PrideFC Sold?

[DV8type]

i see there are a few MMA fans here, thought i'd post this:

Rumors are again:
Fertitta Brothers Purchase PRIDE Fighting Championships for $65 Million


According to today’s episode of Sherdog’s The Savage Dog Show/BeatDown, UFC majority owners Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta have purchased the Japenese-based PRIDE Fighting Championships for a startling-low price of $65 million. (You can find a heated discussion on the Sherdog Forums.)

The show is relying an anonymous source that is said to be “very reliable,” and an official announcement is expected to come on Wednesday.
Here is the link to the Savage Dog Show
http://www.sherdogvideos.com/radio/BeatdownEp125_3_19_07.mp3

MMA Weekly Confirms?

The rumors swirling around the sale of Pride FC have been ongoing for quite some time, but things flared up again on Monday when Sherdog.com started talking about strong rumors from some of their sources, who said that the deal has finally been struck.

MMAWeekly has confirmed with our own sources, including sources in Japan that are extremely close to the situation, that the deal has indeed been reached. From what we understand, Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta have come to an agreement that would put Pride in their hands. But remember, that is an agreement, not a finalized transaction. As with any business transaction as complex as the purchase of one company by another, things are never 100% finalized until the proverbial keys to the front door have finally changed hands.

With that said, unless something changes at the eleventh hour, it appears that Pride will soon fall under the ownership of the Fertitta brothers. According to our sources, the purchase is believed to include fighter contracts, Pride’s video library, and the Pride FC name brand. The issue of fighter contracts is one of the more touchy points, as there can be variables in each individual contract that will have to be dealt with, and no information has come forth that states which fighters would be included.

It was not immediately clear when the deal would be announced, although it is believed that Nobuyuki Sakikabara, the President & CEO Of Dream Stage Entertainment (Pride’s present owner), is traveling to the United States this week in regards to matters related to the agreement.


The Fight Network:

The big buzz blazing through the MMA community this afternoon is that Zuffa LLC., owners of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, has successfully negotiated the purchase of PRIDE Fighting Championships from Dream Stage Entertainment.


--------------------------------

GracieFighter.com is saying:

In an exclusive interview, Pride USA Vice President, Jerry Millen, commented on the speculation that Pride has been bought by the Zuffa organization.

"It's bullshit. You can't beleive what you read on the internet and as a matter of fact I just got off the phone with Japan and unless I'm being lied to Pride has not been sold and is not being sold to anyone, especially to Zuffa. We are in the process of making some ground breaking deals that will be bringing in large sums of revenue to the company and making it stronger than ever."


Dave Meltzer (wrestling observer & MMA insider) is saying:

--Regarding all the Pride rumors, we've heard so much in recent days. Where there's smoke there is fire, but Pride has been close to sold so many times that I don't count on anything, particularly since sources have heard about an 11th hour fall apart once again. The funny thing is, in Japan, the belief is it is about to be sold, but not to the Fertittas. But in Japan the expectation is something will break at the next show.

--------

<-Seriously i dont even know what to think....could be a publicity stunt by PrideFC....or w/ the last Pride show going the way it did (seen mostly as a failure) it could be true...guess we'll see Wednesday.

[Skiz]

Pride is living in the shadows of UFC, so I wouldn't be surprised to see it sold sometime in the next few years.

The truth is that UFC now pulls in more money for PPV fights than does HBO or Showtime for heavyweight bouts or otherwise.

I do not think that the UFC guys are are going to diversify right now by buying Pride. It doesn't make sense.

[DV8type]

Pride still has some of the best fighters....and imagine a "superbowl" event
<-Thats cash in the pockets

btw, MMA still doesnt come close to Boxing Mega Events like DelaHoya/Mayweather << Boxing is a little lack luster for the last few years but thats another thread :D

[Mr JP Fugley]

The truth is that UFC now pulls in more money for PPV fights than does HBO or Showtime for heavyweight bouts or otherwise.


I'm not arguing with you, however can you maybe be a wee bit more specific about that. Are we talking a one-off, overall, predicted earnings, whatever.

It's a bit nebulous just now. The suggestion seems to be that UFC is a bigger sport (financially) than boxing and I find that difficult to understand.

[bmwM5]

Pride still has some of the best fighters.



some?
fedor (#1-HW) , rodrigo nogueria (#2-HW) , alexander (#6-HW), hunt (#4-HW) ,barnett (#5-HW), shogun (#1-MW/LHW) , arona (#3-MW/LHW) , henderson (#5-MW/LHW&#2-WW) , filho (#1-WW)

[DV8type]

some?
fedor (#1-HW) , rodrigo nogueria (#2-HW) , alexander (#6-HW), hunt (#4-HW) ,barnett (#5-HW), shogun (#1-MW/LHW) , arona (#3-MW/LHW) , henderson (#5-MW/LHW&#2-WW) , filho (#1-WW)

<< A bit bias no? :lol:
i dont see: CroCop, Liddell, GSP on that list.... :whistling:

[bmwM5]

aint a god damn bias man
i only listed pride top fighters as a replay for "Pride still has some of the best fighters"
the point is to show that pride still dominate in most weight classes .

[DV8type]

<< I was just commenting on your rankings....some of those are definately disputed....

---ON TOPIC:
What do you think of Pride being sold to the Fertitta Brothers?

[bmwM5]

dv8
your inbox full
"DV8type has exceeded their stored private messages quota and can not accept further messages until they clear some space."


<< I was just commenting on your rankings....some of those are definately disputed....

---ON TOPIC:
What do you think of Pride being sold to the Fertitta Brothers?

on topic , i hope pride-japan will survive
personally i dont like all those rumors , until this formally announced you shouldnt take it too seriously
anyway i hate the ufc rules and judgment
i also prefer the ring much better than the octagon
so if the fertitta brothers going to target direct to us market and leave saitama for vegas it will be very bad imo
btw take a look at sherdog , they say there that shogun make a 2 fight contract at the ufc
what do you say ? i think its probably bullshit

[DV8type]

Thats ridiculous...i so hope Shogun doesnt go to UFC. Just like i thought Pride USA was bullshit...i dont think NSAC rules favors Pride Fighters....
-Although i would love to see Shogun/Liddell, i wish it would happen in Japan.

>As for the rumors....i agree, but they have been consistent for the last 3+ months that Pride is selling. It would be an end of an era :(

[macking]

If its true I hope they keep Pride parallel to UFC I dont want to see it all become one UFC with only UFC rules.

[bmwM5]

Thats ridiculous...i so hope Shogun doesnt go to UFC. Just like i thought Pride USA was bullshit...i dont think NSAC rules favors Pride Fighters....
-Although i would love to see Shogun/Liddell, i wish it would happen in Japan.

>As for the rumors....i agree, but they have been consistent for the last 3+ months that Pride is selling. It would be an end of an era :(

nsac are idiots , not only because their stupid rules
because those idiots we probably will not see wanderlei fighting in pride 34
they putting him under restrictions because his 2 loses in a raw
sure pride can give flying f*** about this restriction but it will cause problems if they keep planing events in vegas
the decision should be only of wanderlei and chute boxe
those nsac spoiled americans should mind their own business and stfu

[DV8type]

because those idiots we probably will not see wanderlei fighting in pride 34
they putting him under restrictions because his 2 loses in a raw


<< I dont know about that...i believe in fighter safety. A fighter will almost always choose money over health. Wandi got KO pretty hardcore his last two fights. He didnt look his best in the Hendo fight

-One thing tho i would love to see a "Superbowl" Style event once every 3-4 yrs. Having it every year would be weak, but making it Olympic style would be great to see

[famous45]

nsac are idiots , not only because their stupid rules
because those idiots we probably will not see wanderlei fighting in pride 34
they putting him under restrictions because his 2 loses in a raw
sure pride can give flying f*** about this restriction but it will cause problems if they keep planing events in vegas
the decision should be only of wanderlei and chute boxe
those nsac spoiled americans should mind their own business and stfu

I Agree, Pride needs to just stay the F*ck out of Vegas and not worry about the nsac and us spoiled Americans. Keep it overseas, where it belongs.

[Skiz]

It's official - Pride has been sold to the UFC.

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

[DV8type]

Yup its a sad day in MMA. Hopefully, Zuffa will mange them properly.
http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=3669&zoneid=13

Presser Link:
http://www.sherdogvideos.com/events/pride34/ufc_pride_presser.wmv

[ArtOfWar]

Big Nog has joined the ufc now. It's funny because even though the ufc has just bought Pride it looks like they will still take a lot of their fighters.

[magsimus]

I don't think they'll be stealing fighters. After all, they're in it to make money. Seems to me like PRIDE in Japan has been making money hand over fist. The people there LOVE it. They sell out events three times the size of an average UFC. Zuffa would shoot themselves in the foot if they started draining all the talent. I think it's in their best interest to leave the status quo, ummm... errr.. status quo.

Unified rules = good for the sport (but bring back knees on the ground)

DV8type - I think that every 4 year olympics-ish "Super-bowl" is a hell of a good idea. But maybe 2 or 3 years? 4 years is a LONG time in MMA. 4 years ago, Tito Ortiz was still relevant. 4 years ago, Sakuraba was still beating the best. 4 years ago (well maybe 5) Kevin Randelman was still kicking asses. 4 years ago, Rich Franklin stepped into the octagon for the first time.

I don't know, just my two-cents

[DV8type]

yeah, i agree....maybe every other year, 4 yrs is a bit much....btw, Ortiz is still relevant :D

-Also as more, and more details are coming out on the deal btwn UFC and Pride, it seems like more or less a one sided deal. I believe Dana is definitely looking to diminish the Pride Legacy.

A recent interview w/ Dana from MMA Weekly:

Ultimate Fighting Championship president Dana White spoke in great detail during a pre-UFC 70 teleconference about his plans for the Pride Fighting Championships organization, which was recently purchased by UFC principal owners Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta.

The most striking aspect of White's answers to reporters' questions was the way in which he spoke of Pride as a company essentially owned-and-operated by the UFC. Any pretense from the initial buy-out announcement that White would not have anything to do with Pride (or would not be running Pride) was long gone, as was any pretense that Pride and the new company Pride FC Worldwide would not be controlled by Zuffa.

White set the tone for this early on in the conference call when he talked about how busy he is: "I'm working on that [the first round of the Pride Lightweight Grand Prix]. There's only so much I can do at once. We own the UFC, Pride, and WEC, so it's a lot of work."

White also said, "I'm working on a major TV deal for Pride in the U.S. and in Japan." When asked about the Pride USA office, he said that all of the Pride employees will be keeping their jobs but added, "I'm going to be the one going out and signing deals for Pride."

White's comments about Pride stand in stark contrast to the statements made by DSE executives when the announcement was made that UFC co-owners Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta were buying Pride. At the time, DSE president Nobuyuki Sakakibara said, "Lorenzo believes that Pride should maintain its luster, and he will make sure that Pride. is here to stay. I trust and believe in Lorenzo... but please don't misunderstand the situation. This is not a speech about the UFC purchasing Pride. The UFC will forever stay as a competitor to Pride, because the UFC is operated by Zuffa Entertainment and Mr. Dana White."

White also contradicted statements made just in the past week by DSE executives about Pride's upcoming Lightweight Grand Prix. When asked if it's true that there will be one or more UFC fighters in the Pride Lightweight Grand Prix, White said that it is absolutely not true.

At the press conference last week in Japan where it was announced that the first round of Pride's Lightweight Grand Prix would not be taking place on May 20th as originally scheduled, DSE president Sakakibara said, “I’m sure that the UFC will send us one of the very best lightweight fighters of the UFC. That’s what Lorenzo promised me. I’m sure that Lorenzo will prove his commitment.”

Also, while DSE announced in Japan this week that the first round of the Grand Prix would take place on July 16th in Nagoya, Japan, White said, "We don't have a date for the Lightweight Grand Prix yet." White said that it's still being determined when they'll be ready to run their first Pride event.

When a reporter asked if it's true that Mauricio "Shogun" Rua will be fighting in the UFC just as Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira will be, White said that Shogun will stay in Pride and added, "All of the guys who are in Pride will stay in Pride." White said that there will be no Pride fighters in the UFC before the big UFC vs. Pride "Super Bowl" event, which he said will be taking place this year.

When asked about the recent statements from Shogun's camp that Shogun has a contract for two fights in Pride and two fights in the UFC, White said, "I don't know where that's coming from, but it's not true."

When a reporter asked about Wanderlei Silva's status as a free agent, White said that Silva is not a free agent and that he has four fights remaining on his Pride contract.

When asked about the status of Pride Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko, who recently stated that he is not under contract to Pride, White said that Fedor is indeed under contract to Pride, but added, "It's a non-exclusive contract, and I don't do non-exclusive contracts."

White said that he is trying to sign Fedor to an exclusive contract and that if Fedor were to sign a similar non-exclusive contract with any other MMA promotion in the meantime, "We would absolutely slap an injunction on that." An "injunction" in this case would be a temporary restraining order seeking to legally prohibit Fedor from fighting in any other MMA promotion.

White was asked about the problem of so many Pride fighters, such as Fedor, being under non-exclusive contracts. White responded, "Yeah, it's a problem. I'm working on it. It's a big problem, but believe me, I'll fix it."

Several of the reporters did not seem to be aware of White's previous statements that the UFC and Pride would have the same rules. When asked about the differences between the UFC's rules and Pride's rules in the future, White said, "It'll all be the same."

One of the reporters on the teleconference said that he feels the color commentary on the April 8th Pride event was "horrendous" due to the "constant shilling for Pride" and asked if White will be making changes to ensure that the Pride broadcasts will be "more professional" in the future. White responded, "Absolutely," and said that he "agrees 100 percent" with what the reporter said. When asked specifically if color commentator Frank Trigg will continue to be part of the Pride announcing team, White said, "No, he won't. We're looking for some new announcers."