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K-1 gets knocked publicly
By Zach Arnold | June 17, 2006
By Zach Arnold
For those who have spent years covering K-1, one thing is for sure — they can tell some great stories in the press (such as their multiple accounts of trying to book Mike Tyson), but don’t put your life savings on the claims always being 100% accurate. On May 31st, I noted a funny Nikkan Sports article in which K-1 matchmaker Sadaharu Tanigawa was claiming that the UFC 60 PPV drew 800,000 buys. Oddly, that posting got very little response online. However, recently another post online made the same claims and got some traction. When UFC President Dana White was asked about those claims, he said it was the dumbest thing he had ever heard of.
Topics: All Topics, Japan, K-1, MMA, Media, UFC, Zach Arnold | 3 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback | Share This
It got some attention (I linked to it, at least). But, I think the other post got more attention because it included a claim that the UFC paid K1 $16 million for the right to have Royce Gracie fight in the UFC.
[...] Sankei Sports continues to push hard the claimed number by K-1 that the UFC 60 PPV with Royce Gracie vs. Matt Hughes did 800,000 buys and $32 million dollars, despite reports that contradict this. The Sankei article I linked to is a puff piece about HERO’s now having a show air on US PPV, therefore creating a “HERO’s Kakutougi (MMA) boom.” [...]
[...] So, once again, PRIDE continues to talk big in the Japanese press (like a pro-wrestling promotion would do over there) and Dana White kills those imaginations with a dose of reality, similar to how K-1 matchmaker Sadaharu Tanigawa claimed that UFC 60 did 800,000 buys — only for Mr. White to call that claim the dumbest thing he had ever heard of. [...]