Comments on: Is Satoshi Ishii going to be UFC’s trojan horse into Japan?

By: Michaelthebox

Michaelthebox — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 20:59:16 +0000

Chuck, they won’t need Akiyama or Choi to break into the South Korean market. There aren’t any huge structural barriers as there are in Japan, there are no hard feelings, and my understanding is they have huge support from a network there. Akiyama will help them to break through faster, but at worst they could break in basically the same way they did in England, using Dong Hyun Kim as their flagship South Korean star.

By: Jeremy (not that Jeremy)

Jeremy (not that Jeremy) — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 15:08:41 +0000

Gaijin,

If it doesn’t have it now, it will have it after it happens. This card has three MASSIVE headliners. If you don’t know one of them, you’re going to be attracted by another.

In my mind, the buys on this should blow Couture/Lesnar out of the water.

By: Did Ishii Leave Behind $6 million to Hang Out With Dana White? | MMA Fight News - MMA News, MMA Gear, MMA Training

Fri, 19 Dec 2008 23:24:14 +0000

[...] only way this would make sense is if the UFC was planning on expanding into Japan soon, as some are suggesting. Even then it might not be worth it, unless they intend to put on as many shows in Japan as [...]

By: The Gaijin

The Gaijin — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 15:14:48 +0000

^ I just wish Jackson vs. Silva III had the traction with the mainstream fan here in the US/Canada that it would in Japan.

By: Jeremy (not that Jeremy)

Jeremy (not that Jeremy) — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 14:59:05 +0000

I wouldn’t be shocked if he showed up just because it was such a big show though. Is there anything even approaching Jackson vs Silva 3 happening in Japan this year?

By: theYiffer

theYiffer — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 14:18:23 +0000

“While it may be hard for Japanese MMA promotions to do well none of them have the worldwide name recognition of UFC and that alone will drive it to success in Japan. UFC going there doesn’t happen often so when it does occur it will be a major event that people will want to attend. Not unlike how WWE can go to Japan with a vastly inferior wrestling product and succeed attendance-wise just because the Japanese fans want to see the stars they don’t get to see in person very often.”

A note on the WWE in Japan. They do very good as far as house shows, and from what I understand they have a decent enough TV deal. (Or enough for people in Japan to care.) But the WWE has been seeding the ground over in Japan for years just to get to where they are today. The best that Zuffa has done is to #uck themselves by buying out PRIDE and continuing their TV deal with WOWOW, which isn’t saying much. If the UFC really wants a toehold in Japan, they need to take the time and the effort to develop an actual fan base in Japan.

By: Chuck

Chuck — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 05:53:29 +0000

“Also UFC’s biggest rival PRIDE no longer exists there so there is less mainstream competition to deal with.”

I think you are forgetting about K-1, who are still doing as solid of business as they have ever done recently. The fact still remains, UFC will tank in Japan unless they get some Japanese guys on whatever Japanese shows they want to run. And if they want to run South Korea then they will have to get Yoshihiro Akiyama and maybe even Hong Man Choi.

By: The Gaijin

The Gaijin — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 23:39:49 +0000

“Therefore, I wanted to know whether this was a game that Pride had played in Japan. There was a degree of this playing here in the US, and I want to know what the situation on the ground was in Japan, because I don’t read Japanese and wasn’t paying attention at the time.”

J(NTJ): Sorry – I must have glazed over on that part of Zach’s article. I didn’t see that and was just thinking, “Oh boy, here comes another PRIDE vs. UFC out of the blue!”

By: skwirrl

skwirrl — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 23:09:01 +0000

There is a lot of hard feelings about the way UFC shutdown PRIDE. I think UFC would absolutely TANK without Iishi or something similar to catch Japanese attention. I’m talking tank like Affliction’s event in Vegas was getting ready to tank.

By: Robert Poole

Robert Poole — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 20:55:20 +0000

D.Capitated Wrote: “The last time the UFC was there, they ran a venue with well under 2000 seats. Additionally, they’re currently what would be the equivalent of HDNet overseas in terms of market penetration. So, yeah. It would be like K-1 running Thomas and Mack instead of Bellagio’s Ballroom.”

Two things I would point out about this flawed argument.

1. The last show was way back in 2000.. it’s a pretty easy argument to make that UFC is WAY bigger than it was 8 years ago.

2. SEG still owned the company. Say what you will about Zuffa’s owners and Dana White but they promote shows a hell of a lot better than SEG did and have made UFC more of a global phenomenon.

Also UFC’s biggest rival PRIDE no longer exists there so there is less mainstream competition to deal with.

I think UFC would do pretty well in Japan especially if they ran a card with big names.