« Yomiuri: Fedor in BodogFight long-term | Home | Nikkan Sports: UFC & PRIDE will be like Raw & Smackdown »
Sunday news grind: Brock Lesnar may draw some fans
By Zach Arnold | March 25, 2007
We could all use a vacation.
Very interesting comments from Dana White to Sherdog on Saturday night about a PRIDE asset sale. The words to focus on are “not a concrete deal.”
While some readers will take a stance that the various Japanese media outlets (like Yomiuri Hochi, Miruhon, etc.) are exaggerating about what will take place on Tuesday at Roppongi Hills Arena (DSE press conference), I want to look at Dana’s comments in another manner. I’ve written on this site over the past week that I didn’t think due diligence had taken place by lawyers (or accountants) from The Fertitta Brothers in regards to purchasing the assets of PRIDE from DSE. Dana’s comments somewhat cement my opinion on this. I still believe that it’s likely that a heads of agreement deal could be reached shortly, but it could be a legally non-binding agreement.
I’ve defended the credibility of Yomiuri Hochi in the past as a good newspaper and I have no reason not to do so again. They were the ones who leaked the news of the $5 million dollar USD match between Naoya Ogawa and Hidehiko Yoshida for PRIDE’s NYE ’05 event. That leak got them restricted from PR access to DSE. YH responded by not covering PRIDE events very much, and the few reports the newspaper wrote about PRIDE have been largely accurate. Today, Sports Nippon and Nikkan Sports essentially confirmed what Yomiuri Hochi & Daily Sports wrote over the last couple of days in regards to an expected PRIDE asset sale to UFC. In the SN & NS articles, a DSE staffer is quoted as saying that PRIDE won’t announce an asset sale to UFC but rather push a “business tie-up” between the two leagues. The top Japanese newspaper reports claim that the last event DSE will promote is the April 8th Saitama Super Arena show. Miruhon claims DSE will be liquidated as a company after that event takes place.
Lance Pugmire in the LA Times about Tito Ortiz no-showing his boxing match with Dana White:
UFC officials declined to comment on Ortiz’s decision, but one organization source said Ortiz was seeking more compensation for an unofficial event that was so intriguing to mixed-martial arts fans that cable network Spike TV had planned to air preview and fight shows in April.
Onto today’s headlines.
- KUAM (Guam): ‘PXC Live’ gave Guam a taste of new TV experience
- The Ottawa Sun: MMA fighters ready to rumble at Capital Chaos
- Cappersmall: Calvin Ayre talks about BodogFight
- The Boston Herald: A harsh ‘reality’ for Joe Lauzon
- Associated Content: Brock Lesnar set for United States return
- AOL Sports Blog: What your casual American sports fan thinks after reading a HERO’s press release
- Gracie Mag: July 7th date for HEROs USA LA Coliseum event
- New York Newsday: 6-year old earns black belt in MMA
- The Fightworks Podcast: Abu Dhabi 2007 world championship rundown on radio show
- Mad Squabbles: I told you so (a message to Keith Kizer about marijuana)
- MMA Weekly: Condit wins belt, Faber defends at WEC event
Topics: All Topics, BoDog, HERO's, Japan, K-1, Media, MMA, PRIDE, UFC, Zach Arnold | No Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |