Thread Split: Pride/ UFC buyout

Discussion in 'Fight Discussions' started by Apotheosis, Mar 21, 2007.

  1. Apotheosis

    Apotheosis Valued Member

    The current rumors have the Fertita brothers buying Pride...They also reportedyl have Shogun signing a 4 fight contract, 2 fights with Pride and 2 with the UFC...

    Wandy was also apparently offered the same but declined because he wants a share of the PPV money like Tito and Chuck get.

    It sounds like the Fertita brothers bought Pride, and will have Dana run the UFC while Sak runs Pride...

    That way the Fertita brothers can force Pride to "share" fighters, while still encouraging competition and hopefully improving Pride's U.S marketing(Prides current U.S team just plain sucks).

    Sounds like some very exciting times for MMA.
     
  2. Oversoul

    Oversoul Valued Member

    Sounds like a monopoly if it's true. That could be bad.
     
  3. Sever

    Sever Valued Member

    There's no could about it. There would be some nice fights out of it, but all in all it'd most likely be a complete trainwreck
     
  4. Oversoul

    Oversoul Valued Member

    Fedor has ONE fight scheduled in Bodog. Sakuraba is washed up anyway (it's too bad, but I think at this point it's undeniable). Silva lost his belt to Dan Henderson, who's still in PRIDE. I don't see that as PRIDE being "on the ropes." The UFC has gotten better, but that doesn't mean PRIDE got worse.
     
  5. Apotheosis

    Apotheosis Valued Member

    Pride's events are still great, but their business is horrible especially in the U.S
     
  6. Oversoul

    Oversoul Valued Member

    The UFC's business was pretty bad a decade ago, and they're still around.
     
  7. wazzabi

    wazzabi sushi eater

    let's hope if this deal happens that the UFC doesn't absort PRIDE, and turn the ring into the octagon. at least keep the PRIDE rules, ring entrances, introduction movies & big bang intro, they're really entertaining :D . the UFC can learn alot from PRIDE. i really think they can use some of the entertainment techniques the Japanese have perfected. whenever they play a fighter's intro video or ring entrance in a UFC event, i fall asleep. but during PRIDE, it's hyped up so much, it makes we wet my pants wanting to see the fight. with all of the videos choreographed to perfection. i wonder why Dana White doesn't employ this strategy. is it because it costs more money? :confused:
     
  8. Apotheosis

    Apotheosis Valued Member

    They were always making a profit(if I remember correctly) even though it was very small, once the Fertita brothers bought it they actually went $40 million into the whole but they could afford it.

    Pride was/is losing money and I do not think their owners can afford to be $40 million in the whole...

    Not to mention they cannot afford to compete with the UFC for fighter salaries...

    I don't think they will, they seem to believe that it is better to kepe their companies separate...(UFC and WEC). I believe Pride still makes money in Japan/Korea/China so perhaps they will just keep Pride overseas and have the UFC dominate the U.S?

    Dana doesn't do the same kind of production because it costs a lot of money and it really isn't needed here in the U.S.

    They still sell out big stadiums and I imagine as time goes on they will perfect their entrances as well as other things....
     
    Last edited: Mar 22, 2007
  9. Apotheosis

    Apotheosis Valued Member

    Source

    Seems like the only thing left is an official announcement, not sure if I should cheer because we may see Fedor vs Mirko, Wandy vs Chuck, Shogun vs Chuck etc... or if I should be very nervous because we(the fans) may soon be regretting the Fertita brothers getting an MMA monopoly.
     
  10. wazzabi

    wazzabi sushi eater

    i'd like to be optimistic and say that a monopoly wouldn't water down the level of competition. at least now we can finally see the dream matchups we've been waiting for. but then again, it could potentially eliminate some very good fighters from the top MMA scene if they **** off Dana White, which is troublesome. Josh Barnette and Mark Coleman both had huge success after leaving UFC for PRIDE (after being busted hot for roids :D ), but now that they're both 1 organization, fighters like that will have nowhere to run but K-1 Hero's.
     
  11. Stevebjj

    Stevebjj Grappling Dummy

    I think that the industry will be self correcting. If Pride goes away, and Dana White alienates enough people, there are at least a couple of respectable promotions waiting to garner their share of the market. Bodogfights is run by a guy with craploads of money and a desire to see good fights, and has a free tv deal (not a great one, but still). The IFL is unique, has some of the best names in the business as coaches and shareholders and is on the cusp of finding a large viewership on free TV. King of the Cage continues to hold good cards, as a loyal following on PPV and gets some big names on their card. The UFC is the top dog now, but things can change fast.

    I have no problem with a tiered system. It works in the MLB, and in almost every other major sport. There's one league that's elite, and then several other "farm" leagues full of up and comers, and aging gatekeepers.

    In other words, I'm hoping for the best. :D
     
  12. Apotheosis

    Apotheosis Valued Member

    The latest

    Latest report is Shogun signed a 4 fight contract with Pride, that will be part of the purchasing deal so he will have 2 with the UFC and 2 with Pride...Shogun's two fights in Pride will be this year, with one being the New Years event.

    Estimate is he will be making about a million total(so I guess 250k per fight?), reportedly double his previous per fight salary. Wandy was offered a deal that would amount to a 30% pay cut so he declined(he also wanted PPV revenue and Zuffa refused).

    Apparently Arona also signed a 4 fight deal similar to Shogun....

    Also rumor has it that stomps, soccer kicks, and knees on the ground will be taken away so as to have a unified set of rules(totally blows).
     
  13. Sever

    Sever Valued Member

    And so the complete and utter balls-up begins :cry: :bang:
    I'm already getting flashbacks to when WWE bought WCW and ECW and the deal's not even official yet
     
  14. wazzabi

    wazzabi sushi eater

    if that rumour is true, then i might start boycotting PRIDE, since watching its fights would be no better than that of the UFC. kicks to a downed opponent is what made PRIDE what it is.
     
  15. Sever

    Sever Valued Member

    There will be a lot of people that go that way
    If Pride falls under American ownership, it's probably going to face a big struggle with its fanbase in Japan and Korea as it is; they start diluting the rules, that'll probably take a big chunk of their most lucrative market with it
     
    Last edited: Mar 25, 2007
  16. Linguo

    Linguo Valued Member

    Although I prefer the Pride ruleset, I do like the idea of a unified rules. I'm reserving my judgment of a Ferttita-owned Pride until I see how it plays out. While I dont approve of Dana White's antics, Zuffa has done a fantastic job marketing the UFC to the American public. They've proven to be pretty shrewd businessmen. Pride was barely making any headway in the US, but could potentially explode stateside with things like cross-promotion fights. This may be a good thing for Pride.
     
  17. Oversoul

    Oversoul Valued Member

    I REALLY hope they keep the PRIDE rules.
     
  18. Stevebjj

    Stevebjj Grappling Dummy

    They can't keep the pride rules and hold sanctioned events in the USA. Can they? Weren't the PRIDE events in Vegas under what's rapidly becoming the standard ruleset?
     
  19. Apotheosis

    Apotheosis Valued Member

    As of now, however they could probably get knees allowed if they put a lot of effort into it...or at least keep them in Japan, China, South Korea etc...

    Latest rumor has Fedor signing a long term deal with Bodog....As well has having Sakikibara putting in some fine print on his fighters contracts that stipulate the contracts are void unless they fight under the Pride name in the ring...

    No idea how true any of this is, but if so I hope Fedor is making a ton of cash because he would have in the UFC and I am really disappointed I won't be seeing a Mirko-Fedor rematch.....It would also mean Sak. pulled off a great move, forcing the UFC to keep Pride "alive" and not cherry pick it like they did with the WFA or agree to spend 71 million to in essence buy the name and 2 fighters- Shogun and Arona

    Fedor Rumor
     
  20. Oversoul

    Oversoul Valued Member

    That's the important thing. Well, I like the PRIDE rules better in general and would hate very much to see them go. But the knees are a big one. When a fighter gets north/south in the UFC, nearly all he can do is scramble for side control. I've seen it happen several times. And with the sprawl, it might be even worse...

    I also really like the ten-minute round.
     

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