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« | Home | »

Open media post (10/5)

By Zach Arnold | October 5, 2007

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If any big stories break, feel free to post links or opinions in the comments section.

I will be doing the media rounds today.

A new Fight Opinion Radio show will be posted this evening. (Subscribe to the show’s iTunes feed here.)

There was a firestorm of reaction from various players in the Japanese MMA business today regarding the abrupt closing of PRIDE’s office and firing of 20 employees.

  1. K-1 matchmaker Sadaharu Tanigawa criticized the way UFC handled the situation and their destruction of PRIDE. Tanigawa said that by destroying PRIDE, it narrowed the size of the MMA market and upset the balance of power (which could result in MMA losing fans and support). He claimed that PRIDE’s destruction was a minus for the kakutougi (MMA) world and appealed for unity in the MMA industry.
  2. Shin’ya Aoki, in a media release, stated that he would be looking for a new MMA home. He talked about waiting and waiting for the revival of PRIDE, only for PRIDE to be killed off.
  3. Akira Maeda had a moment of schadenfreude, showing a happy posture about the death of PRIDE. “It serves them right!” Maeda was angry about how PRIDE used money to steal away wrestlers from RINGS, which placed RINGS in a vulnerable position and ultimately killed the organization. Maeda said that PRIDE’s death served as both karma and retribution for the company’s past actions.
  4. DEEP boss Shigeru Saeki stated how difficult it was for a promoter to create a big event because it costs a lot of money (and a lot of time), but that he hopes to create an environment in DEEP for ex-PRIDE fighters to participate in.

Topics: HERO's, Japan, K-1, Media, MMA, PRIDE, UFC, Zach Arnold | 20 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |

20 Responses to “Open media post (10/5)”

  1. Sam Scaff says:

    DEEP, Shooto, Pancrase, etc, etc, are all such small time shows.

    I never got why Pride had so much money to throw around and these orgs seem to have none (as well as little interest in international talent).

    Was Pride really getting all of its money from the Yakuza? Because that would explain it.

  2. catch says:

    Well, there is that according to Frank Trigg on taggradio.com Fedor’s camp said he’s signed with M1 for 10 million, but nobody else has picked up on that, and he has been wrong before.

  3. I don’t want to be disrespectful to Frank and the other guys at Tagg Radio but I don’t even bother making a post for the rumors they start these days, I might make a mention in our morning column but that’s about it. They’ve been wrong so many times in the past two months. However it might not even be his fault, maybe he’s just receiving continual bad information.

  4. LR says:

    Actually, if anyone has any way of getting a hold on some of the guys on the No Limit Fighting card, I’d be interested in hearing what the hell is with the event? Diaz said he had no idea bout the fight with Mark Moreno, and I’m somewhat hesitant to believe the Monson fight, and a few of the others now.

  5. Rollo the Cat says:

    Cage Fury Fighting Championships is off again and his time for good. Thank God, because I didn’t need to see Tank v KImbo.

  6. shatterproof says:

    i just thought your choice of wording being that UFC ‘destroyed’ pride was funny. Pride destroyed itself, then sold for much less than it was worth in it’s peak to it’s biggest competition…

    Pride died by suicide.

  7. Meow says:

    Now we all know UFC is not gonna make it in Japan…
    I think the next big competition coming against UFC is gonna be EliteXC and his allies. Looks like EliteXC is building a real machine now, cant wait to see how it will turn out.

  8. Davide says:

    Interesting read by Bas Rutten here > http://www.triumphmma.com/index.php/Interviews/Bas-Rutten-As-Potent-As-Ever.html
    Sounds like Kimbo would have eaten Tank alive the way Bas talks.

  9. Tomer Chen says:

    Interesting read by Bas Rutten here > http://www.triumphmma.com/index.php/Interviews/Bas-Rutten-As-Potent-As-Ever.html
    Sounds like Kimbo would have eaten Tank alive the way Bas talks.

    To be fair, it doesn’t take too much besides avoiding Tank’s first punching onslaught and watching him gas out in 1-2 minutes (tops) to end up getting the “W”. Tank’s record since his return from the Rizzo KO loss shows that.

  10. Dedwyre says:

    That’s too bad. Kimbo vs. Tank would probably have drawn some interest. Plus, there were a few other names on the card who I would have been interested in.

  11. Adam Morgan says:

    CFFC 6 being cancelled is teh suck.

    I am interested to see how far Kimbo has come and also wanted to see Duke Roufus’ MMA debut and Ricardo Almeida back in the MMA world.

  12. Jeff Comstock says:

    CFFC canceling is disappointing in a month with need for marquee matches and Kimbo vs. Tank provided some interest if not importance.

    CFFC is a case of a local hit show trying to grow to big for its britches. Kimbo is the despite his lack of credentials the kind of fighter who draws alot of interest. It will be interesting to see where he lands.

  13. xx2000xx says:

    Because Kimbo is training under Bas and has even trained at Extreme Couture, do you think the stigma of Kimbo is fading and the UFC picks him up?

  14. Rollo the Cat says:

    “Because Kimbo is training under Bas and has even trained at Extreme Couture, do you think the stigma of Kimbo is fading and the UFC picks him up?”

    NO

  15. 45 Huddle says:

    No Kimbo vs. Tank? I am so depressed. Tank is a cardio freak and this would have been a marathon 5 rounder!!

    As for Pride dying…. Who cares what the Japanese media thinks of it? Zuffa can’t get a TV contract there anyways, so everything else is pointless information. in a few years, when K-1 Hero’s has low ratings where they aren’t on a major network anymore, the Japanese market will basically be non-existent besides the Pancrase, DEEP, and Shooto type of organizations. It basically happened to Pro Wrestling there, and it will eventually happen to MMA.

    The funniest story going around the MMA blogs is how upset Matt Hamill is over the Bisping/Evans fight. It is borderline sensationalist. The UFC is completely desperate for anything that resembles a main event in November. The first 5+ ideas got nixed. Ortiz wouldn’t sign and Hamill is not ready for November. At that point, Zuffa has basically not choice but to put Bisping & Evans in a fight. Who cares what Bisping thinks. It has nothing to do with him. Zuffa is trying to salvage an event.

  16. 45 Huddle says:

    I was just checking my cable guide to see the price of the boxing fight tomorrow night. It was $50.

    When I was looking through the guide, it had “King of the Cage: Nude Tryouts”. I know KOTC has done this stuff for a while. However, you have to wonder when they will stop. in the long term, this stuff can not look good for the parent company: Pro Elite. Zuffa can’t be bothered with them because they are a small time promoter in comparison. However, if they get popular enough (through a reality show)…. And I am Dana White… I am smearing Pro Elite’s name in every interview I do…. Claiming they run a porn business and are a smut organization. Or if I am a company of similar size… I am doing the same thing.

    Just food for thought.

  17. Jeremy (not that Jeremy) says:

    Did UFC hire a guy basically on the strength of his appearance in a Kimbo Slice video?

    I’d imagine that there’s no stigma there. If they’re willing to negotiate with someone like Lesnar, then they’ll hire anyone that they think can bring a good fight.

  18. zenki says:

    Oh yeah huddle your right since its been going strong there for a good 10yrs.. 😛

  19. D. Capitated says:

    The HBO deal dying isn’t a shock. With nothing having been done in months and really, economically, it just not making sense at all for HBO, coming to an end like that is almost expected. I think that’s a bad thing for the UFC though, because if they’re dependent on Spike to keep pushing the sport forward, they’re on the wrong network. They’ll never get the lead in they need.

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