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A new Japanese MMA organization is coming next week
By Zach Arnold | October 11, 2007
By Zach Arnold
Update: This story has been picked up in Japanese by NHB News.
A press release was sent out to members of the Japanese media today (not on a public scale, but specifically addressed to members of the Japanese press) for a new company called World Victory Road Inc. in Japan. The press release states that there will be a press conference on the 2nd floor of Tokyo’s Prince Hotel on the 15th (this Monday at 3 PM JST). The press release states that representatives from Don Quijote (one of PRIDE’s former sponsors and current sponsor of Kazuhiro Nakamura) and FILA are expected to be in attendance. The most interesting name listed as a guest for the press conference is Chairman Fukuda of the Japanese wrestling association. He was a figurehead that PRIDE tried to recruit before that organizaton hit troubled times. Also on the guest list is Mr. Kinoshita of the Kinoshita Group, a construction company.
Interestingly enough, the cell phone number at the bottom of the private press release belongs to an employee of J-ROCK, the management group of Hidehiko Yoshida.
One media source claims that a top figurehead for the new organization is former UFC-Japan promoter, Akira Sakata.
In a separate J-ROCK news item, the California State Athletic Commission announced this morning that Kazuhiro Nakamura’s appeal of his failed drug test (for marijuana) will happen on October 31st in Los Angeles.
Topics: Japan, MMA, Media, Zach Arnold | | Permalink | Trackback | Share This
There are two ways to take this…One, it’s the UFC’s foray into Japan…which I doubt. The other is that this is all the MMA people that were on the outside looking in getting together. Should be an interesting show either way.
I speak for a lot of people when I say, “I’ll believe it when I see it.”
This is just total conspiracy theory here, but maybe this organization is going to be run in cooperation with M-1 Global, which re-signed Fedor…maybe this is for Fedor to compete in Japan again or something. I don’t know, but I hope that it works out!
Is FILA the wrestling organization, or is it the sporting goods company?
Wrestling.
Interesting stuff, it’s for things like this I come to this site.
Nakamura really doesn’t look like a stoner…
If they want to be as big as Pride, the name’s gonna have to go… World Victory Road?!
So, Fedor VS Yoshida?
I really don’t care who puts the shows on. I care about the rules, the fights! I mean, the only thing that matters to me about a new company is the rules they implement. If they’re the shitty American rules, they won’t see a dime from me. If they have the Pride ruleset, I’ll blow 50 bucks every show.
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[...] As if on queue a press release was sent out to the Japanese MMA media from a new company called World Victory Road … [...]