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PRIDE’s latest idea for UFC
By Zach Arnold | September 19, 2006
Daily Sports reports on comments made by PRIDE boss Nobuyuki Sakakibara in regards to UFC. Sakakibara stated that Mirko Cro Cop would be a suitable replacement for Vanderlei Silva to send to UFC to fight this November. Sakakibara said that despite Mirko’s name and image being printed for PRIDE’s 10/21 Las Vegas show poster, he feels that Mirko would be ready to fight in UFC by November.
Also, Sankei Sports quoted Sakakibara as saying that the 10/21 Las Vegas show would air on an Internet streaming PPV format (but customers in Japan and America won’t be able to purchase the Internet PPV feed due to the PRIDE show airing on conventional PPV in both countries). Also, Sakakibara is promising to spend more money on production for the Las Vegas show (claiming an estimated budget of 500 million yen for fireworks, stage, etc.) — higher than the amount of money spent for production for past Tokyo Dome shows. 500 million yen is approximately $4.24 million USD.
One question that should be asked – Sakakibara has controlled much of the production in the past for PRIDE shows, so is he also in charge of all of the production for the Las Vegas show with his allies in the producing business? Or is this where Ed Fishman comes into play?
Topics: All Topics, Japan, MMA, PRIDE, UFC, Zach Arnold | 6 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
It’s great, that Pride finally decided to stream theyr Event thru the Internet! I was waiting for a long time for that. There is no way you can “officially” see the Pride Events live in Switzerland where I am living.
Sadly I have to say, that the price of 30-35USD is way too expensive 🙁
But hey, it’s a first step and maybe they will drop the price a little…
Do note that Mirko is not likely to fight at the Real Deal event due to the foot injury he apparantly suffered at the OWGP finals – if you see the backstage footage he is limping after the Silva fight, and an interview somewhere stated that he had to be on crutches for 3 weeks. He has said he will be *at* the Las Vegas event, but by the looks of it, it’s unlikely he will be fighting. In light of this, sending him to the UFC looks more plausible. However, whereas Chuck Lidell has a somewhat realistic chance of defeating Silva, I have no idea what UFC could throw at Mirko. Sylvia? Oh please. And with a win for the UFC fighter looking so unlikely, there is little to gain for the UFC here.
I will keep hoping for a Lidell / Silva match-up, but bringing up Mirko in the discussion might indicate that Sakakibara just want’s to stall and add confusion to the discussion.
Promotional bluster as usual. Concerning yourself with the stuff Sakakibara says to the media 95% of the time is a waste. So… like… how about this PRIDE show in Dodger Stadium? How about this MMA Super Bowl? Is it in the Thunderdome?
Perhaps it is.
It’s also a revealing look into the mindset of what the braintrust of the company wants to do. It’s revealing in the sense that you start to understand what they think about in terms of presentation, matchmaking, and organization. On those grounds, it’s always interesting to pay attention to what is said.
Everything has some value if you read deeper; what’s Sakakibara REALLY saying? I don’t think anyone will dispute we can learn a little something from anything someone says, especially promoters.
However, regarding the most superficial articles of what he has to say, they’re all patently worthless. If Sakakibara said he was going to promote Fedor vs. Godzilla on Neptune, MMA fans would seemingly be sooner to say “Can Fedor win this one? Can PRIDE succeed in Neptune’s market? rather than use any kind of intellectual discretion and say “You’ve got to be kidding, right?”
Haha good point Jordan. I agree : Sakakibara is constantly making statements and claims that are not just technically untrue, but often completely far-fetched. Claiming that CroCop is ready and willing to fight a bout against Chuck Liddell in November has to be the biggest whopper I’ve heard yet. But what can you expect from someone who still hasn’t directly admitted CroCop definately won’t be fighting as is stated on Mirko’s official website.