Zuffa Buys PRIDE

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

Avoid Fedor's Elbows?

[World's Worst Man 0]

I was thinking more "Bake him a delicious cake to fatten him up before the fight", but it's all good.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

Damn, that was going to be my second guess!

[v.2 0]

From my interpretation, fights held in Japan will be under the same PRIDE rules, but the dream matches will be under uniform, UFC ruleset and cage.

[KingPK 0]

So does this mean Fox Sports loses the rights to Pride stuff and it moves to Spike? I could dig an "Unleashed"-type show with old PRIDE matches.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

The bigger question is:

 

IS BUSHIDO: THE TOURNAMENT still going to come out on DVD?

 

Cause, like, if it doesn't. I'm going to Vegas, and I ain't there to play slots.

[RavishingRickRudo 0]

http://www.dailymotion.com/search/ufc/vide...ce-ufc-purchase

 

15 minutes of footage from the press conference.b

[Bruiser_Brody_ 0]

So is this the end of the freak show matches? Is the Super Hwy Division still gonna happen?

[KingPK 0]

Thinking about it, I can't see how this is anything but beneficial to both PRIDE and the UFC. This isn't like Vince buying WCW and ECW because these companies were never really in the kind of competition with each other that the wrestling companies were and I don't think they have the mindset that Vince had (Crush the competition and be the only game in town). Is UFC that well known in Japan? I don't think so and PRIDE is just now starting to grab a foothold in this country with it's shows in Vegas. This deal opens the UFC up to the Japanese market while helping PRIDE regain the stature they once had while opening that organization to a new market with better exposure (I'm pretty sure PRIDE on Spike would be a bigger audience than they have on the FSN networks right now). Plus, both companies can combine their resources and tap into markets in Canada (if Rudo and Curry and the Fight Network are any indication, there's definitely an audience up there) and Europe (which UFC is starting to tap into with their upcoming show in the UK).

Edited March 28, 2007 by KingPK

[Your Paragon of Virtue 0]

There's definitely a market in Canada. I would say Montreal is a bigger MMA city than anywhere in the U.S., save for maybe certain parts of SoCal. Once it gets legalized in Ontario its popularity there will skyrocket.

[Lord of The Curry 0]

I think we've witnessed Dana's peak smugness here, people. Note the date.

[Lt. Al Giardello 0]

There's definitely a market in Canada. I would say Montreal is a bigger MMA city than anywhere in the U.S., save for maybe certain parts of SoCal. Once it gets legalized in Ontario its popularity there will skyrocket.

 

Alberta has a large MMA fanbase, everywhere I go people are always talking about the UFC.

 

This title is misleading because Zuffa never bought PRIDE.

[razazteca 0]

I think we've witnessed Dana's peak smugness here, people. Note the date.

The evolution into full blown McMahonism is almost complete:

 

1. Buy out the competition

2. Dominate the PPV market

3. #1 program on the cable channel

4. Is a focal figure on the tv program

5. "Celebrities" are always at the events

 

The only thing missing is if they have a power struggle on tv between himself and Takada in some sort of pop culture battle where Takada is "M. Bison" and Dana White as I don't know someone like "Geese Howard".

 

So is this the end of the freak show matches? Is the Super Hwy Division still gonna happen?

Are there more plans to completely bury Tim Slyvia if so then losing to Paulo Cesar "Giant" Silva would be a good thing.

[Bruiser_Brody_ 0]

http://www.sherdog.com/news/news.asp?n_id=8015

 

Pride may be back?!!!?

[Nate 0]

this should be very interesting to see where this will go, i could see a UFC vs PRIDE show in 2008 at some point

[Your Paragon of Virtue 0]

http://www.sherdog.com/news/news.asp?n_id=8015

 

Pride may be back?!!!?

 

It was always supposed to come back, as a Zuffa product. Just took some time to work things out.

[Hawkius Maximus 0]

That's not a Zuffa show.

 

If you haven't been following this situation closely (and 99% of all MMA fans outside of Japan have not) then this is INCREDIBLY confusing.

 

Zuffa is no where near ready to run a PRIDE show in Japan. In fact, they may never do so since the contracts weren't 100% transferable which is why all the PRIDE guys that have fought in UFC so far, UFC have signed to deals with them. The fight industry in Japan is so completely different then in America, that since from day one, Zuffa has had no idea what on earth they were getting into.

 

No, that show's not Zuffa...It's DSE...technically.

 

Once again, I point out that this is confusing.

 

The former employees with DSE who have not been hired by Zuffa are "tired" of waiting, and are beginning to organize to form a NEW PRIDE that will be independent of Zuffa. Essentionally, if Zuffa gets things organized (which I strongly doubt they will), we will have TWO PRIDES in Japan. One ran by Zuffa, and one ran by the leftovers of DSE. Zach Arnold called it a "all out turf war" for the spot PRIDE had and for whats left of it's name. Alot of the fighters have been waiting to make moves (mainly the Japanese ones) so they MAY have seen this coming.

 

To make matters even MORE confusing, the Saitama Super Arena has no information listed on if that date has been booked at all, and if it has, they are not listing by whom.

 

But if that show does take place, it will *NOT* be Zuffa ran PRIDE by the looks of it.

 

Also, I should mention. NEVER trust Sherdog for anything "business related". 90% of the time they do not do their homework and simply regurgitate what they've heard without any firm proof.

 

Edit: I should add that all this, the PRIDE show, PRIDE outside of Zuffa...it may all not happen. Why? Because it's Japan. Japan has a level of bullshit that our industry couldn't match five times over.

[Nate 0]

i think my head just exploded reading that news, so if i got this right ZUFFA has bought PRIDE but have not finalized the deal to get all the financials, contracts and whatnot and then the guys of DSE are wanting to start up PRIDE 2 basically

[Hawkius Maximus 0]

In a way, it's UFC's fault for rushing in but DSE also duped UFC. They didn't explain how things would work. UFC simply thought it'd be like a takeover and they'd get everything...Turns out, it wasn't. Virtually nothing but the tape library and the copywrites carried over. That's why UFC has had to manually engage in negociations with fighters. None of the fighters carried over. Henderson, Shogun, Nogueria, all them had to be negociated one by one with. UFC has NO IDEA whatsoever how to promote in Japan. They thought they could just walk in and get a TV deal based off the Zuffa name, but it doesn't work like that. Without TV, you cannot run in Japan. Simple as that. The fact that they thought an American could run the Japanese office says everything. The Japanese wouldn't have supported it even IF it got going. Dana also had a comment recently that shows how ignorant he is. He said the WEC would be "bigger then PRIDE ever was" which is...just absurd, on every single level. UFC isn't even at PRIDE's top level.

 

Before PRIDE was sold, there was a big rumor that DSE would "kill" PRIDE and rebuild it as "CONDOR Fighting Championships" from the ground up using what they had. Namely the fighters. IF this is happening, that would be what the deal would be. The group would have a new name (since UFC owns the trademarks) but it would virtually be PRIDE 2.0 to the Japanese.

 

Virtually none of the PRIDE fighters have really agreed to anything or moved on. They've been almost waiting. Waiting for K-1 or Zuffa to come after them...or just waiting for PRIDE to be rebuilt. I don't know, but it's pretty interesting that Takanori Gomi, Hidehiko Yoshida, Wanderlai Silva, Ricardo Arona, Shinya Aoki, and others have not done ANYTHING of note since PRIDE died. Be it their waiting for deals, or their simply waiting for it to return.

 

It's hard to explain to people who don't follow the Japanese market carefully the impact PRIDE's selling has caused. There's been a shockwave effect across Japan that's even effected Pro-Wrestling. There *IS NO* MMA of importance in Japan right now. The once biggest market in the world now has nothing but bit-shows and K-1. K-1 hasn't moved onto PRIDE's territory because they can't risk it. They dodged a bullet with the LA show (They made money off that if you haven't heard) but they know that they have to hold their ground. In Japan, you make money off TV ratings so K-1 has to desperately cling onto their market share or they might lose it. On top of that, K-1 might be getting hit by their OWN Yakuza scandal which if it goes through would most likely cause the entire market to crash down completely.

 

If you wanna follow this stuff, goto fightopinion.com, no other MMA site covers this type of thing. Zach gets info straight from Japan, and he's been roughly 90% to 100% correct on everything around this. He's an opinionated egotistical jackass sometimes, but the guy knows what the hell he's talking about.

[cameron chaos 0]

Also, I should mention. NEVER trust Sherdog for anything "business related". 90% of the time they do not do their homework and simply regurgitate what they've heard without any firm proof.

 

Bullshit.

 

How many reporters does Zach Arnold have in Japan? We have 2.

 

We used to report PRIDE live, we have links to virtually every promotion in the world from ZST to Cage Rage to UFC, we have links with fighters and their managment, we get both written and audio interviews with guys... I think we do a pretty good job.

 

Yes, we do have some connections we don't always mention and don't always announce certain things, but that's because we are a global entity whereas Zach Aronld isn't and therefore we are under greater scrutiny. Josh Gross has disclosed certain information before which didn't do us many favours and we get business numbers, but generally our line is we report news and information disclosed directly to us, not tabloid level information that's not confirmed 100%. It saves a lot of hassle. Given our new responsibilities being affiliated with ESPN and CRAVE online, it only makes sense we only report that which we can verify.

[Hawkius Maximus 0]

There is a drastic, INCREDIBLY drastic difference from "covering MMA" to "covering MMA business". Sherdog does a fine job at covering MMA, I suppose. I used to go there, but honestly the major draw for me years ago was the previews and quite frankly their no where near the quality they used to be at. Neither here nor there.

 

Zach Arnold is an egotistical jackass at times, but he KNOWS what he's talking about. There is no one who reports on the industry in English that is as connected to the Japanese fight game as he is. EVERYTHING he reported on PRIDE came true. EVERYTHING he reported on the PRIDE sale has come true. EVERYTHING he's reported on the aftermath has thus far come true. Go back and read his archives and you'll see that he's calling stuff when even his readers are calling him stupid. He may not be a great person all the time, but he has a big track record.

 

And if Sherdog ONLY reports what you can verify...then why did Sherdog report the near phantom PRIDE show? There is NO PROOF of what the fuck is going on, outside of whats going on in the deepest depths of the Japanese fight game. It's *ALL* speculation, so you've just proven yourself wrong. In fact the Saitama Super Arena, that Sherdog reported was booked says it is *NOT BOOKED*, or has no information on being booked. That's hardly proven fact.

 

I'm not attacking Sherdog, but don't come insulting someone whose had a fantastic track record on all this just because he does something better then Sherdog.

[Your Paragon of Virtue 0]

While I like what Zach has to say about the merger, it's hard to take it seriously as he has a *serious* slant against the UFC and especially Dana White. He will try to spin any sort of story into bashing Dana White if there is even a slight opportunity to do so. I'm not saying that what he's saying about the PRIDE sale being dead may not be true, in fact it probably is (though I believe this more because of what Trigg has had to say on the matter), but the fact is he loves to make Dana look bad at every opportunity, so that leads me to believe what he reports with a huge grain of salt, as if a story has some uncertainty, he will pick the result that will cause the UFC to fall flat on its face. I thought Sherdog was bad with that shit, but this is horrible. It's hard to listen to the fight opinion radio show because of this.

[Your Paragon of Virtue 0]

Alright, so I listened to another couple of the Fight Opinion radio shows, and I have to say that these guys sound like bitter assholes. Everything they say is tinged with bias against the UFC, they just try to spin everything to bash it, rather than analyze the facts to understand the situation properly. Let the guy report on happenings in Japanese mainstream MMA (he doesn't really know about MMA org's for their product, which is why he doesn't know much about DEEP, SHOOTO, etc.) and tell him to shut the fuck up about everything else. The other hosts don't even have that going for them, they offer nothing.

[Hawkius Maximus 0]

I'm still waiting for that PRIDE show that Sherdog reported...

 

You may like Zach, you may dislike Zach. But he knows what he's talking about.

 

UFC HAS been fucking up. PRIDE WAS stupid. Zach WAS right about the Yakuza, and still is.

 

I just like to see people being given credit when they actually pull something off, is all.