It's Official!

NinjaShogunRua · #1 (**permalink**) 03-27-2007, 05:32 AM

www.pridefc.com

Quote:

On Tuesday, March 27th, at the Roppongi Hills Arena in Tokyo, PRIDE Executive Director Nobuhiko Takada and UFC President Dana White appeared together to announce that the two largest MMA organizations in the world, America's UFC and Japan's PRIDE FC, will finally come to blows.

Since the dawn of the sport, PRIDE FC and the UFC have continued to be the driving forces behind mixed martial arts. Under the new leadership of PRIDE owner Lorenzo Fertitta, the MMA world is one step closer to determining who truly is the world's toughest man. This momentous event will similarly resemble baseball's World Series, soccer's World Cup, and football's Super Bowl.

In addition, DSE President and CEO Nobuyuki Sakakibara announced that his resignation from PRIDE FC will take place immediately after PRIDE.34, scheduled to take place April 8th at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan. Lorenzo Fertitta will assume Mr. Sakakibara's responsibilities as PRIDE's new owner.

Details of the press conference will be posted here shortly, so stay tuned for updates!

FidgitUK · #2 (**permalink**) 03-27-2007, 05:37 AM

Wonder if we'll get a super showin 07

dagreat1 · #3 (**permalink**) 03-27-2007, 05:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NinjaShogunRua

www.pridefc.com

I would like to know who will assume marketing responsibilities be it Dana White, Millen, etc. and if Takada will stay onboard as well.

Cro Cop vs Fedor II will now be the largest topic of discussion and it will be interesting to see how long it will take for the American fans to adore Fedor. I don't see the fight happening in 07 and I hope to god they lock up Fedor in a contract and that bodog or K-1 do not get him as his talents will just go to waste and he will lose his step from having to fight underskilled competition.

NinjaShogunRua · #4 (**permalink**) 03-27-2007, 05:41 AM

Also, there is a live pbp of the press conference going on at Sherdog right now.

valheruking · #5 (**permalink**) 03-27-2007, 05:43 AM

yeah heres a bit
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Sherdog.com's Stephen Martinez reports live from Tokyo, Japan where it is expected that Dream Stage Entertainment will announce at a press conference that it has ceded control of the PRIDE Fighting Championships to UFC owners Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta.

5:27 Tokyo Time: Little movement on stage, which is a miniature version of the production PRIDE was famous for during shows at Saitama Super Arena. More than 1,000 fans are present at the Roppongi Hills Arena, along with a strong contingent of Japanese and International press. There are two big screens featuring PRIDE bouts.

5:44: PRIDE highlights continue to play on the giant televisions. The attitude in the area feels more like PRIDE is saying "thanks for everything" rather than promotion. Fedor Emelianenko's (Pictures) manager, Vadim Finkelstein is here.

5:55: Japanese fighters have begun to arrive. Recent fan favorite Shinya Aoki (Pictures), whose gogoplata victory over Joachim Hansen (Pictures) made the world know it was possible, as well as Ryo Chonan (Pictures), and leglock master Masakazu Imanari (Pictures) have started to file in.

6:02: Virtually all of the Japanese fighters who have participated in PRIDE throughout the organization's decade-long history appear to be here.

6:07: Ultimate Fighting Championship matchmaker Joe Silva has shown his face. He is the first UFC representative to appear at the press conference. This is the first indication that the rumor Sherdog.com first reported on March 19 is indeed true: DSE and Zuffa have agreed to a deal of some sort that would have the companies working together.

6:24: PRIDE CEO Noboyuki Sakakibara is addressing the media. It's heartbreaking. He talks about PRIDE's history and his goals during his tenure of the organization's boss after Naoto Morishita committed suicide on Dec. 31, 2002.

Sakakibara announced his resignation and has just introduced UFC co-owner and Station Casino magnate Lorenzo Fertitta. There is discussion of a mixed martial arts commission, which Fertitta will act as president. PRIDE will be run separately but under the umbrella of Zuffa, which also controls the WEC.

Sakakibara becomes very sentimental and says he will step down following PRIDE 34 on April 8.

dagreat1 · #6 (**permalink**) 03-27-2007, 05:45 AM

I would like to see them go out with a bang and add more fights to PRIDE 34 or replace some of the fights with some amazing fights.

dagreat1 · #7 (**permalink**) 03-27-2007, 05:52 AM

6:46: Current PRIDE president Nobuhiku Takada will remain with the new company. Takada has joined the stage, and begins to address the audience. Pride will run separate from UFC but under Lorenzo Fertitta, said the main who fought Rickson Gracie in the main event of the debut PRIDE Oct. 11, 1997.

Fertitta has the microphone and said PRIDE will continue world-wide. He discusses his love for the style of MMA PRIDE promoted, and wants to make the sport of MMA like baseball or soccer. Fertitta discusses a mixed martial arts "Super Bowl" with UFC fighters like Randy Couture (Pictures), Tim Sylvia (Pictures), Chuck Liddell (Pictures), Matt Hughes (Pictures), Diego Sanchez (Pictures), B.J. Penn (Pictures) facing PRIDE stars such as Fedor Emelianenko (Pictures), Wanderlei Silva (Pictures), Mauricio Rua (Pictures), Dan Henderson (Pictures), Shinya Aoki (Pictures), Tatsuya Kawajiri (Pictures), Takanori Gomi (Pictures) and Hayato Sakurai (Pictures).

Well that answers one of my questions... Takada is still on, good news because he is certainly needed for their continued success in Japan.

NinjaShogunRua · #8 (**permalink**) 03-27-2007, 05:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dagreat1

I would like to know who will assume marketing responsibilities be it Dana White, Millen, etc. and if Takada will stay onboard as well.

Cro Cop vs Fedor II will now be the largest topic of discussion and it will be interesting to see how long it will take for the American fans to adore Fedor. I don't see the fight happening in 07 and I hope to god they lock up Fedor in a contract and that bodog or K-1 do not get him as his talents will just go to waste and he will lose his step from having to fight underskilled competition.

It will be interesting to see how things unfold as far as who stays with the company. I'm pretty sure Millen will be on the outs. I'm also interested in seeing how they go about rule changes, if they do change any.

I'm with you on the Fedor thing. I don't want to see him sign with Bodog long term. There are many more matches for him to be had in PRIDE and in the UFC. I'm sure the Fertitta's will throw as much money his way as possible.

Dork8503 · #9 (**permalink**) 03-27-2007, 05:56 AM

wonder how long before millen is gone, probally right after 34, seeing that his is shit in the states, and they could get someone else to run it 10x better

NinjaShogunRua · #10 (**permalink**) 03-27-2007, 06:03 AM

6:56: Last year's PRIDE Open-Weight Grand Prix winner Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic says he wanted to come back and fight Fedor again in a recorded.

UFC president Dana White has come on stage and says that all mixed martial arts organizations are a joke next to UFC or PRIDE. White receives a good reception from Japanese fans. He is now talking about potential dream match-ups becoming a reality:

Fedor Emelianekno vs. Randy Couture (Pictures)
Takanori Gomi (Pictures) vs. Georges St. Pierre (Pictures)
Dan Hendereson vs. Anderson Silva
Chuck Liddell (Pictures) vs. Wanderlei Silva (Pictures)

Also official PRIDE 34 matches have been revealed:

Jeff Monson (Pictures) vs. Kazuyuki Fujita (Pictures)
Ikuhisa Minowa (Pictures) vs. Don Frye (Pictures)
Wanderlei Silva (Pictures) vs. TBD

7:02: Jeff Monson (Pictures) and Kazuyuki Fujita (Pictures) have appeared on stage and are being billed as the first UFC vs. PRIDE encounter. Fujita promises to crush the UFC.