Friday, March 30, 2007

UAFC: Art of War recap

För 3 veckor sedan höll UAFC (Undisputed Arena Fighting Championship) sin första gala vid namn Art of War.
Main event för kvällen var en tre ronders tungviktstitelfight mellan Pedro Rizzo och Justin Eilers.
Pedro Rizzo var tillbaka efter en timeout på 13 månader som han tog efter att ha förlorat ordentligt i dom två fighter han hade efter hans förra uppehåll.
Justin Eilers har efter tre raka förluster i UFC startat om sin karriär med bättre mer konservativa strategier och med det tagit sju raka (T)KO vinster i mindre galor.

Pedro Rizzo vs. Justin Eilers var en riktigt bra fight faktiskt där båda såg bra ut stående. Rizzo hade en nedslagning ganska tidigt i första ronden och försöker följa efter för att avsluta men Eilers lyckas försvara sig och resten av ronden ligger Rizzo ovanpå Eilers och delar ut lite ineffektiv Ground and Pound.
I andra ronden håller dom sig stående hela tiden och båda träffar bra. Eilers och Rizzo ser båda rätt mörbultade ut. Rizzo landar flera hårda bensparkar och dom ger verkligen utdelning. I slutet av andra ronden så levererar Rizzo en hög spark istället som träffar riktigt bra och han följer upp med slag, Eilers vänder sig om och försöker komma undan men Rizzo följer efter men hinner inte avsluta innan ronden är slut.
I tredje ronden trodde jag nog att Eilers skulle vara så gott som slut, men icke. Han är lika mycket med i matchen som förut och visar verkligen hur tuff han är. Tempot känns lite lägre nu än tidigare och Rizzo känns lite försiktigare. Eilers från in ett par bra träffar men Rizzo likaså. Mycket jämn sista rond men jag gav den till Rizzo även om jag var mest imponerad av hur Eilers inte gav sig en tum. Trots nedslagningen i första ronden och att han räddades av gonggongen i andra så var han aldrig ute ur matchen.

En mycket bra fight men kvällens höjdpunkt fick vi se lite tidigare under kvällen. Alex Andrade vs. Klas Akesson var otroligt underhållande och hade ett helt fantastiskt slut. Första ronden var jämn men jag gav den ändå till Andrade, han lyckades kontrollera fighten mer. I andra ronden får Andrade in en uppercut som sänker Åkesson och domaren går in för att bryta, men Åkesson fortsätter försvara sig och Andrade fortsätter slå. Åkesson lyckas ta sig upp stående igen bara för att bli nedslagen igen allt medans domaren försöker bryta. Ja, ni ser själva. Jag hade hört om det här innan men det var ju 10 gånger bättre än jag trodde. Det är svenskt stål det! Nedslagen 2 gånger på raken och domaren emellan, det är ingen anledning att ge upp! Han var grymt förbannad och skrev fan eller fuck ett flertal gånger. Sen kramar han om och gratulerar Andrade och Andrade lyfter upp Åkesson på sina axlar och bär runt honom lite som för att hylla hans karaktär och ger honom tom en puss. Helt underbart att se sån gemenskap i ringen.

Anthony Njokuani vs. Kenneth Rosfort var en annan bra fight där vi fick se obesegrade kickboxaren Njokuani vinna med en mycket fin knockout efter drygt 2 minuter.

Vi fick även se Tom East vs. Brian Russel där East vann med ett riktigt fint keylock armlås på under 2 minuter. Det är dock felaktigt rapporterat som en TKO. Det är enligt Sherdogs fightfinder Tom Easts första profesionella MMA fight och han hade riktigt bra brottning och markkontroll, fin ground and pound från sidemount och ett bra submission avslut. Nu var det enligt fightfindern Russels första fight också så det behöver väll inte säga så mycket men jag tyckte East såg bra ut.

Fullständingt resultat från galan taget ifrån Sherdogs fightfinder:
1 Tom East Brian Russel TKO 1 1:51
2 Sonny Nielsen Armando Valadez TKO (Injury) 2 1:16
3 Justin Wren Justin Howard TKO 2 1:32
4 Anthony Njokuani Kenneth Rosfort KO 1 2:12
5 Eric Schambari Christian Smith Submission (Arm Triangle Choke) 1 3:12
6 Damien Stelly Mike Sheppard Submission (Kimura) 1 1:45
7 Yuki Inoue Jason Maxwell Decision (Split) 3 5:00
8 Alex Andrade Klas Akesson TKO 2 3:15
9 Carlo Prater Anthony Lapsley Decision (Unanimous) 3 5:00
10 Pedro Rizzo Justin Eilers Decision (Unanimous) 3 5:00

Thursday, March 29, 2007

Icon: Epic preview

På lördag är det dags för Icon: Epic där Frank Trigg ska försvara sin mellanviktstitel mot Robbie Lawler.
Jason "Mayhem" Miller kommer tillbaka efter att ha förlorat mellanviktstiteln till Frank Trigg efter att ha vunnit den av Robbie Lawler. Riktigt triangeldrama kring Icons mellanviktstitel om Lawler vinner med andra ord. Mayhem möter iaf Hector Urbina som är en rätt bra fighter men som Mayhem inte bör ha några större bekymmer med.
Renato "Charuto" Verissimo möter oerfarne Lars Haven och han bör vinna den matchen.
Resten av matcherna är inget särskilt av intresse men det är ändå 3 bra fighter och ett hyfsat undercard vi får se från Icon.
Fullt fightcard:
Frank Trigg vs. Robbie Lawler
Jason Miller vs. Hector Urbina
Renato Verissimo vs. Lars Haven
Po'ai Suganuma vs. Nathan Carey
Marshall Harvest vs. Justin Bucholz
Kala Kolohe Hose vs. Ron Verdadero
Kimo Wolfel vs. Dereck Keasley
PJ Dean vs. Derek Stadler
Thomas Ferguson vs. Carvin Mustafa
Devon Damo vs. Duane Haney
Jay Bolos vs. Ryan Lee
Isaiah Cobb-Adams vs. Vinny Delos Santos

Man kan se galan Live helt gratis på Proelites hemsida om man är intresserad. Preview på galan:

Sherdog intervjuar Frank Trigg

Sherdog intervjuar Frank Trigg om hans försvar av sin Icon-titel mot Robbie Lawler till helgen. Han pratar också om bröderna Fertittas köp av Pride, regler och framtiden för MMA.

Japanska tidningen "Kamipro" intervjuar DSE VD Nobuyuki Sakakibara

Mycket lång och mycket bra intervju med Sakakibara om varför han sålde Pride och varför han valde att sälja till bröderna Fertitta och mycket mycket mer. Väldigt bra som sagt.

- Thank you for taking time out from your very busy schedule.

Sakakibara: You are quite welcome.

- I understand that you are planning to make a major announcement very soon about the future of PRIDE.

Sakakibara: Yes. I'm making two big announcements on March 27. The first one is about me. I am resigning the post of the representative of PRIDE.

- �..

Sakakibara: And to continue the interview we had in the last issue of Kamipro, I have found a very good suitor for my "daughter" to marry (calmly).

- Finally�

Sakakibara:
Please don't misunderstand my comment, PRIDE will continue. Personally I have mixed feelings. However, I have made my decision about the future of PRIDE.

- Who is your "daughter" marrying?

Sakakibara: (By interrupting the question) Before I give you the answer to your question, I have to make sure that I give a clear explanation and the background of my decision to the fans, otherwise they won't understand. I am going to say similar things at the press conference on March 27th about the various offers of investment and acquisition for PRIDE that came from many sources. I started to consider these offers or proposals after Fuji TV gave us a one-sided notice of termination for terrestrial TV broadcasting for PRIDE, totally out of blue, which happened in 2006.

- You are talking about the major incident that occurred last June, called the "Fuji TV shock."

Sakakibara: Because the sudden cancellation of PRIDE broadcasting was decided only by Fuji TV, on top of the negative affect caused by PRIDE losing TV broadcasting, our credibility was hugely damaged. They suddenly turned their backs on us.

- Because Fuji TV cut their relationship with PRIDE, the general public started to believe some magazines articles reporting PRIDE has touch point to an "anti-social organization."

Sakakibara: Their sudden decision to force PRIDE from the air gave credibility to the completely groundless articles which compromised my reputation and the reputation of DSE. Their influence was devastating. Many sponsors immediately decided to cut off deals. Hotels that we've been having a quite good relationship with, and using for our fighters, refused to allow them to stay, and vendors refused to work with us unless we paid in advance. A negative chain reaction triggered by the decision of Fuji TV was almost laughable and really appalling. If I could, I want to say it out loud that it is undeniable reality and fact that nothing happened to me or DSE up today. In fact, there was nothing to hide and no serious incident which would cause Fuji TV to finish broadcasting. As I have said on many occasions, the hardest thing is to prove what doesn't exist. One friend told me "Time provides the best cure".....but we cannot wait for time to heal the wounds.

- Also the big "tsunami" of the MMA boom in the US spearheaded by UFC was about to reach the shore.

Sakakibara: That was another big factor: The entry of powers with abundant financial resources and the big success of the UFC. Last year saw a major shift in the balance of power in the MMA market. If you compare the size of the MMA market between the U.S. and Japan, the U.S. market is 30, 40 times the size of the Japanese market.

- I had no clue how big it was, but I know it's a fact.

Sakakibara: The UFC have almost 1 million PPV subscribers, which is impossible to match for the size of the Japanese market. They are even coming neck and neck in ticket sales where we've been outperforming them. I also have to mention the sponsorship, and I am telling you that the sponsorship we've got for the show in Las Vegas was way higher than what we usually get in Japan.

- That's why PRIDE wants to go to the U.S.

Sakakibara: Come to think of the market value, you cannot ignore the difference in the market size between Japan and the U.S. So, the bad faith of Fuji TV and the booming American Market are two factors that have made it harder and harder for DSE to protect the best ring in the world.

- Haven't you ever thought that you wanted to keep doing PRIDE even if you had to lower the level of the ring?

Sakakibara: I feel kind of sad to marry off my "daughter," but that's better than making PRIDE a second-rate show, which would no longer be PRIDE. It's been 10 years since the birth of PRIDE, and PRIDE has always been presenting top-class fights by inviting the best fighters, i.e. top athletes, for the eternal human quest to be "the best in the world". It would be the American Major League, if it were baseball or Series A, if it were football. How could we make it the finest MMA show in the world? I guess one of the main reasons was the fight money being higher than other fighting organization.

- Higher than other rings, than any other organization?

Sakakibara: And because we had higher exposure and better fighters than the others, we could create an ideal pattern of fighters bringing in other fighters. Without a doubt, fighters all around the world placed a high value on fighting in PRIDE and they were proud to say "Being a champion in PRIDE proves he is the best in the world." Therefore, there were two things I thought I had to do before everything else when Fuji TV stopped broadcasting PRIDE. One, of course, was to restore confidence, i.e. to revive TV broadcasting. I set a deadline in my mind for this goal, and that was last New Year's Eve......

- But, you couldn't make it?

Sakakibara: To my regret, no. And the other challenge was to fill the corporate power gap between us and new comers such as Bodog and Elite XC, as well as the UFC, which was exponentially increasing profitability.

- In short, you wanted to reinforce the financial power and credibility in the worldwide market.

Sakakibara: Right. And in order to quickly accomplish these two goals, I needed to have rounds of top-secret negotiations and backroom meetings in both a patient and fearless way, which required a totally different mindset from the one for working to make the coming show successful. I can't go into details, but I've been working in Japan, as well as in the U.S., looking at all the possibilities.

- How do you evaluate the two PRIDE shows that you've done in the U.S. as part of these efforts?

Sakakibara: "PRIDE.32 - THE REAL DEAL" on October 21 was a trigger to build confidence and financial power in the U.S. market.

- You mean you got something very important beside the revenue from the show itself?

Sakakibara: Yes. I met with many investors and people from broadcasting before the show, but they didn't seem interested in PRIDE, or they took a wait-and-see approach. You may wonder why. That's not only because we have never had a show in the U.S., but also because they were wondering why Fuji TV stopped airing PRIDE in Japan, as well.

- Fuji TV had influence overseas as well (laughing)?

Sakakibara: They wondered why Fuji TV wasn't airing this excellent content. Fuji TV didn't give a full explanation about why they stopped broadcasting. But after the American people had first-hand experience of PRIDE on October 21, I felt a little shift in the tide.

- You can't feel it in Japan, but I heard the show in Las Vegas built up a really big reputation.

Sakakibara: We made such a good presentation to the U.S. market that I was contacted by many people with specific investment proposals and even for a buyout from the next day of the show. I also met Vince McMahon of the WWE who was interested in "joining together". He made me a very interesting proposal. Other people who contacted me included NBA officials, Wall Street investors in the entertainment businesses, and investors in Hollywood films. All of them really appreciated PRIDE and showed a lot of interest.

- I see. As you had many choices, which one did you look at in particular?

Sakakibara: The most important point was whether they had every factor required for protecting, maintaining, and developing PRIDE, which has been supported by Japanese fans and created by fighters and committed staff working together. If they have money but no knowledge or connections for setting up broadcasting and promoting in the U.S., they aren't the right choice.

- Whether they are able to make PRIDE shine more.

Sakakibara: PRIDE itself is perfect content. If we aired "Otokomatsuri (Shockwave)" show on TV last New Year's Eve. Tt should have got as high a rating as the same show did two years ago.

- So your decision is based on your regret that you can't present this wonderful show to the general public.

Sakakibara: Right. PRIDE cannot come back on TV because of the stigma placed on me, as I was picked on as a representative of DSE by Weekly Gendai magazine. You would say "Time is a great healer" though ...I thought if it's because of me, I should not stay here. I've done everything I could to protect PRIDE, to make it shine. I would have drunk muddy water if I had to. I've done everything I could to create an exciting place where fighters and fans can come together, at the cost of my private time and time with my family. So, I've been looking for the best way to revive TV broadcasting and to reinforce our financial clout and credibility since the beginning of this year, based on the premise of my resignation. There can be no breakthrough on this issue, other than by my resignation. That was my conclusion.

- You've been saying many times "If I resign and the problem is solved, I would resign today" haven't you?

Sakakibara: I would have resigned sooner if my resignation solved the whole problem. But setting up the environment for a stable and successful future for PRIDE was the major premise behind my resignation, and I didn't want my successor to take over a negative legacy. I couldn't make up my mind until everything was ready, because you can't marry off your "daughter" to a dubious man, can you? (laughing)

- Might be a marriage scam(laughing).

Sakakibara: That's why I couldn't resign from my position until everything was ready for immortalizing PRIDE. I made the subtitle of the New Year's Eve show "Fumetsu (Immortal)" because I had a picture of the coming press conference on March 27 already in my mind.

- Really! It sounded quite provocative for some reason, though.

Sakakibara: I was finally able to achieve my last mission to immortalize PRIDE. I will tell this to fans and the people working for us on March 27. I want to revive the tarnished image of PRIDE by my resignation. I will have no stake in DSE, and I will leave the boardroom. Then I want to ask Japanese TV stations, especially Fuji TV, what's wrong with PRIDE. I want them to submit a three-page report explaining why they can't broadcast this show. I mean it (laughing).

- Ha, ha, ha!

Sakakibara: I wouldn't say that I have no personal grudge or resentment, but I can tell you that it is nothing but a misfortune for the audience, the fighters, and the production staff not to have PRIDE shows on regular broadcasting. I believe that nobody would say "Don't bother to air PRIDE on TV!"

- You have my total agreement on this. And Rep, my question goes to a man who is marrying off his "daughter"....

Sakakibara: Yes, the men I have chosen as the new owners of PRIDE are ... Lorenzo and Frank, the Fertitta brothers.

- You mean UFC!!

Sakakibara: Don't go too fast. This is the conclusion I have reached after long consideration. It's NOT that PRIDE is being acquired by UFC. UFC is managed by Zuffa Entertainment and Mr.Dana White is the president of that company. The Fertitta brothers are the owners, and they will also be the new owners of PRIDE.

- In short, PRIDE will belong to the same group as UFC, being of equal rank to UFC.

Sakakibara: Right. Since the Fertitta brothers own the capital, PRIDE can now stand on an equal footing with UFC, officially able to meet it in head�to-head competition. It's not exciting at all for fans if UFC takes in PRIDE, and fighters cannot see any dream in that kind of setting. Needless to say, PRIDE and UFC cherish their own characteristics and will have fierce clashes for the better.

- Then PRIDE Light-Weight Grand Prix planned in May will be....

Sakakibara: � held as planned. And the biggest reason I have chosen them as the new owners is that they are in some ways my brothers in arms, fighting together to make MMA a popular sport worldwide. We have been the biggest rivals and competitors, but respected each other. Our competition has actually contributed to the growth of this sport to match other major sports such as boxing, football, and American football. Lorenzo and Frank love this sport, and they have experienced many hardships and learned a lot.

- No matter how rich he is, he has to love your "daughter" to marry her.

Sakakibara: That's why I can't give my "daughter" to a spoiled rich kid like BodogFight or Elite XC (laughing).

- Ha,ha,ha! Stay away from her (laughing).

Sakakibara: But seriously, we are seeing many big players jumping into this industry. To me, they all seem like the promoter of "Inoki Matsuri" in 2003.

- Uh-ha (laughing).

Sakakibara: Do they really know this sport? Do they sincerely love this sport? Are they really thinking about how to develop it? They buy fighters' minds with money and have them fight. What does Bodog want to show to the fans? What does Elite XC want to do? I have no doubt that their words are all lip service. They just want to do something like PRIDE or UFC is doing just because they might be able to make money. That's why the fans never get their message or understand their concept.

- But I bet you think that it's absolutely necessary to have competition in order to expand the mixed martial arts market.

Sakakibara: Of course. But there must be a certain set of rules or manners between the promoters in order to ensure the sound growth of the industry. As I have discussed with Lorenzo and Frank countless times, now that we have taken the trouble to raise MMA to become a popular sport, it makes no sense for the market to fall apart because of stupid competition for self-interest or nasty egoism of the promoters. If so, the "Major Two Brands" - UFC and PRIDE � should have a healthy competition, through give and take, by mutual support and understanding, and sometimes by changing. What can we accomplish if we work together in this way? We can realize one dream match after another that fans all around the world are dying to see.

- Dreams that could not be realized due to organizational obstacles will come true.

Sakakibara: It will be easy to make a match-up of Wanderlei Silva, representing PRIDE, vs Chuck Liddell, representing UFC. If Mirco Crocop becomes a UFC champ, he can come back to PRIDE to fight Fedor. Furthermore, you might be able to see an MMA "Super Bowl." You can have the ultimate dream of the UFC champion and the PRIDE champion fighting once a year in National Stadium or Dodger Stadium.

- They are not unrealistic dreams though, if UFC and PRIDE work together.

Sakakibara: So, there is no point if we keep saying self-righteously "PRIDE is the only place for deciding the best in the world!" If Fedor is gone, Mirco is gone, Nogueira is gone, Wanderlei is gone, and Gomi is gone ... we end up finding ourselves deciding the best in Tokyo.

- Ha, ha, ha! The best ring in Tokyo doesn't sound very intriguing or exciting (laughing).

Sakakibara: The history of PRIDE was written always by realizing what fans wanted to see. Over the last 10 years, we've been giving answers to the ultimate question, "Who is truly the best and strongest man?" among number of champs of various martial arts. If you want to keep doing it for the next 10, 20 years, you definitely need enormous amounts of capital. In fact, as this is a professional sport, we can't stop Mirco from leaving PRIDE for UFC. That was the saddest news for me and the staff, and of course for the fans. But business is business. No point in being sentimental and telling him "We've been always together, right?" Before we have the second case of this sort, and in order to protect the value and attractiveness of PRIDE, I wanted to ...

- Before PRIDE fades away, before it falls apart, you needed to pave the way.

Sakakibara: Plus, the honest feeling of the fans would be like "We don't care who the hell the president is. We just want to see PRIDE as it is!!" I personally want to see a rematch of Mirco and Fedor. Besides, if Mirco becomes a UFC champ and storms into the ring of PRIDE with the belt on, where Fedor is standing and waiting, ready to fight... No doubt their appearance alone will give you goose bumps. In fact, PRIDE Light-Weight Grand Prix on May 20 will be full of top UFC fighters. It will be the best place for deciding who the best lightweight fighter in the world is.

- This is the first benefit that the "union" brings about.

Sakakibara: Other benefits will also be brought about one after another. I want the loyal fans of PRIDE to say "There you are!", "Yes!" and dance with joy, and at the same time, I want the people losing interest in PRIDE to say "Seems interesting!" and turn their attention to PRIDE again. I have never seen such overwhelming dynamism of this sort in the history of martial arts, so if I can realize dream matches or dream stages which fascinate the fans by throwing away some of the passion and obsessions that I personally have, I can't miss this great opportunity.

- And the chance is quite high that PRIDE will come back on TV.

Sakakibara: This way, we can kill not only two birds, but three or four birds with one stone, and I can set up the best path for PRIDE to take for their eternal bright future as a brand. That's why I decided to ask them to be the owner.

- But what about Dream Stage Entertainment?

Sakakibara: DSE will remain as it is, but all the employees except me will resign DSE and move to the new organization which is going to manage PRIDE. They have been in a rowboat, and now they are moving onto a massive aircraft carrier which can cross the Pacific Ocean in a single thrust...leaving me in the rowboat (laughing).

- ...quite right (laughing). So, you are sending off PRIDE to set out for its renewed voyage.

Sakakibara: The captain of the rowboat will row the boat by himself away from PRIDE. And I am seeing off my sweetest, dearest "daughter", PRIDE, wishing her a happy future on the new aircraft carrier and wishing the crew of the next generation further success for another 10 years, based on the last 10 years.

- So is this a cheerful separation for you?

Sakakibara: Indeed, whenever there is a meeting, a parting is sure to follow, and come to think of it, you may know that every year a Buddhist monk chooses one kanji(Chinese character) word which best represents the year.

- Yeah, it was "inochi (life)" for the last year, maybe because there were many suicides of bullied students.

Sakakibara: For me, it was "Uragiri (being betrayed)" for 2006 (laughing).

- Rep, that's not even one word.

Sakakibara: One word is not enough for what I've been through (laughing).

- "Wakare (separation)" could be a better choice (laugh).

Sakakibara: As I said, there is a parting on the flip side of a meeting, and there is betrayal on the opposite side of trust, and I think I have got over every kind of feeling. What Fuji TV did was a big betrayal for me, and there were many who followed suit for whatever reason and betrayed me and PRIDE. But there were as many fans and guys who tried to support PRIDE, trusted me, and loved PRIDE all the more because we have been through difficult times. It has become clear to me over the last year, among all the people around me, who were the most precious. And I really appreciate the support of fans who kept shouting for us until they went hoarse. We couldn't make it through without them. I want to take this opportunity to say heartfelt thanks to those who gave PRIDE and me such huge support.

- What these fans want to know most should be whether PRIDE will continue being PRIDE. No matter how much you assure them that PRIDE is here to stay, they will worry that PRIDE might end up being a minor league of UFC. What would you say about that?

Sakakibara: No, that's not going to happen (firmly). There is no reason for PRIDE to back off, let alone draw back. There will be no change at all � from the production to the operation staff to the ring announcers.

- The world of PRIDE will never fall apart, right?

Sakakibara: Never ever. As I said in an interview with Kamipro magazine, if it is a factory or real estate or anything tangible, you should sell it to someone who gives you the highest bid. But PRIDE is a living thing, an intangible "space" created jointly by fighters, staff, and fans.

- You mean that PRIDE provides the crowd with something that has no shape. Right, it's not Fedor or Nogueira but that entire space, that "heat" that the crowd appreciate the best in the show.

Sakakibra: Yes, but that's invisible. It's not something that you can show to your friend and say "See? It's red and shaped like this." But still they come to see the show, looking for excitement, thrills and inspiration in that surreal space. Since our business is to create something shapeless and transform it into sales value, it is not necessarily the best option to sell to a company which pays the most. In case you don't know what has brought Lorenzo and Frank into the martial arts business, I can tell you that it all started when they saw 2000 PRIDE Grand Prix in PPV in the US.

- So they are fully aware of what PRIDE is all about?

Sakakibara: Yes. They were so impressed with the wonder and beauty of this sport that they have become owners of UFC. So they love PRIDE more than anything else. They know everything about PRIDE, and they even say that PRIDE is Japanese culture created by Japanese people so it should be left untouched. PRIDE should be presented clearly as PRIDE, as it always has been, or may be beyond that. If it survives only as a minor league show, it's better to just kill it.

- Being a minor league, that's the end of PRIDE.

Sakakibara: It doesn't make sense at all to keep PRIDE in the industry this way, and I am telling you that the name of the new organization is PRIDE WORLDWIDE. The message behind it is "Let's spread PRIDE all around the world. Let's make it worldwide!!" I proposed PRIDE ENTERTAINMENT, but Lorenzo told me "Why don't we let people around the world know about PRIDE? This is a wonderful show!", so his passion influenced the company name. It's got his message: "Let's be more aggressive than ever in marketing this show as the No.1 ring in the world. So, I want to let the fans know that PRIDE and UFC will stay rivals forever. But if the two organizations hate each other to death, they just end up in tug-of-war for fighters or might be bogged down in a box-office war. That's why we share the owners who serve as a sort of commissioner to avoid this kind of mess.

- To sum up, the Fertitta brothers will own both PRIDE and UFC, and Dana White is leading UFC. Who will be the leader of PRIDE FC WORLDWIDE?

Sakakibara: It's still under careful discussion, but Lorenzo and Frank will decide the American representative in a few days. Mr. Takada � Mr. PRIDE � will remain as the Japanese spokesman.

- So, we can hear again his famous "Torihada Tatta!! (I got all goose-bumpy!!)" can't we (laughing)? And the show is not going 100% to the U.S. We can still see the show a few times a year in Japan, right?

Sakakibara: Of course, Japan is always the home of PRIDE. Plus, needless to say, there will be a show four to five times a year in the U.S.

- Can we go back a bit? I mean when did you make the final decision?

Sakakibara: We didn't sign a contract till March. In Los Angeles, I met their lawyers,my lawyer and Lorenzo joined through the phone. We said "All right, let's close the deal", but for some reasons, I couldn't sign right away.

- Though you were in agreement?

Sakakibara: I guess I really hated or I was afraid to see things going on mechanically and inorganically. I happened to be hungry at that time, so I said "Give me 30 minutes for a cup of coffee", went to Starbucks alone, and thought hard wondering "Is this really the way to make PRIDE happy?" I wasn't happy at all!

- That's exactly the feeling of a father who is marrying off his daughter.

Sakakibara: You bet (laughing)! I had thought I would have been happier or relieved to be able to pave the way for the future of PRIDE, but I was kind of sad....no wonder because PRIDE was flying out of my hands. Looking back at the last 10 years, I find myself spending 80 to 90 % of my life for PRIDE. I have never thought about separating from my beloved PRIDE. I never doubted my belief that when I was gone, PRIDE would be gone, too, and when PRIDE was gone, I would be gone. So I was obsessed with extreme sentimentalism, but told myself that I should go the way I believe to be the best. I knew that although I was personally sad, that was the best road to take for the fans, the fighters, and the staff. So, I went back to the room and signed the contract.

- Could you tell us the most impressive bout for you in the last 10 years?

Sakakibara: .................If I look back at the whole history of PRIDE, I would say Takada vs Rickson Gracie in PRIDE 1.

- The very first PRIDE match.

Sakakibara: I met Mr. Takada, I met Mr. Rickson Gracie, and that gave birth to PRIDE. It was when I was working for Tokai TVJ that I drew up a two-page project proposal to make their bout happen. I submitted it to a general meeting, and everybody gave no reaction, just scornful looks (laughing).

- Like "What the hell is this boy talking about?"

Sakakibara: It was nothing but a stupid two-page proposal of a young kid sitting in the little corner of a local TV station, so they weren't excited at all. "What? Tokyo Dome? Have you ever booked Tokyo Dome?" "No, I haven't even been there!" (laughing)

- Ha, ha, ha! "But I want to do it!" (laughing)

Sakakibara: That's why I cannot forget that fight. Nothing has affected me as much as that moment. That first experience was so shocking and frustrating that I couldn�t move for 10 minutes after the match. The fight was over in four minutes and forty-seven seconds! What a contrast between the time I spent making it happen and the time of the match. I was suddenly caught with an idea "What I did was just all wrong?" But as I told my guys, "We might be where we are because he lost."

- If he defeated Rickson Gracie, he might not have been in the PRIDE ring ever again.

Sakakibara: But what I was drawing in my mind was a picture of victorious Takada. I wanted to make it a dream only for one night. However, negative energy out of his loss brought about the next show, and the next, and the next, up until now. I think that Mr. Takada himself wasn't so passionate at first, too. He had some struggles in his mind until he decided to fight against Rickson, but his decision actually was the first step to rewrite world martial arts history, so that's really something.

- It's unbelievable that that "one night of fantasy" was almost ten years ago.

Sakakibara: It's miracle! Nobody thought 10 years ahead at that time. Nobody even tried to dream about it. There was lots to learn from losses and failures. People say that fighters become stronger by losing a fight, but so does the promoter. This is something BodogFight or Elite XC can never experience. PRIDE and UFC have a history built on their own experiences. I believe that they can continue growing as long as they have them.

- And PRIDE 34 on April 8 will be the final PRIDE for you as the representative....

Sakakibara: It also marks the 10 year anniversary, so I am thinking about a commemorative project for looking back at the whole history with some nostalgia.

- You definitely need to flood the crowd's memory if it's a commemorative evening.

Sakakibara: You can be nostalgic because PRIDE has a history and stories to tell, so we'll do the best to have everyone remember April 8 forever ... You know, I am very proud of the fact that PRIDE, which started with a two-page proposal, has won over people's hearts and minds and has been spotlighted not only as a sport, but also as also as a business, and � I don't deny my egoism and personal desire or goal, but we should not be obsessed with these kinds of petty things. We have to draw a bigger picture. I would like the new staff to do it, too.

- Got it. The last question The history of PRIDE is also the history of Kazushi Sakuraba, right?

Sakakibara:PRIDE wouldn't have been what it is without him. There is no doubt that I am so into him after Mr. Takada. That's why I even want him to make his retirement match in PRIDE while I still represent PRIDE ... No idea what he thinks about it, though (laughing).

- You are so passionate about him.

Sakuraba: I have had sincere passion about him, and although there were some misunderstandings, it's wonderful if he comes back and makes his retirement match with PRIDE. I am so sick of hearing "I don't like that guy", "He did that to me", or things like that. These are nothing but tiny, petty things happening in the small island of Japan, so.....

- So?

Sakakibara: Retire with me, Sak! (laughing)

- Ha, ha, ha! Don't force him to retire, please (laughing).

Sakakibara: Just kidding, but he is really working very hard, so I will keep giving him my humble support.

- That reminds me that Kamipro was first published because PRIDE started, thanks to your two-page proposal.

Sakakibara: Oh, yeah? Then shall we quit together? (laughing)

- Yes! We are willing to have Yamaguchi resign (laughing). And then we are very much looking forward to the next show, PRIDE.34 "KAMIKAZE"!

http://www.pridefc.com/pride2005/ind...s&news_id=1035

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Videos från K1/ProElites presskonferens




UPDATE: Läs annars om presskonferansen hos mmaweekly.

Videos från Prides presskonferens

Videos från Prides presskonferens tagna ifrån Prideoffical.com. Hoppas jag lagt dom i rätt ordning, inte helt säker men tror det. :)

På japanska utan tolk så kanske inte särskilt intressant men iaf.



K1 Heroes i USA

Det var inte bara Pride som höll en presskonferans igår utan även K1 höll en i Los Angeles angående deras debutgala på Amerikansk mark som hålls den andra juni.

Arenan som är planerad för den här galan är LA Coliseum. För er som inte känner till arenan så ser den ut så här.Och den rymmer 92.500 åskådare under en Amerikansk Fotbollsmatch. Cirka 100.000 åskådare borde man kunna trycka in vid en MMA gala då. Dagens rekordbesök på en MMA gala ligger på under 20.000. Så det vore ju en rejäl bedrift om man lyckas fylla det här monstret.
Tanigawa (K1 producent, Cheif Executive Officer) säger själv att han räknar med att det blir slutsålt.

Deltagarna på galan det pratar om just nu är:
Prelims som kommer sändas live på Showtime innan PPVn börjar.
Jake Shields vs. TBA
Antonio Silva vs. TBA
Gina Carano vs. TBA
Main Card som visas på PPVn:
Föredetta NFL spelaren Johnny Morton vs. TBA
Föredetta WWE stjärnan Brock Lesnar vs. Hong Man Choi
Royce Gracie vs. TBA
Akebono vs. TBA

Andra nyheter från presskonferensen som hölls idag:
  • Spirit MC (Sydkorenask organisation) och Cage Rage är två nya organisationer som anslutit sig till "alliansen" som idag består av FEG (K1, K1 Heroes), Bodog, Elite XC och Strikeforce.
  • Showtime kommer att sända ett 30-minuters program varje vecka månaden före galan som en del i marknadsföringen. Jag vet inte riktigt vad det kommer innehålla.
  • Avtal med Showtime om att visa prelim matcherna live där.
Vad ska man säga. Har man ingenting snällt att säga ska man inte säga något alls sägs det. Så jag väljer att bara påpeka humorn i att prelim fighterna faktiskt har högrankade riktiga MMA fighters medans huvudgalan har en föredetta NFL spelare och en föredetta wrestling stjärna som största dragkraft.
Hur det här än går så kommer det bjuda på mycket mycket stor humor.

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

Det är officiellt, Zuffa kommer kontrollera Pride

Från Sherdog.com: "PRIDE will be run separately but under the umbrella of Zuffa, which also controls the WEC."
Det verkar som det blir Zuffa som kontrollerar Pride ändå. Det snackades mycket om att Bröderna Fertitta bara skulle bli minoritetsägare i ett nytt företag som skulle kontrollera Pride. Jag tror det till viss del är sant men framförallt vinklat på det viset för att Japaner inte är särskilt förtjusta i att "Gaijins" kommer in och tar över deras saker.

Några andra saker från presskonferansen:
  • Crocop vill möta Fedor igen
  • Pride kommer fortsätta skötas separat
  • Prides LW GP som är planerad kommer fortsätta som planerat och man kommer fortsätta ha GPs.
  • Det kommer hållas en supershow varje år med fighters från båda organisationerna.
Jag tror faktiskt det här är bra får både Pride och MMA i helhelt. Pride har tappat popularitet i Japan, blivit av med tv-kontrakt och totalt misslyckats med att marknadsföra sig i USA trots att man har haft 10 år på sig. Och under iaf 5 av dom har UFC haft en klart sämre produkt. Men man såg inte möjligheterna och när man väl såg dom var det försent och man var inte bra nog på att sälja sig till den Amerikanska publiken.
Det är en otroligt spännande tid att vara MMA fan just nu.

Från pridefc.com :
On Tuesday, March 27th, at the Roppongi Hills Arena in Tokyo, PRIDE Executive Director Nobuhiko Takada and UFC President Dana White appeared together to announce that the two largest MMA organizations in the world, America's UFC and Japan's PRIDE FC, will finally come to blows.

Since the dawn of the sport, PRIDE FC and the UFC have continued to be the driving forces behind mixed martial arts. Under the new leadership of PRIDE owner Lorenzo Fertitta, the MMA world is one step closer to determining who truly is the world's toughest man. This momentous event will similarly resemble baseball's World Series, soccer's World Cup, and football's Super Bowl.

In addition, DSE President and CEO Nobuyuki Sakakibara announced that his resignation from PRIDE FC will take place immediately after PRIDE.34, scheduled to take place April 8th at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan. Lorenzo Fertitta will assume Mr. Sakakibara's responsibilities as PRIDE's new owner.

Details of the press conference will be posted here shortly, so stay tuned for updates!

Kom också ihåg att jag skrev om det redan den 9e mars. :)

UPDATE: Huruvida det blir så att Pride hamnar under Zuffas kontroll eller inte är för tidigt att säga. Det verkar som det. Men ägandet är helt i bröderna Fertittas händer under nyskapade Pride FC Worldwide Holdings LLC. (Limited Liability Company)
Läs mer hos MMAWeekly eller Associated Press.

UPDATE2: Angående reglerna säger Dana White enligt reviewjournal så här:
Any fight held with the Pride banner would continue to be in a ring. UFC fights are in a cage.
This is a sport and we're going to follow the unified rules that were established in New Jersey and then in Nevada," White said. "It's a sport -- mixed martial arts -- and the sport should have the same rules everywhere. As far as I'm concerned, if an organization doesn't follow these rules, it's not MMA. It's something else, but that's not MMA.

UPDATE3: Wrestlingobserver har lite mer information och detaljer, ett "litet" utdrag:
The battle plan will be to run separate shows and maintain separate staffs. The attempt will be to make the promotions competitive rivals, even though they would no longer be business rivals. No specifics were given, but they only seemed to indicate minimal mixing of talent. There would be a Pride roster of fighters and a UFC roster. There would be matches of champions in each promotion, although when and how often had not been determined. The indication was the mixing of talent would be limited to occasional champion vs. champion matches, perhaps once per year in each weight class, where neither specific title would be at stake. Although White or Fertitta would bring up any names of specific dream fights to the U.S. press, in the Japanese meeting he brought up Fedor Emelianenko vs. Randy Couture, Chuck Liddell vs. Mauricio Shogun Rua, Dan Henderson vs. Anderson Silva, Josh Barnett vs. Andrei Arlovsky and Georges St. Pierre vs. Takanori Gomi as potential matches.

Pride would continue holding matches in the ring and be, as Fertitta called it, a "Japanese-centric" organization while UFC would be an "American-centric" organization. The only significant change talked about would be worldwide unified rules would be put in place, which would be the same rules UFC fights under, with the elimination of knees to the head on a downed fighter, stomps and soccer kicks in Pride, but adding elbows. White said Pride would keep its judging criteria for fights in Japan, but obviously, when running in the U.S., would use the commission-dictated ten-point-must system. Pride will also have weight classes change for worldwide consistency, and will crown champions at 155, 170, 185, 205 and heavyweight. Currently Pride has champions at 161 (Takanori Gomi), 183 (Dan Henderson), 205 (Henderson) and heavyweight (Fedor Emelianenko).

No new television deal, which Pride desperately needs in both Japan and the U.S. to be viable long-term, were announced. White did mention hoping to get back on the Fuji Network. Pride will run shows in the U.S., although no date for a next show was announced. UFC is looking at running shows in Japan.

UPDATE4: NBC Sports har publicerat en bra artikel. Några punkter:
(Dana) White said he would have no input in the day-to-day operations of Pride.
"Someone else will run Pride," he said. "I will come over to Japan with all my guys and kick their asses as I've waited to do for seven years."

• Both UFC and Pride will run shows globally, with them criss-crossing into each other's original home countries

• Pride will continue to be produced with the same "Japan-centric" production values as its fans have become accustomed to

• Pride will hold its fights under the Unified Rules, so fights will feature the same rules everywhere; however, Pride will continue to be fought in a ring while UFC bouts will remain in the octagon

• Fertitta expects Pride to regain a TV deal in Japan shortly

• Despite his future bout with upstart BodogFight, Fedor Emelienenko is expected to stay with Pride. "The reality is that if he wants to fight the best fighters in the world, he's going to want to stay with us," Fertitta said.

• China is a key part of both group's expansions into international markets

Update5: Sherdog har ännu en artikel uppe.

Update6: OC Register har en avskrift från ett konferenssamtal dom hade med Lorenzo Fertitta, Dana White och Nobuyuki Sakakibara. Mycket bra och läsvärd avskrift.

GCM: Cage Force 2

Den 17e Mars höll GCM sin Cage Force 2 gala där det fortsatte med sina turneringar i Lättvikt och Weltervikt.
Galan sändes på tv med en veckas fördröjning och jag har haft tid/lust/möjlighet att se galan först nu och det var en riktigt trevlig gala faktiskt.
Det är alltså en japansk gala i en bur med armbågar, trevligt!

Galans matcher:

CAGE FORCE Welterviktsturnering 77kg-, kvartsfinaler:

Hidetaka Monma vs. Janne Tulirinta
Akira Kikuchi vs. Jared Rollins
Katsuya Inoue vs. Yoshiyuki Yoshida

CAGE FORCE Lättviktsturnering 70kg-, åttondelsfinaler:

Koutetsu Boku vs. Jarkko Latomaki
Eiji Mitsuoka vs. Brian Cobb
Artur Oumakhanov vs. Kaynan Kaku
Tomonori Kanomata vs. Jacob Sidic
Wataru Takahashi vs. Kim In Seok

Resultat:
1 Yoshiyuki Yoshida Katsuya Inoue KO (Punch) 1 1:45
2 Wataru Takahashi In Seok Kim TKO (Punches) 2 3:06
3 Tomonari Kanomata Jacob Sidic TKO (Punches) 1 0:09
4 Artur Oumakhanov Kaynan Kaku TKO (Strikes) 2 3:57
5 Eiji Mitsuoka Brian Cobb Submission (Guillotine Choke) 3 1:38
6 Koutetsu Boku Jarkko Latomaki TKO (Elbows) 1 2:33
7 Akira Kikuchi Jared Rollins TKO (Punches) 2 1:34
8 Hidetaka Monma Janne Tulirinta Technical Submission (Omoplata) 1 1:48

Det var flera riktigt bra fighter vi fick se. Hade jag haft lite bättre koll på vilka fler var och/eller varit engelska kommentatorer så hade det varit en fantastisk gala.

Men Koutetsu Boku är en lättviktare att hålla ögonen på, jag har honom rankad som #10 just nu och är min favorit till att vinna hela den turneringen. Fast då är jag inte helt 100 på alla andra som är med. Han är iaf riktigt bra och jag hoppas han vinner den här turneringen för att sen dyka upp i Pride eller UFC.

Akira Kikuchi är en welterviktare som om ni inte redan nu håller ögonen på så har ni missat något. Han har bara tre förluster och en är mot Jake Sheilds, som han senare har besegrat, och två jämna förluster mot fantastiske Shinya Aoki. Och precis som med Boku hoppas jag han vinner turneringen och att han dyker upp i UFC sen. Pride har ju ingen WW division, men han kanske kan ta sig ner till 160lbs iofs som är Prides gräns. Fast det kanske ändras iom förändringarna som händer där. I vilket fall som helst, ska bli kul att se Kikuchi vidare i turneringen.

Sen var det nog första gången jag såg någon vinna på Omoplata. Det är alltid kul att se olika submissions användas. Överlag en riktigt bra gala och det är jävla synd att det inte är lättare att hålla koll. Jordan Breen gör en viktig samhällsinsats på Sherdog alltså.

Monday, March 26, 2007

Tito Ortiz vs. Dana White

I helgen var det tänkt att UFCs VD Dana White skulle möte Tito Ortiz i en boxningsuppvisningsmatch. Men Tito dök aldrig upp till invägningen och NSACs folk på stället var ritkgit irriterade på att dom var där för ingenting. Dana White var irriterad för att Tito Ortiz inte sagt någonting osv.

Tito Ortiz säger följande på sin myspace blogg:

Only doing business!!!!!!!!!!!

So, everyone is giving me shit for the Dana fight... No one knows what really went on.
Let me tell my side of what real went on. Me and Dana had this argeement to box eachother. I told Dana we should put it on video and sell it. He said "yes that a good idea". So Spike came to Big Bear before the Chuck fight for two days. Used my time from training to shoot for the Spike special. I said that was fine. I took two week off after the chuck fight. Then started my boxing training. You all have to understand that Dana was almost a pro boxer. I was going to take this fight serious. Jenna was helping me with the deal because I seen this as a big money maker. She ask if there was a contract for the fight? She made call's to dana to get the deal done. Craig from Spike called Jenna back to discuss is deal. She asked for executive producer rights for me. Since it was my idea. Help to promote Punishment Athletics for the fight and other deal points. Craig said he would talk to Dana and get back to us. After that I cancel a few appearance's that I had to do. Alot of money that was givin up. So I could train for the fight. I had to get all of my medicals done as a normal fight. I got my eye done then we got a call from Craig. He said that Dana say that they are not going to shoot the fight or cover it in anyway. So this was a real lose,lose situation for me. I lost out on money for appearances. Now I was losing out on promotion and big dollars for the PPV. He didn't want to cut me in on the deal. So as a business man I couldn't do the fight. I have a very big fight with Evans. Why would I risk my health and that fight for free? I wasn't going to make anything for it? I was not going to get taken advantage of as a fighter or a business man. You tell me if I made the right decision? Hopefully this will get ironed out and will be done right the next time. Just trying to do business...
Tito Ortiz

Så, om jag läser det hela rätt så tyckte han inte det var värt att riskera att bli skadad mot Dana White?
Jag tycker det var jävligt illa skött av Tito Ortiz att inte säga någonting ordentligt i förväg och faktiskt lite fegt att han som profesionell fighter inte vill möta en mindre och inte alls lika vältränad kille.

Jag känner inte till alla detaljer kring pengar och såhär, men Tito Ortiz hanterade inte det här bra alltså.
Sen har det hela tiden sagts att vinsten skulle gå till välgörenhet så det känns riktigt pissigt av Tito att skylla på pengar, framförallt i sista sekunden.

Melvin Guillard anklagar Joe Stevenson för HGH doping

Under dagens The Savage Dog show så anklagar Melvin Guillard Joe Stevenson för att använda HGH (Human Growth Hormone). Lite senare under Beatdown ringer dom upp och får tag i Stevenson och han säger att det är skitsnack. Han säger bland annat "Jag har inte ens ett sexpack liksom". Det visar sig också att ryktet om hans skada som spridit sig har varit totalt skitsnack trots att det kom från riktigt pålitliga källor. Jag trodde det var klart att han skadat sig men inte så farligt att han inte kunde fightas.

Chuck Liddell klarar drogtest

Chuck Liddell var den första mars med i Good Morning Texas där han skulle promota den nya filmen 300. Han var minst sagt lite påverkad och somnade faktiskt till ett par sekunder. Spekulationerna har varit vilda om vilka droger han var på och NSAC utsatte honom för ett slumpmässigt (nja) drogtest. Resultaten från testet är inne och han var helt ren. Jag hoppas detta är tillräckligt för att få stopp på alla spekulationer.
Läs mer hos UFCjunkie.
Och om ni mot förmodan inte sett det hela kan ni göra det här:

Sunday, March 25, 2007

WEC 26 resultat

Resultaten från gårdagens WEC gala, tagna från Sherdog:
1 Brian Stann Steve Cantwell TKO (Strikes) 1 0:41
2 Micah Miller Jesse Moreng Submission (Triangle Choke) 3 3:29
3 Alex Serdyukov Scott Norton Submission (Guillotine choke) 2 0:57
4 Charlie Valencia Antonio Banuelos KO (Punch) 1 3:12
5 Cub Swanson Tommy Lee Submission (Guillotine choke) 1 3:17
6 Dave Terrel Tiki Ghosn TKO (Strikes) 2 1:46
7 Brock Larson Erik Apple Submission (Kimura) 1 3:43
8 Chase Beebe Eddie Wineland Decision (Unanimous) 5 5:00
9 Urijah Faber Dominic Cruz Submission (Guillotine choke) 1 1:38
10 Carlos Condit John Alessio Submission (Rear Naked Choke) 2 4:59

Inga större överaskningar. Det verkar ha varit en riktigt bra gala som vi tyvärr inte kommer få se på bra länge. Men man kan iaf läsa play-by-play hos Sherdog eller MMAWeekly.

Intervju med Urijah Faber:

Intervju med Carlos Condit:

Marcelo Garcia promotor sin bok.

Marcelo Garcia promotar sin nya bok The X-Guard med en underbar Borat imitation.

Och när vi ändå pratar om Borat så har jag en anledning att posta det här klippet också.

Friday, March 23, 2007

Nu säger jag det, bröderna Fertitta har köpt Pride.

Det har ännu inte bekräftats från officiella håll men nu kommer det från så många olika källor att det måste vara sant.
Ända sen den 9e Mars har man hört allt fler och allt starkare rykten om att affären blivit av och jag skrev den 10e mars att jag trodde affären blivit av. Den 19e kända sig grabbarna på Sherdog säkra nog att dom ville öppna munnen och det är inget dom gör om dom inte har väldigt mycket kött på benen. Enda anledningen till att dom fortfarande pratar om det som ett rykte tror jag beror på att dom inte kan ange en källa, och utan angiven källa är det bara ett rykte. Grabbarna på mmaweekly kontaktade genast sina källor som i princip bekräftade det hela.

Och nu rapporterar Wrestling Observer det här:
Nobuyuki Sakakibara yesterday told several members of the U.S. Pride staff that the company is in the proces 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.
Min uppfattning av hela skeendet är som så här.
Bröderna Fertitta har försökt köpa Pride sedan i Maj 2006, jag antar det var ungefär då dom verkligen såg att dom var påväg att leva upp till potentialen som finns för MMA i USA och efter att Pride blev av med sin tv-deal i Japan pga Yakuza skandalen.
Sedan dess har ryktet poppat upp titt som tätt att UFC har köpt Pride.
I höstas var ryktet väldigt starkt och många sade att det i princip var klart men det blev inte av.
Så som jag uppfattar det hela med tanke på vad Dana White, Joe Rogan och många andra sagt om saken är att dom Japanska ägarna muntligen gått med på affären men sen använt det i förhandlingar med Pride USA och Pride Korea där dom kom till med pengar för att Pride inte skulle sälja.
Prides framtid hängde nu på framgångar i USA. Utan framgång i USA och utan tv-deal i Japan var man helt chanslös mot UFC och deras enorma framgångar.
MMA intresset i Japan har överlag gått ner ganska ordentligt på sistone.
Trots en hyfsad och en fantastisk gala så uteblev framgångarna i USA för Pride. Som jag har förstått det gjorde man ganska kraftig förlust på båda galorna.
Eftersom framgångarna i USA uteblivit behövde man en ny ekonomiskt stark ägare för att kunna ligga kvar på internationell toppnivå vad gäller MMA. Man vill inte gärna sälja sig till sin största konkurrent utan sökte istället efter andra köpare.
Man försökte få Bodog att köpa organisationen istället men dom var inte intresserade.
Det finns en anledning till att Bodog har lagt sina galor i Costa Rica och i Ryssland. Dom har lite problem med gambling lagarna i USA. Jag vet inte exakt hur det står till men jag tvivlar på att dom är särskilt välkomna av många stater.
Dom vill inte driva en riktig helseriös MMA organisation utan dom driver MMAdelen som ett rent marknadsföringsprojekt.

Och till slut har Sakikabara tvingats ge vika och sälja till bröderna Fertitta. Och där står vi nu och väntar på mer detaljer och att affären ska vara helt färdig och offentlig.

UPDATE: Mina spekulationer kring att Pride ville sälja till Bodog verkar inte vara särskilt trovärdiga med tanke på all annan info, men jag har hört det från flera håll så man vet aldrig.
Sherdog har iaf ännu en artikel uppe med mer info.

UPDATE2: Dana White talar ut. Eller lite iaf.

UPDATE3: MMAWeekly rapporterar lite detaljer kring affären från Japanska medier.

UPDATE4: Dave Meltzer Wrestling Observer

The press conferences for both the Pride sale and the EXC/K-1 tie-ups both take place over the next 24 hours. The latter probably won't have anything significant that isn't already known. Anyway, here is what is believed will be announced tomorrow. They will not say UFC bought Pride but that a new company has been formed, and that Nobuyuki Sakakibara will step down. The new president, expected to be a figurehead guy whose name has not come out, largely for the Japanese public, is expected to come from Tokai TV, which is the Nagoya/Shizuoka local Fuji Network affiliate. This would be the equivalent of maybe the CBS affiliate in Chicago or San Francisco, as opposed to the network itself having any involvement in the deal. Obviously the goal is to get back on the network itself and restore Pride to near what it once was. Sakakibara came from that station, which has done some local Pride preview shows in the past as well as aired Hustle TV shows. Sakakibara said it is good news and that's why the public is invited. It will be presented as if this merger/new corporation will make for a stronger company. Nikkan Sports in Japan reported yesterday that Pride has been sold to UFC due to the company being in major financial straits, that the 4/8 show will be the last show of Dream Stage but there will be future shows still using the Pride name. Sakakibara was quoted in the story saying he raised Pride like it was his daughter, and now it's time to find her a worthy groom. As noted, Dana White claimed the Fertitta brothers have not bought Pride. This much is for sure. Something will be announced tomorrow, and whatever it is, is more something for the Japanese public. It would not be a good story for Japanese fans to hear that one of their major companies was purchased by Americans. Whether what is announced tomorrow is all truth, some truth, or very limited truth is probably something that won't be fully known for a few months until we see how things operate.

--Not only will Showtime, EXC and K-1/Hero's be represented at tomorrow morning's press conference at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, but there will be a few surprise promoters with the idea of announcing all the groups are getting together. Think 1980's Pro Wrestling USA but with fewer stars and no good television. Also expected to be represented as Strikeforce (no surprise, since they are in bed with EXC for PPV and promoter Scott Coker also is the K-1 promoter), Cage Rage from England (which runs head-to-head with UFC on 4/21) and Bodog (key here is if Fedor is announced or not) are all expected to publicly unite. As those who remember this being attempted in wrestling, I hope they can at least all agree on what to get for lunch after the press conference before it falls apart.

UPDATE5: Sherdog har ännu en artikeln uppe. What the Japanese Media is Saying about PRIDE's Sale by Jordan Breen

Thursday, March 22, 2007

Läsarundersökning

Eftersom det är lite uppehåll nu bland dom stora organisationerna hade jag tänkte skriva en lite mer djupgående preview på WEC-galan som är nu i helgen. Men det känns inte så spännande att skriva om något man inte kan se även om det är flera intressanta och bra matchningar.
Istället tänkte jag att man kunde känna av läget och se vad ni läsare är intresserade av att se mer eller mindre av här.
Vill ni ha mer fokus på dom stora galorna eller mer bredd med mer information om mindre galor?
Mer eller mindre rykten och spekulationer?
Kortare eller längre previews/recaps?
Andra förslag eller så?
Vad är bra vad är dåligt?
Vad vill ni se mer av vad vill ni se mindre av?
Jag vet inte riktigt själv vad jag vill göra med den här bloggen så tänkta höra vad det är ni vill se här.

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

Sherdog radio network

Sherdog har väldigt bra radioprogram och jag rekommenderar alla som är intresserade av MMA att lyssna när dom har chansen. Dom har nyligen börjat med live-sändningar och det har verkligen gjort det hela ännu bättre. Det är två olika program det handlar om dels The Beatdown som kom först och det är med TJ de Santis och Josh Gross. TJ de Santis är radiokillen som är navet i hela det här och Josh Gross är chefsredaktör på Sherdog.com och en av dom mest välrespekterade journalisterna inom MMA. Det andra programmet heter The Savage Dog Show och är med Greg Savage och Jeff Sherwood. Greg Savage är skribent på Sherdog.com och Jeff "Sherdog" Sherwood är ägaren. Beatdown känns klart proffsigare men The Savage Dog Show har sin charm det också.
Under dagens sändningar hade man tekniska problem som fördröjde sändningarna med ungefär 50 minuter. Jag fick en möjlighet att prata lite med TJ i Sherdogs insider chat om dagens sändningar. Lätt redigerat för att få både mig och TJ att framstå som mer välartikulerade än vi kanske är så var korrespondensen som följer.

Me: Hey TJ.
TJ: Hey, how did we do today?
Me: Considering all the difficulties you were great. Just how frustrated were you with all the problems early on today?
TJ: Lets just say I am amazed there aren't holes in the wall.
Me: Haha, I hear ya. Fishman brought alot of insight to the game but he has the worst radio voice ever. I had to stop doing everything else and just concentrate on him talking to not zone out.
TJ: Yeah, he was tough. Good insight though.
This stuff wears me out sometimes.
Me: Yeah I can see that. Its great work from you. I cant even imagine all the things that goes on behind the board.
TJ: Its crazy. The hardest part is finding time to piss.
Me: Haha, I can see that. I could never do it, I have to piss all the time.
That stoned caller was pretty freaking hilarious, how did you not crack up?
TJ: That was funny as hell and I turned my mic off haha.
Me: Haha, ok, that makes sense.
TJ: Not sure whats gonna happend if it ever thunderstorms though.
Me: Whats the worst that could happend?
TJ: Loud thunder, lightning could hit the garage and blow everything up. That would suck.
Me: Haha, I guess that would be pretty bad.
TJ: Alright, I am out. Need to get the podcast up and whatnot.
Me: Ok, thanks. Im looking forward to the next show.
TJ: Cool, thanks for listening. Bye.
Me: Bye.

Vill ni höra, och det vill ni, det mycket roliga inslaget med den något påverkade personen som ringde in så kan ni göra det här:

Vill ni höra hela programmen i sin helhet så finns dom tillgängliga gratis på Sherdog.com i några dagar, efter det måste man vara en insider.