Pro Elite & Dream Announce Partnership

[foundstarr]

Originally Posted by atj-lucko

I don't care what anyone says your right on. REP!!

Dana and the F brothers bought Pride first and foremost to get the fighters contracts that he wanted and bring them to the UFC, secondly to then to destroy Pride.

He and F brothers got on a plane put on a good acting job told the Japanese Pride will live on, they were lying, but that ok thats what smart businessmen do..

I gotta disagree, first off Dana was never going to run Pride. They were going to hire someone to run Pride.

Also google search Pride, read about its history. There was zero chance of that brand re-entering Japanese TV. Between mysterious deaths in high level positions and rumored Yajuza ties it was dead. Sure Zuffa was after contracts, but they clearly attempted to restart the organization. Pride was dead about a year before they even sold it to Zuffa. Seriously if you think differently, do the research and show me some well thought out arguements. The Dana bias does nothing to further the discussion.

[Gurry]

At a pre-fight press conference held on Saturday in Japan for Sunday’s DREAM.3, officials from both Dream and ProElite, Inc. announced a working relationship between the two promotions that will include sharing of fighters and referees, as well as co-promoted shows in the future.



“In the last year ProElite and EliteXC and other brands have made a lot of progress, and some of our progress is due in part to our relationship with FEG and now with Dream,” said ProElite executive William Kelly. “We are sharing fighters. We are sharing referees. We intend to do co-promotions with Dream both in Japan and in the U.S.”



Kelly also mentioned possibly taking co-promoted shows between Dream and EliteXC to places like England and Korea in the future. He commented on the strong relationship between ProElite and television giants CBS and Showtime, and indicated that they will work to present EliteXC and Dream co-promoted shows on the networks.



ProElite also announced the intention of opening offices in Japan, with the hopes of putting on an EliteXC show there at some point in the future.



On the current Dream card set to take place on Sunday, two EliteXC fighters are already competing, as Nick Diaz faces Katsuya Inoue and Eddie Alvarez squares off in the second round of the lightweight Grand Prix against Joachim Hansen.



ProElite executive and former ICON Sport owner T. Jay Thompson also mentioned names like Kimbo Slice, Jake Shields, Robbie Lawler, and Jason Miller as other U.S. stars that the promotion would like to introduce to Japanese fans in the future.



DREAM.3 takes place on May 11 and will broadcast live in the United States on HDNet.

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[smoogy]

Originally Posted by foundstarr

I gotta disagree, first off Dana was never going to run Pride. They were going to hire someone to run Pride.

Also google search Pride, read about its history. There was zero chance of that brand re-entering Japanese TV. Between mysterious deaths in high level positions and rumored Yajuza ties it was dead. Sure Zuffa was after contracts, but they clearly attempted to restart the organization. Pride was dead about a year before they even sold it to Zuffa. Seriously if you think differently, do the research and show me some well thought out arguements. The Dana bias does nothing to further the discussion.

What was the PRIDE brand really tainted by though, the alleged Yakuza ties or the incoming gaijin ownership? I get the impression that FUJI TV and the like simply didn't want to deal with Zuffa

[twankydawg]

Originally Posted by smoogy

What was the PRIDE brand really tainted by though, the alleged Yakuza ties or the incoming gaijin ownership? I get the impression that FUJI TV and the like simply didn't want to deal with Zuffa

Pride lost their network TV deal because of alledged ties to the Yakuza, not because the Japanese didn't/don't like Zuffa.

Edit: Them losing their network TV deal was what killed Pride and had them looking to sell. Zuffa was just dumb enough to buy them without enough due diligence. That's why they are suing them now.

[smoogy]

Originally Posted by twankydawg

Pride lost their network TV deal because of alledged ties to the Yakuza, not because the Japanese didn't/don't like Zuffa.

Technically they lost it because of a negative tabloid campaign against them, but I'm talking about why they were unable to get a TV deal after the purchase when they tried

[Ramma]

Just one more name to add to the Pro Elite partnership.

Honestly, as long as DREAM puts on good shows, I don't care who they partner with.

[maxp84z]

Originally Posted by Ramma

Just one more name to add to the Pro Elite partnership.

Honestly, as long as DREAM puts on good shows, I don't care who they partner with.

Agreed and that all includes the Yakuza.

[foundstarr]

Originally Posted by smoogy

Technically they lost it because of a negative tabloid campaign against them, but I'm talking about why they were unable to get a TV deal after the purchase when they tried

I wouldn't rule out Zuffa being an American company as part of the reason. In Japan its almost impossible to own property, if you are from outside the country especially if your American. Also their TV and corporate world is run very very differently then here.

I still think Pride was done regardless of who bought them.

[twankydawg]

Originally Posted by smoogy

Technically they lost it because of a negative tabloid campaign against them, but I'm talking about why they were unable to get a TV deal after the purchase when they tried

I think the Pride name was tainted at that point. Not to mention the fact that Zuffa isn't a Japanese company so there is no telling how hard it would be for them to incorporate and do business in Japan. It probably wasn't worth the trouble or honestly, they could've bought it with no intent of doing anything but dissolving their biggest rival, and taking their library and fighters for the benefit of the UFC.

[twankydawg]

Originally Posted by Gurry

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Dude, this has already been posted.