Posted by: MattJ
UFC purchases Pride? - 03/20/07 11:18 AM
Looks like it has happened for $65 million! Check this thread on MartialTalk -
http://www.martialtalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=47572
Posted by: Cord
Re: UFC purchases Pride? - 03/20/07 11:32 AM
If this leads to Pride being televised for free like all UFC events are in the UK, then i am in a fluffy octagon of happiness about this
Posted by: butterfly
Re: UFC purchases Pride? - 03/20/07 11:45 AM
I had heard mumblings about this months ago. How true I don't know, but the take I got was that there were ties into organized crime that some of the Pride higherups had (yakuza dealings for early on financing, etc). In any case, the respectable Japanese television owndership were going to deny the televised Pride deals because of these entanglements and this would have killed the Pride viewership and marketing and thus.....what we have.
Don't know how true this rumor is/was. But was told this months ago-- that Pride was going to have to find another route keep some semblance of itself in existence.
Posted by: Cord
Re: UFC purchases Pride? - 03/20/07 12:13 PM
From organised crime, to fights held in almost exclusively in Vegas. the more things change, the more they stay the same
Posted by: Supremor
Re: UFC purchases Pride? - 03/20/07 12:36 PM
It says that the UFC will buy (if the contract is signed) the pride logo and merchandise etc. If Pride continues as an event in its own right, how will they have champions-w ill there be separate Pride-UFC champions, or a unification belt?
Posted by: Dereck
Re: UFC purchases Pride? - 03/20/07 01:02 PM
Perhaps Dana will take the route like Vince McMahon did when the WWE purchased WCW and then ECW. They had the WWE vs. WCW vs. ECW wars and then later unified things. They ran it all under the WWE later on but divided things up into Monday nights and Thursday night with their own belts but periodically vied one night's stars against the other night's stars. A big money maker and got the fans really vested in this. Most certainly people would jump to see UFC vs. Pride as this would settle so many dumb questions that people had about who was better. As in stupid because it is the fighter not the venue but I'm sure Dana and the UFC won't care about this and go for the money.
Posted by: BuDoc
Re: UFC purchases Pride? - 03/24/07 12:00 AM
Current talk is that technically, Zuffa purchased Pride.
It's not just semantics. Zuffa is the parent corporation. UFC is a subsidiary company.
It is entirely possible, and logical, that while Zuffa owns/will own Pride, they will probably keep Pride and UFC separate.
This makes a modicum of sense. UFC could have just bought contracts of the fighters they wanted, for considerably less than the $65 million Zuffa is going to spend.
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Posted by: JoelM
Re: UFC purchases Pride? - 03/29/07 11:34 AM
UFC purchases Pride? Not technically, the Fertitta brothers purchased Pride.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17812453/Highlights:
Quote:
To buy the company, the brothers created a new entity called Pride FC Worldwide Holdings LLC. The newly formed company will take over Pride assets, including its trademarks, video library and valuable roster of fighters, from Dream Stage. The Fertitta brothers, who own Las Vegas-based Zuffa LLC, the parent company of UFC, intend to keep the well-known Pride name and promote fights under that brand.
Quote:
Buying Pride is the latest in a series of acquisitions that the brothers have made in the last six months. Zuffa snapped up World Extreme Cagefighting and World Fighting Alliance last year.
Similar to Pride, buying WFA gave UFC the rights to a popular fighter named Quinton “Rampage” Jackson. Jackson will face UFC’s most popular fighter, Chuck Liddell, the current light heavyweight champ in Las Vegas, on May 26 on PPV.
