UPDATE!!!!!.....UFC/PRIDE SALE 3/22 What do guys think about the merger?

Question

Update About The PRIDE/UFC Sale...

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is brand new article on the top of ufcjunkie.com.......


Report: Boss Tells PRIDE Employees Company Is Being Sold to UFC’s Fertittas
Posted by UFC Junkie on March 22, 2007 at 8:45 pm ET
Dave Meltzer from Wrestling Observer, one of the best and most-informed members of the MMA media, has some major news regarding the rumored sale of PRIDE Fighting Championships to Frank and Lorenzo Fertittas, the primary owners of the Ultimate Fighting Championships. According to Meltzer, PRIDE employees have been notified of a pending sale.

Additionally, PRIDE boss Nobuyuki Sakakibara has told his employees he is leaving the company but that all of their jobs are safe.

From Wrestling Observer:

Nobuyuki Sakakibara yesterday told several members of the U.S. Pride staff that the company is in the [process] of being sold to Lorenzo & Frank Fertitta. He said the a

Answer 1

Holy ****! That would be awesome. We'd see some mouthwatering fights with both combined.

Answer 2

This will be wonderful for MMA. However, more expensive for the consumer. If we're paying $40 per show to see around 3 top quality fights in the UFC, what will they charge for 6 top quality fights? They'll make the fights more expensive or more often, which might hurt PPV sales. Right now the fighters make very little money in comparison to what each event brings in and hopefully that will change.

I've heard D. White say that if the UFC aquires Pride, they will remain separate entities. However, If contracts are handled the way they were when the WEC was aquired, we'll be able to enjoy the fantasy match-ups we've all been arguing over. That being said, what will happen to undercards? I personally would rather pay for for a quality card than more often for UFC's current level of cards. I really hope they hang on the the Pride tournament format. How sweet would it be if they kicked the new format off with an open weight tournament!?

Answer 3

I think this will have it's ups and it's downs. On one side the Talent level by no means is dropping. The fights are going to be awesome. But I think after the merger they owners are going to have to come up with a way of getting more fights to the public. As it is right now you pay forty bucks a month to watch 5 fights, and the big name fighters only fight 3 or 4 times a year.....and that might be stretching it now that the pool of fighters is going to double.

Hopefully as the "fastest growing sport" continues to grow, they can get a full time tv contract worth enough money to warrant a weekly or bi-weekly contest. Similiar to WWE. Hopefully they can pick up sponsors and what not, and we won't have to pay 40 bucks a month anymore. As it is now I look forward to the UFC fight nights more than I do the PPVs just because I don't have to pay 40 bucks for it. Hopefully Dana and the Fertittas Brothers can get some sort of deal worked out soon.

Answer 4

Yes this is good because hopefully Pride will get a new matchmaker and we will not see anymore "freak" matches, but it pains me to say this is bad because I don't want to see more commercialism in PrideFC. When I pay $40 for a pay per view I DO NOT want to see movie trailers/commercials, constant product pitching. When I order Pride 33: the second coming I saw all 9 fights on the fightcard, when I ordered UFC 68 I saw 5 and if I wanted to see the rest I would have to pay $1.99 per fight and the way the UFC ON DEMAND is setup unless you have a unlimited monthly membership then you can download the fight (for $1.99) but you dont even get to keep it because it is programmed to delete itself after 4 weeks. The UFC is huge and makes tons of money and the fact they are trying to pinch every nickle and dime outta me the fan pisses me off! at least UFC 70 is gonna be free on SpikeTV, but I bet we dont get to see any pre-lims because every second on non-main card action will be sold garanteed.

Answer 5

It is good news because we will finally get to see the "superfights" that we have dreamed of. Wanderlei Silva vs Chuck Liddell being one of the tastiest.

From what I have been hearing the two companies will stay seperated much like the WEC (ZUFFA owned) and the UFC are.

We might even get to see some UFC Lightweight fighters participate in the upcoming Pride Lightweight Grand Prix.

Answer 6

This can "Only" be better for the sport.

But it is more fun to have two groups and have events featuring competitions between both orgs.