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Wednesday notes: Where has your PRIDE gone?

By Zach Arnold | May 16, 2007

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It’s now Day 51 since the March 27th Roppongi Hills Arena press conference where UFC and DSE did a handshake agreement to buy the PRIDE assets.

ESPN Page 2’s Bill Simmons w/ Adam Carolla, discussing ‘elitist’ boxing fans (audio here – start listening at the 8 minute mark). They also talk about UFC and MMA juxtaposed to boxing.

IFL rappers. All eyes on the IFL stock.

Very interesting World Freefight Challenge 3 card in Slovenia this weekend. Look at who’s listed – Mikko Rupponen. Excellent.

Onto today’s headlines.

  1. The Utica Observer-Dispatch (New York): Going to the Next Level – growing sport of MMA comes to area
  2. MMA Weekly: WEC Fighter Salaries
  3. The News & Observer (North Carolina): Fighting to fight in NC – MMA fighter trying to get home state to lift ban on sport
  4. The Republican (MA): Ludlow heaps honor on world-class fighter Gabriel Gonzaga
  5. Boxing Scene: Will Bernard Hopkins and Winky Wright make a noise?
  6. The Marietta Times (Ohio): Washington County Fairgrounds hosts “Throw Down at the Fairgrounds II Cage Fight” this Saturday
  7. The Chicago Tribune: State may approve MMA – general assembly OKs bill to make sport legal in Illinois

Topics: Boxing, IFL, Media, MMA, PRIDE, UFC, WEC, Zach Arnold | 13 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

13 Responses to “Wednesday notes: Where has your PRIDE gone?”

  1. JThue says:

    http://gfcfighter.com/news/index.php?blog=3&title=gfc_a_147_evolutiona_148_ticket_discount&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

    The good news is this show really appears to be happening now. The bad news is the IFL-discount-bug has hit hard :S

  2. Poor Pride.. no telling where she will end up now.. 🙁

  3. I don’t know what else can happen to GFC other than a meteorite landing on Jacare in the next two days.

  4. JThue says:

    It’s not so much that things are happening TO GFC as GFC setting themselves up for things to happen.

    “4 tickets for just $100!”
    “available live at http://www.mmawl.com for $24.95.”

    Same price live as the web stream. Which one is the worst deal for the costumer at this point?

  5. Hopkins/Winky is just ugh.

  6. 45 Huddle says:

    The fact that the IFL stock stayed about the same is crazy, and it shows that smaller companies stock is perceived much differently then a bigger company’s.

    The WEC salaries look about right. I expect the salaries to go up, but they will do so for the fighters that earn it,

  7. 45 Huddle says:

    I remember a while back I kept on saying the IFL would fail, and I would get bashed for my comments. I was called an IFL hater. I was never a hater, I was just honest with how the company and TV deals were set up. The company could sell more shares of stock, but it would only be prolonging the inevitable. Plus, it would give a potential rival the chance to buy out the majority shares in the company (if the price were to stay low enough).

    Another point to be made, which I have made before, is that the SPORT of MMA never exploded in America. Only the UFC has. Pride FC, whether purchased or not, is finished. The IFL will soon join them as being gone. K-1 has never been a big player in MMA. Their first venture into America will be a huge failure. Pro Elite has Showtime, but has still not made a dime, and has way too small of a potential audience. Bodog is a complete bust and has ratings on ION of .1 or .2, with almost no PPV buys.

    If I am a Top 20 fighter, and I want to make this sport my career, I’m taking a job with Zuffa. Even if it is for a slight pay cut. It is the only organization able to put on competitive fights year after year.

  8. white ninja says:

    well sakakiyakuza said that he found a good husband (Dana White) for his daughter (Pride) – boy was that a mistake.

    Looks like the prospective husband enjoyed a bit of pounding with the daughter, took her virginity, and dumped her (after he found her performance couldnt satisfy him, especially in the mirko v gonzaga fight) – No wonder the Japanese dont trust Americans

    To borrow another image that Sakakiyakuza used – he is still rowing in his row boat by himself, trying to keep up with the ship of UFC, which is sailing away into the sunset

  9. The Gaijin says:

    blah blah blah….another “tooting his own horn” post by 45 Huddle. And ofcourse it wouldnt be another day w/o one of his ultra pro UFC and anti everything else nutsac swinging.

    Do you ever get tired of verbally pleasuring the UFC??? For real man what’s your deal – we all know UFC is on top – YOU DONT NEED TO MAKE 15 x 5,000 WORD POSTS A DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Get a god damned girlfriend.

  10. Kev says:

    white ninja, congratulations. You post just won the Most Insane Thing I Read All Month award.

  11. Liger05 says:

    Its strange that with such growth the UFC has had that the MMA isnt really over in the US. With UFC being so successful u would think another group would be able to ride the waves and get dragged up with them but it hasnt happened.

  12. Mateo says:

    I think it has to do with the ring. Why have these other companies embraced the ring instead of the octagon? I know Zuffa has some kind of copyright on the octagon, but the competition should still be doing the fights in a cage atmosphere.

    I also think the IFL was foolish in trying to be a traveling company. Isn’t the touring taking the largest bite out of their bottom line?

  13. bero says:

    Unfortunately, World Freefight Challenge 3 is canceled due to injuries of three key fighters. It all happened suddenly and there wasn’t enough time to find adequate substitutes.

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