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PRIDE 5/20 Saitama show postponed

By Zach Arnold | April 14, 2007

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Dream Stage Entertainment issued a press release stating that Lorenzo Fertitta has asked for the PRIDE 5/20 Saitama Super Arena event (the promotion’s Lightweight GP tournament – first round) to be postponed. “There is not enough time for production and promotion.”

Topics: Japan, Media, MMA, PRIDE, UFC, Zach Arnold | 23 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

23 Responses to “PRIDE 5/20 Saitama show postponed”

  1. ukiro says:

    As much as this is disappointing, it might show that Zuffa realises the immense importance of getting off to a good start in Japan. If they want to win some japanese hearts, they have to strive to outclass the old Pride, and I think we all can agree that such ambitions would need a rather large amount of time.

    Or, perhaps, there is trouble afoot inside the new organisation, with some of the old key employees not wanting to work for the new owners, etc.

  2. Zach Arnold says:

    If memory serves me right, Sakakibara is headed to the US now for a week. The transaction to Zuffa of the PRIDE assets was stated (according to Sakakibara) for May 1st.

    Maybe you postpone the 5/20 Saitama show because a deal isn’t 100% solidified? If Zuffa took over on 5/1, it would only give them less than three weeks to produce an event.

  3. Stu says:

    But really, is the current staff (which supposedly is not going to change) just sitting on their hands until May 1st and doing nothing right now?

  4. Iknowit All says:

    Outclass the old Pride? Do you watch UFC? Class is not exactly their calling card.

  5. Zach Arnold says:

    But really, is the current staff (which supposedly is not going to change) just sitting on their hands until May 1st and doing nothing right now?

    Maybe so, maybe not. It is a transition period, so knowing who the bosses are and what the orders are could certainly result in conflicting signals. Never a seamless process.

  6. Armen says:

    I am not surprised at all about the postponement. PRIDE has been on a pretty aggressive schedule this year, especially for a company going out of business (DSE).

    I hope that the Fertita-run PRIDE takes its time and does this Lightweight GP well, possibly including a couple of the UFC lightweights as well. It should make for a very interesting and exciting tournament to watch.

  7. chis says:

    God i think thats the first comment of Zach i agree with.

  8. Body_Shots says:

    Hard to say what this means. It could mean there’s some internal struggles or problems with the deal. It also could mean that the sponsors or TV didn’t jump on board with new company as expected.

    Or it could just be growing pains, and it is what was stated, they need more time after the transition period to promote.

    Can’t really say for sure, I’m sure more information will be revealed in the coming weeks.

  9. 45 Huddle says:

    Probably the best move. I would rather see it done right.

    Something tells me we are only going to get 6 to 8 Pride shows this year.

  10. […] FC 2007 LWGP postponed FightOpinion The picture on ufcmania.com has Diego and Hughes on it, are they confirmed to be in the event? I […]

  11. Rollo the Cat says:

    Can they afford to put on ANY shows without a TV contract? How much are the Fertittas prepared to lose until they can get on TV?

  12. ukiro says:

    Yes, “Iknowit All”, I do watch UFC. I also pay attention enough to know that Pride will be run as a separate brand from UFC, and as such is highly likely to have a completely different marketing strategy. If you think that Pride under Zuffa per definition will be UFC in a ring and no nore, no less, then I believe you are very wrong.

    Body_Shots: Very good comment regarding the TV deal; it would be incredibly valuable for Zuffa to get Pride televised right from the start; not only for the same reasons “old” Pride needed TV, but also to show the potentially sceptical Japanese crowd that the new ownership is in fact a good thing. The more I think about it, this seems to be the most likely explanation (although probably not the *only* explanation).

  13. Duke Lissit says:

    The most obvious reason I see is Liddell vs. Rampage 2. It’s one week after the proposed LWGP date. Now, you’ve got to deal with oversaturation of the American fans to deal with. Two UFC events in 3 days is OK, but why not give the PrideFC guys their due in terms of promotion without interference from Chuck and Quinton.

    I’m sure the transition and planning factor in, but never underestimate the almighty dollar in ANY decision making process!

  14. 45 Huddle says:

    Elite XC is running 2 PPV’s in June. One with K-1 and one with Strikeforce.

    You have to think that they will be putting up a PPV the same exact time as one of those PPV’s. It just makes sense if they can plan it like that.

    On a side note, Elite XC lost me as a potential customer in the month of June. They have Shileds, Carano, & Silva all fighting on Showtime on 6/2. Then right after that is the PPV with Lesnar, Gracie, & Tank/Butterbean. Later in the month, they are having a card with Shamrock/Baroni, Rua/Villasenor, and Buentello and Thomson on the card.

    First, I don’t have Showtime, so I can’t see Silva & Shields.

    Secondly, if all 3 of these events were combined to one PPV, I would buy it in a heartbeat. It would be a great show with a lot of talent on it. But they spread themselves too thin, and each PPV alone is not worth the price of $30 to $40. Basically, by keeping 2 PPV’s in a month, they are getting $0 out of me.

    Whatever genius at Elite XC thought of this is an idiot.

  15. JThue says:

    This can basically be anywhere from really good news to the freaking death squad for PRIDE’s future. Hopefully more details will become public soon. A shame Meltzer has finished his newsletter for next week :/ My gut feeling about it will remain slightly negative until whenever more is known :/

  16. Liger05 says:

    Of course it will be better to have the shows on tv but thats not a guarantee. Zuffa must of taking into account there was no tv when the deal was done and must be prepared for that. Its not like they can just wait and not do any shows until a TV deal is in place.

  17. Body_Shots says:

    A bit more about the postponement from Sherdog.

    From Stephen Martinez: The postponement comes as a result of PRIDE assets not being transferred from DSE to PRIDE FC Worldwide, the recently formed company which will take over control of the Japanese mixed martial arts organization, before the first of May.

    The ‘official’ statement from Lorenzo Fertitta: “As we’re in the midst of transferring business assets between both companies, we have decided that only one month to prepare for the 5/20 event is not enough time to organize the production and promote the event in a manner that reflect our first PRIDE event for the fans”

    “The new date for the Lightweight GP Opening Round will be announced at another time.

    “We deeply apologize to our fans and all parties concerned for the sudden announcement and the trouble we have caused.”

  18. Stu says:

    At least he’s still calling it the LWGP, so no 170 decided yet.

  19. Jordan Breen says:

    Kitaoka vs. Stevenson for twinner supremacy.

  20. Drew says:

    Secondly, if all 3 of these events were combined to one PPV, I would buy it in a heartbeat. It would be a great show with a lot of talent on it. But they spread themselves too thin, and each PPV alone is not worth the price of $30 to $40. Basically, by keeping 2 PPV’s in a month, they are getting $0 out of me.

    You have to remember that Strikeforce and K-1 are two seperate companies. Pro Elite (the owner of Elite XC) is just acting as a middle man to televise the two shows on PPV.

  21. Anybody have the gate figures for the average Saitama PRIDE events? I’m pretty sure the bleed isn’t big enough to scare Zuffa in the short term.

  22. David coolshaps says:

    Hell yeah Armen, you live in the valley? I dont know any MMA fans in LA really ahha. I like what everybody here has to say about these matters its great reading!

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