedor bounce Tim Sylvia's head off the mat.

For me, anyone beating the crap out ot Sylvia would be great.

[Lord of The Curry 0]

Shogun, deadliest of death, whatever round he choses.

[AboveAverage484 0]

ILLEGAL LUCKY MISTAKE OF AN ELBOW THAT BARELY CONNECTED AND IS A GODDAMNED JEW OF A MOVE.

 

If that would have been a non-tournament fight, it would have been No Contest.

 

Big Nog potentially done with fighting?

 

http://www.bloodyelbow.com/story/2007/3/15/111511/826

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

Nog retiring would be best. The man had wars in the ring and established a strong legacy; there really is nothing more for him to achieve other than death-in-ring-by-Fedor.

 

Word is Zuffa is going to be part of a conglomerate that will purchase PRIDE. They will not be 100% owners, but rather, have a majority stake in the company. A tv station that is part of FujiTV is apparently involved as well, to make it look less like an American Takeover of a Japanese Company.

 

But then again, Word also is Zuffa is going wholly own the company. Can't wait till this gets cleared up.

[Rendclaw 0]

Let me just get some things out of the way here......

 

FEDOR VS RANDY

RANDY VS NOG

FRANKLIN VS HENDO

HENDO VS CHUCK

SHOGUN VS CHUCK

FRANKLIN VS FILHO

SILVA VS FILHO

OKAMI VS KANG

GOMI VS FISHER

AOKI VS SHERK

 

Phew. Ok, I'm better now.

 

*hands LotC a box of kleenex*

 

As an admitted novice, I can still see pros and cons in this, and Hawk opened my eyes to a little more with his post. Good job.

[jwpeer 0]

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/news/story?id=2814235

 

It's official apparently...and on front page of espn.com no less.

 

Going to be pretty exciting.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

Fuckin Dana White teasin us with the possibility of Fedor/Randy, Chuck/Shogun, Gomi/GSP, Hendo/Silva. Fuckin boner ragin in my pants makin it hard for me to sit here. From the fight network, what Lorenzo and Dana said word for word...

 

PRIDE FC’S NEW OWNER, LORENZO FERTITTA ADDRESSES THE CROWD

 

“I’m very, very happy tonight to announce the combination of the biggest and the two most important MMA organizations in the world. I’ve been a fan of PRIDE for many years, and I have enormous respect for what Mr. Sakakibara and the rest of the Dream Stage team has been able to accomplish over the last 10 years.

 

It was about 7 years ago that I was sitting in my home in Las Vegas and I had the opportunity to buy on pay-per-view a show, a new show for me - it was called PRIDE.

 

And for me, that was the beginning of a love affair with this brand. I sat there and watched an epic battle between Kazushi Sakuraba and Royce Gracie that lasted for an hour and a half, and I saw the production and the quality of the show, and I was completely blown away.

 

Then a short time later, I was invited to come out to a live event. And I had the pleasure of going to the Saitama Super Arena to see Wanderlei Silva beat Kazushi Sakuraba in another great battle.

 

After seeing the event live and seeing the incredible level of the production and the quality of the fighters and the athleticism, I was hooked on PRIDE forever.

 

One thing that you must understand about me and the reason for this transaction is I’m a huge fan. The bottom line is I’m a huge fan. This is not about business; this is not about making money. This is about putting together the dream fights that me and you as fans have always wanted to see.

 

It’s been six years now since the UFC’s been purchased by me and my brother and Dana White, and through this leadership, the UFC has become a golden powerhouse.

 

When that purchase happened, we were so enthusiastic that we could turn the UFC around into something huge. This is a little bit different, because PRIDE already is a global powerhouse.

 

But it is with that same enthusiasm that it brings me a tremendous amount of joy that I am able to pull these two great organizations and two great brands together to create the most powerful and preeminent group of fighters and shows that has ever been seen in the world of MMA.”

 

APPLAUSE

 

“Thank you. As I said before, this transaction advances PRIDE and the UFC way beyond and light years ahead of any other MMA organization. And I can’t tell you how happy I am. The UFC, obviously to me is like my baby, and now I have another one, and I love both just the same, and we’ll continue to make PRIDE a preeminent brand and grow this business around the world.”

 

“Now I would like to call up on stage, my very close friend, the president of the UFC, Dana White.”

 

UFC PRESIDENT DANA WHITE ADDRESSES THE CROWD

 

“Today’s a great day for me. I’m very ecstatic today. And you know for years, I’ve been coming for seven years, challenging PRIDE and PRIDE fighters to fight the UFC. And I’ll have to disagree with something that Mr. Sakakibara said earlier; he was talking about all other MMA organizations that are coming out, climbing up the ladder. I laugh at that and I think they’re all a joke. The only two companies in this world that matter are the UFC and PRIDE.

 

Being a fighter, fighters are born with something that most normal people don’t have. It’s something inside of them that they’re born with that normal people do not possess. And one of the things for a fighter is to be able to challenge himself against the best fighters in the world. To find out who really is the best fighter in each weight class.

 

Money is great; it’s great to make money; but at the end of the day, what a fighter wants to leave behind is his legacy. Who is the best fighter in the world in each weight class and how does he test himself?

 

So finally, after seven years, we’re gonna be able to answer all the questions we’ve been waiting to answer. All the challenges that we’ve been waiting to make happen are now gonna happen. We get to see the great fights like Fedor [Emelianenko] vs. Randy Couture, Shogun [Rua] vs. Chuck Liddell, Gomi vs. Georges St Pierre, Dan Henderson vs. Anderson Silva, Josh Barnett vs. Andrei Arlovski - whatever the match-ups might be, we finally now can set the best matches ever. We, as an organization; PRIDE as an organization; and you the fans, all have the chance to see who really is the best fighter in the world. And make no mistake about it, I don’t care that Lorenzo bought PRIDE; the UFC is coming to kick your ass.”

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

Yeah, I am still freaking out.

 

With Zuffa owning PRIDE, this means...

 

- FEDOR FEDOR FEDOR FEDOR FEDOR FEDOR FEDOR FEDOR

- CRO COP FOOTAGE. Not just Silva blocking a high kick, but KOs!

- JERRY MILLEN GETS FIRED! J E DOUBLE RR Y M I DOUBLE N E N GET THE FUCK OUT YOU FROSTED TIP SHITTY ROCK BITCH.

[World's Worst Man 0]

On WO.com it says that PRIDE's rules will be changing to the UFC rules. That means no more kneeing/kicking a downed opponent, and elbows are legal. You can guess what every one of Fedor's opponents' strategy will be when they fight him now.