# UFC Owners buy Pride for $65 Million?



## Andrew Green (Mar 19, 2007)

> Two independent, reliable and unrelated sources have confirmed that Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta  whom own and operate Zuffa LLC, the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC)  have purchased its biggest rival, PRIDE FC, for $65 million. An official announcement is expected this Wednesday.
> Ive been sitting on this nugget all afternoon since hearing it live on the Savage Dog Show and Beatdown Sherdog radio.



http://ufcmania.com/2007/03/19/ufc-owners-fertittas-purchase-pride-fc-for-65-million/

While nothing official has been announced yet, it looks like this happened.

Note that it was the Fertitta brothers that bought Pride, not Zuffa.


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## Makalakumu (Mar 19, 2007)

Now that would be sweet!  I hope Crocop kicks Couture in the head and ends up defending his title against Fedor!


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## matt.m (Mar 19, 2007)

That is interesting.  If that is true then the UFC has 0 competition at all.


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## gixxershane (Mar 19, 2007)

i think this will help the ufc come more main streem.. it will also bring a lot more tallent into the ufc..


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## Hand Sword (Mar 19, 2007)

If true is it all UFC now, or will the Pride name remain, with a separate show going on? All that is left is this Bodogfight (spelling?).


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## Andrew Green (Mar 19, 2007)

no idea, the official announcement hasn't even been made yet, so this is really still just a rumor.


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## mrhnau (Mar 20, 2007)

I don't necessarily think consolidation is a bad thing. look at boxing for instance. Anyone can fight anyone, even though you have seperate organizations/belts. I think consolidating the talent is going to make for some great fights in the future. The only thing that might be missed will be the ring vs octagon. I wonder how they will deal with that? Or the subtle rule differences? Go with the UFC rule set?


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## Brian R. VanCise (Mar 20, 2007)

I think this is a good thing in my opinion.  However only time will tell.


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## phlaw (Mar 20, 2007)

If it is true, they need to remain as separate entities. It would be much wiser for them.


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## Odin (Mar 20, 2007)

hmmm not sure if this will be good....where will pride be held then? in Japan or america?

It will make fighter cross overs easier but i prefer the variety of being able to watch more then one org with Top fighters.


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## Raiderbeast (Mar 20, 2007)

From MMAWeekly:

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.


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## Raiderbeast (Mar 20, 2007)

Hand Sword said:


> If true is it all UFC now, or will the Pride name remain, with a separate show going on? All that is left is this Bodogfight (spelling?).


There is still the IFL, EliteXC, Bodog, K1, KOC and some smaller ones.


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## KenpoGunz (Mar 22, 2007)

I'm not sure how I feel about this yet. I guess I'll just wait and see.


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## Andrew Green (Mar 22, 2007)

It's still not certain and just a rumor.  Nothing has been officially announced, so best wait and see if it even actually materializes


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## Andrew Green (Mar 23, 2007)

Then again....


PRIDE boss Nobuyuki Sakakibara has told his employees he is leaving the company but that all of their jobs are safe.Pride FC is on the verge of being acquired by the UFC, provided no snags take place before contracts are signed and Pride hands the keys over to UFC it looks as though its a done deal.Nobuyuki Sakakibara yesterday told several members of the U.S. Pride staff that the company is in the [process] 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.

More...


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## mrhnau (Mar 27, 2007)

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


> The majority owners of Ultimate Fighting Championship have agreed to buy their biggest mixed martial arts rival, Pride Fighting Championships, in a deal that will establish megafights among the outfits' titleholders and possibly attract huge pay-per-view audiences.


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## Hand Sword (Mar 27, 2007)

So, it is official now?


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## Andrew Green (Mar 27, 2007)

It is:

http://www.mmaweekly.com/absolutenm/templates/dailynews.asp?articleid=3676&zoneid=2


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## Drag'n (Mar 27, 2007)

Today a Japanese pride fighter I regularly  spar with came into the dojo confirming the rumors. Apparently they've been told that the company is going to be closed down, and they're all not sure whats happenning with their contracts, or how things are going to be run after the take over.
So the fighters are a tad anxious about whats going on.
Hopefully it'll mean bigger purses and more international exposure.


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## Brian R. VanCise (Mar 27, 2007)

Hopefully Pride will be able to get a TV deal in Japan and then of course a reality show to fuel the fire.


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## Andrew Green (Mar 27, 2007)

Brian R. VanCise said:


> Hopefully Pride will be able to get a TV deal in Japan and then of course a reality show to fuel the fire.




I don't know...  have you seen many Japanese gameshows that involve "challenges"...  Prides version of TUF could come out pretty wacky


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## mrhnau (Mar 27, 2007)

Andrew Green said:


> I don't know...  have you seen many Japanese gameshows that involve "challenges"...  Prides version of TUF could come out pretty wacky



ninja warrrior perhaps? that show rocks! Pride versions of TUF could be fun, especially if they find some way to mix the show with the UFC version... perhaps let the finale be the weight champs from UFC and Pride fighting? Just need to a find a compromise on rules/ring


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## Andrew Green (Mar 27, 2007)

One good thing in there is this:



> Fertitta said, "Bottom line, I'm a huge fan of MMA. This is not about business. This is not about making money. This is about putting together the dream fights that me and you as fans have always wanted to see." Fertitta continued, "The UFC is like my baby, and now I have another and I love both just the same."



I want to see some dream fights


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## Brian R. VanCise (Mar 27, 2007)

Andrew Green said:


> One good thing in there is this:
> 
> 
> 
> I want to see some dream fights


 
Absolutely!


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## Andy Moynihan (Mar 27, 2007)

Well, no help for it, there's the end of all good MMA right there.


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## savior (Mar 28, 2007)

I dont understand how this can be a bad thing. With a wider pool of fighters, there will be more opportunities of tremendous fights, and truely superior champions!

The only two questions I have are, what happens to the octagon/ring, and will PRIDE adopt UFC's rules (visa-versa), or will a new set of rules be created?


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## Andrew Green (Mar 28, 2007)

savior said:


> I dont understand how this can be a bad thing.



Lack of competition.


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## The Kidd (Mar 28, 2007)

savior said:


> I dont understand how this can be a bad thing. With a wider pool of fighters, there will be more opportunities of tremendous fights, and truely superior champions!
> 
> The only two questions I have are, what happens to the octagon/ring, and will PRIDE adopt UFC's rules (visa-versa), or will a new set of rules be created?


 

Many times when you have a rival competitor you work harder, your innovative, and you strive to present the best product possible to get your share of the market. When that competition goes away so does the intensity and drive to be the best because you say why work so hard I am the only one on the block anyway.


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## mrhnau (Mar 28, 2007)

The Kidd said:


> Many times when you have a rival competitor you work harder, your innovative, and you strive to present the best product possible to get your share of the market. When that competition goes away so does the intensity and drive to be the best because you say why work so hard I am the only one on the block anyway.


true, but this also opens the door for smaller competitors I think. UFC will not be in a vacuum, but they sure do have the majority of the attention, especially after the buyout. I'm hoping some new player will arise


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## PictonMA (Mar 28, 2007)

While I agree that competition generally increase the quality of a product - would you honestly say that Pride has been a serious competitor of the UFC for the last 12, 18 even 24months?

I wouldn't and in that time frame imho the UFC has continued to push for bigger, better events and the quality of competitors has continued to increase.


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## savior (Mar 28, 2007)

IFL and K-1 should merge now lol


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## Dave Leverich (Mar 29, 2007)

Hehe, leave K-1 alone


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## Odin (Mar 29, 2007)

savior said:


> I dont understand how this can be a bad thing. With a wider pool of fighters, there will be more opportunities of tremendous fights, and truely superior champions!
> 
> The only two questions I have are, what happens to the octagon/ring, and will PRIDE adopt UFC's rules (visa-versa), or will a new set of rules be created?


 
What you have to think about though is the little guy, the forrest griffins, the keith jardine's and the Matt Hamils....with Pride fighters been thrown into the octagon it doesnt leave much space for the TUF guys.

Infact What would be the point of continuing to run TUF if none of the fighters could actually get anywhere in the UFC? 
It would be like joe blogs winning the next TUF and in his first UFC having to fight either....Chuck Liddel, wanderlei silva, shogun Rua, Dan henderson or Rampage jackson..what chance does he have?....the deal takes out the little guy


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## Odin (Mar 29, 2007)

PictonMA said:


> While I agree that competition generally increase the quality of a product - would you honestly say that Pride has been a serious competitor of the UFC for the last 12, 18 even 24months?
> 
> I wouldn't and in that time frame imho the UFC has continued to push for bigger, better events and the quality of competitors has continued to increase.


 
It depends from which stand point, the past 3 ppv have been big for the UFC but the year to date has still been cover with Rematch after rematch and a massive lack of heavy weight talent, take the smooth with the rough.

Pride has been having difficulty for the past year due to dreamwave.


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## Brian R. VanCise (Mar 29, 2007)

Well the TUF series will probably continue on even if some of the fighter's will never make it to the Octagon.  The real reason for the TUF series is to generate interest in MMA so that people want to see the headline, pay per view fight's of the UFC.  It is a brilliant marketing ploy that Dana White has exploited successfully and finally put the UFC on the map as a sport that may eventually be one of the top sporting events out there.  Now if only they would go public so we could buy stock!


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## mrhnau (Mar 29, 2007)

Brian R. VanCise said:


> Well the TUF series will probably continue on even if some of the fighter's will never make it to the Octagon.  The real reason for the TUF series is to generate interest in MMA so that people want to see the headline, pay per view fight's of the UFC.  It is a brilliant marketing ploy that Dana White has exploited successfully and finally put the UFC on the map as a sport that may eventually be one of the top sporting events out there.  Now if only they would go public so we could buy stock!


Of course, that is one of the prime reasons for TUF, but I'm sure they are making some decent money from advertisement and overpurposeful product placement (Sorry, I don't want to watch anyone talk about how wonderful their deoderant is while they are putting it on, or how fabulous Xyience is while drinking it).

Either way, Dana is quite bright  kudos to his marketing, even if certain aspects I don't like, they seem to work!

Now UFC stock? I dunno about that! LOL!


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## Odin (Mar 29, 2007)

Brian R. VanCise said:


> Well the TUF series will probably continue on even if some of the fighter's will never make it to the Octagon. The real reason for the TUF series is to generate interest in MMA so that people want to see the headline, pay per view fight's of the UFC. It is a brilliant marketing ploy that Dana White has exploited successfully and finally put the UFC on the map as a sport that may eventually be one of the top sporting events out there. Now if only they would go public so we could buy stock!


 

Again though, how long will that be for if the trend is to win TUF but then get no where in the UFC, viewers will see quickly that TUF fighters are at the bottom of the food chain and lose interest.....

saying that I doubt very much Dana will flood the UFC just yet plus its not actually Zuffa that own Pride so its not up to them, it will make cross overs much easier and there is big talk of having an ''mma superbowl' event.

I think right now though certain fighters should be very worried about there carears. ( :


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