well, earlier today, i received word that the Next Pride Event in Vegas is cancelled now.

So heads are officially rolling.

Rumor has it Ed Fishman, the North American President for Pride is suing Sakikabara as well, for some reason.....probably because Fishman's deal was to help Pride get their feet into the door of Vegas, and eventually sell their product to Fishman, but that I guess is not happening anymore either.

Shitty

I know ya'll want sources, I'm sure the word will pop up sooner or later in sherdog and mmaweekly

Still not sure how it will all play out, but it seems pride just can't find someone who can buy them out, and ALSO secure a TV deal along with it, and thats the key to pride surviving obviously, they need that TV deal.

If Fishman doesn't buy them, K-1 will do to PRIDE what the UFC did to the WFA. Absorb the brand and make it part of HEROS.

Then we'd be dealing with an organization with an even shadier history than PRIDE's.

hadn't heard of any K1 talks in the mix with buying Pride

I believe sakikabara will employ the same reasons for not selling to K1 as they will for UFC tho

they'll most likely avoid selling out to their competition since it'll only mean total humiliation

and I agree, K1 is so much more shady...but what can u do, they werent the ones that went under the spotlight when the yakuza scandals hit....so they got lucky...fuckers

They are currently responsible for putting sakuraba through the ringer, so i hate them

K1 is an institution in Japan moreso than PRIDE. I mean, Kazuyoshi Ishii went to jail for tax evasion, and that didn't inflict a single dent in K-1's public image.

I don't see PRIDE selling the company to anyone except (MAYBE) Fishman. What I see if that falls through though, is PRIDE going bankrupt and K1 snatching up every last major free agent to coincide with its recently announced attempts at wanting to expand the HEROS brand to the US.

Right now, K-1's MMA roster is a joke, composed primarily of kickboxers that do MMA on and off, along with a few lightweights of notability. Remember, it was K-1 that signed Giant Silva to fight Akebono.

ok, i see ur angle.

Its quite possible. The only reason Fishman is having a hard time buying it out is because Sakikabara already knows that the US market is not as easy as he thought it would be. So for Fishman to buy them, he'll just carry on doing what he's been doing with minor changes, which isn't what Sakikabara is looking for. I'm sure they still want their roots to be in Japan, they want their TV deal. If that fails, then their second option should be to see if someone wants to buy Pride and explore the european option

K1 has so much potential, yet they rest on their ass and just laugh their way to the bank. Much like our Toronto Maple Leafs here. The team generates SO much money, despite not having won a championship in so many damn years, that they simply look at the fans and think "why do we need to improve our product, if we're still selling out every ticket before the season even starts...these fans will buy into anything and everything Leaf related, because they're die-hards, so lets just take their $$ and run with it until they open their eyes and see the truth"

K1 does the same thing IMO

Hmm, I saw on mmauniverse that Zuffa is putting in a bid for Pride. So far it's all just RUMINT, but considering how Dana White is always going on about "huge" things in 2007 this would certainly qualify.

I predict WWE will buy Pride.

Sakibara ins an egotistical idiot and has ruined what he built for no good reason.

Him and Vince McMann will get on like **** on toilet paper

funny you should say that, Mauro Ranallo says sakikabara's mindset is similar to McMahon

Its weird, cuz on the one hand, i hear yeah, he's a nut, who only thinks about the product, and doesnt really care about what he puts his fighters though. Like crazy freak mismatches, or last minute announcements of match-uos...etc

and then u get fighters who think Pride is the best organization out there, period. I mean, sure some may feel obligated to talk good about their employer, but guys like Diaz, who says he's been waitin over 2 years to get into Pride, love it...and many fighters have said Pride treats them the best

I guess both of these sides could co-exist without having to affect the other....but its just hard to get a good grasp of what truly goes on behind the scenes

WCW treated their wrestlers better and also went under.

Dana White calls it right on Sherdog

http://www.sherdog.com/videos/videos.asp?v_id=1108

They may put on a great show and treat their fighters great but suck at running a business.

Say what you will but Zuffa knows how to build a strong business from a negative to a positive so that they can survive.

If Spike kicked UFC of TV the UFC would do find now.

Pride - great show, dumb business plan

u see chuck on that dallas morning show? drunk???
its embarrassing....its hard to watch...if u havent, youtube the words chuck and dallas...u should get it easily

I like Dana's take on that.

And he's right Chuck's hanger-ons are dumb fucks for letting him go on that show for any reason

interesting!
i just watched the Dana vid
he wasnt well? i was hangin with Chuck on monday...and sat with him for the premier of the movie 300
he looked fine to me and everyone else around him would agree
If he was sick, he sure didn't show it, when he was gettin amp'd up talkin about Silvas fight, he was movin around even shadow boxing a bit, tryin to show us what he'd do to silva...etc...

bottom line is, chucks a partier....so he probably just drank a bit too much

he mentioned that his contract with UFC is not what everyone thinks...he's actually only got one fight left! And the perception that Chuck and Dana are cool with each other? heh, he says he barely ever talks to Dana outside of the public appearances. They're not friends.
Which i guess is in line with what monte cox said on the beatdown, about how Miletich doesnt deal with Dana at all anymore (well documented lawsuit), Matt Hughes and anyone else Monte Cox has under his agency is having issues with Dana

I predict WWE will buy Pride.

Sakibara ins an egotistical idiot and has ruined what he built for no good reason.

Him and Vince McMann will get on like **** on toilet paper

Too late. They tried selling to Vinnie, but he said no. (I guess the XFL is still fresh in his mind)

Dana white may be a meathead but he was pretty much right on in that interview on everything.

Too late. They tried selling to Vinnie, but he said no. (I guess the XFL is still fresh in his mind)


I know but depending on the asking price and now not being able to run in Vegas I wouldn't be surprised if they went back with a better deal.

WCW treated their wrestlers better and also went under.

Dana White calls it right on Sherdog

http://www.sherdog.com/videos/videos.asp?v_id=1108

They may put on a great show and treat their fighters great but suck at running a business.

Say what you will but Zuffa knows how to build a strong business from a negative to a positive so that they can survive.

If Spike kicked UFC of TV the UFC would do find now.

Pride - great show, dumb business planI usually don't like Dana, but he is just fucking right in this one. I like how he says "fucking geniuses" about PRIDE. LOL.

He is also right about the fuckers surrounding Chuck. I just saw that **** on youtube (http://youtube.com/watch?v=CFvHuKAASe8). Just fucking sad, sad, sad, fucking sad. I couldn't watch past the first minute. Too fucking painful. :sad7:

Poor man needs to get some rest (and get a grip), and as Dana said, he needs to change the people around him.

Whoever let him do that is a fucking leeche,