Dana White comments on the revival of PRIDE:
"You never know, anything is possible," said White when asked if he’d consider hosting an event or two in a ring under the PRIDE brand.
"I don’t want to say the PRIDE name is dead. It’s still a strong powerful brand. But the reality is that us running PRIDE in Japan, that completely fell apart."
HT: canoe.ca
about 2 years ago
Nick Thomas
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“But the reality is that us running PRIDE in Japan, that was just bullshit to mollify the fans.”
Fixed
Do you seriously believe that?
You think they paid $60MM just to get a tape library and kill the brand?
Given Zuffa’s obsession with globalization, I find it hard to believe they bought the dominant MMA brand in the Pacific Rim with no intention of using it to expand into that region. Zuffa-Pride failed because they were completely unequipped to deal with the barriers to entry in the Japanese market, not because of some Machiavellian plan to destroy the brand.
by Steve4192 on Jan 24, 2010 8:17 AM EST up reply actions 4 recs
I think the main thing Zuffa wanted to do was acquire a long list of top ten talent in one deal. The fighters were the best asset in that deal, not the acquisition of the PRIDE brand.
1) They didn’t pay 60 million, not even close.
2) Who said there was a machiavellian plan to destroy the brand?
3) Regardless of their stated intent, they knew PRIDE was dead to rights on Japanese TV. So all their proclamations about doing a PRIDE vs. UFC “superbowl” really were a bunch of half-baked pipedreams they never seriously believed they could follow through on.
How did it do that? Japanese MMA fans hated the idea of a US company coming in to Japan to start with and the vast majority of US fans didn’t know or care about Pride anyway. Are you trying to say that the UFC did it just to mollify the handful of internet Pride fans that hate everything the UFC does anyway, because that really would be silly.
Of course they brought Pride so they could move into the Japanese market, they have been focusing on global expansion for years now and Japan is a huge market for MMA. The problem was that Zuffa didn’t have a clue about how hard the Japanese market is for outside companies to break in to or just what a mess Pride was actually in when they bought it.
by who me on Jan 24, 2010 10:40 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Reviving PRIDE isn’t worth it – everyone would bitch about how it isn’t the same, Zuffa ruined it, etc. Let it lie in peace.
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better. -Samuel Beckett
by Scott C. Broussard on Jan 24, 2010 12:26 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
who would complain ? us hard core fans who make up about 1% of Zuffas business. I think if they did it correct and waited to the write moment becasue timing is every thing Zuffa could possibly pull it off. I don’t know if it would be a thing to stay but I could see them playing around and trying a few shows to see how fans react and the numbers it pulls in. Now thats in the U.S If they try to bring it back to Japan I really don’t know how it would go ? Another thing if they ever did bring it back in the U.S it would suck not having no Stomps, Soccer kicks, and Knees to the head on the ground, and lets not forget it would not feel the same if they did not have and I hope Zuffa would bring back Takada in his diaper playing his bongo drum and Lenne Hardt announcing. I can only dream
This is retarded and also not happening
Mark it 8 Dude.
by Earl Montclair on Jan 24, 2010 12:38 AM EST reply actions
no one would really accept a revived pride as actually pride anyway so it really serves no purpose to do so
2010 Pride = 2010 ECW
Mark it 8 Dude.
by Earl Montclair on Jan 24, 2010 12:55 AM EST up reply actions 2 recs
Pride lives on in the UFC. Henderson lost both his belts to UFC champs.
"If your going to come on then come on!" - Harold Howard
Explain exactly how guys who used to fight in Pride now fighting anywhere else means that Pride still lives on? Pride didn’t train fighters they just wrote them paychecks for a while. Some guys used to get a check from Pride and now they work somewhere else, you wouldn’t say “Woolworth lives on” because your Grandmother worked at one when she was young so why would you say it about Pride just because their fighters have moved on to something else? Do you say “Cage Rage lives on” because Anderson Silva used to fight there too?
by who me on Jan 24, 2010 11:15 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
it is revived, and improved
and called UFC
by nostraboris on Jan 24, 2010 1:43 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
i will only get excited if they resign the lady announcer to yell everyones names
"The greatest enemy will hide in the last place you would ever look." - Revolver
by flyingkneetoface on Jan 24, 2010 2:53 AM EST reply actions
i stil catch myself sometimes saying “WAAANNNDDERRRRRLLLEEEIIIIII SILLLLLVVVVVAAAAA”…in public
"The greatest enemy will hide in the last place you would ever look." - Revolver
by flyingkneetoface on Jan 24, 2010 3:02 AM EST up reply actions
Imagine if they bred her with Bruce Buffer…the kid could crack concrete with that voice.
by iTap on Jan 24, 2010 5:54 AM EST up reply actions 4 recs
Probably won’t even happen, but I’d like to see UFC bring back some of the show that PRIDE was. Even pro boxers these days have more ‘bling’ in their entrances than UFC fighters. A little pyro, a choice selection of video clips running on screens during walk-in… it might do wonders for the atmosphere.
by Monday Morning Martial Artist on Jan 24, 2010 6:13 AM EST reply actions
I remember Pride had these really cool anime pieces to get the audience hyped. I would like to see the UFC try something like that.
"If your going to come on then come on!" - Harold Howard
I’m pretty sure that anime would not go over very well with the typical UFC crowd … and LOL at a Japanese audience getting ‘hyped’.
Besides, the UFC’s “Baba O’Reilly” hype video is already pretty damn effective at getting the crowd fired up.
by Steve4192 on Jan 24, 2010 10:08 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
That Baba Oreilly vid
is sick every single time. I always expect the experience to get old, but it’s just so well done. It’s amazing that they always get the crowd cheering for clips they’ve seen before to a song they’ve heard a million times. And I know this sentiment is played out, but they need to get the rights to that song so they can replace that fucking nu-metal gladiator intro.
"Someone is WRONG on the internet. What do you want me to do? LEAVE? Then they'll keep being wrong!"
-Randall Munroe
I don’t really see the point of this. Maybe if it’s easier for Zuffa and their fighters to get started in Japan using the Pride banner it makes sense. And maybe a successful Pride can force/“encourage” Dream and SRC to improve their product, so that might be a good thing.
on the other hand, the whining from the pride fanboys about how this isn’t really pride is sure to be entertaining, so it might be worth doing just for that.
The only reason to try and revive Pride would be if you were expanding into Japan and it really looks like that isn’t going to happen any time soon. I mean seriously the brand has very little name value outside of Japan (particularly now), Zuffa is always going to use a cage and the unified rules and I can’t see Zuffa running an event with pro wrestling style theatrics and ring entrances inside of North America or Europe. A Zuffa run North American Pride event would be the exact same as a Zuffa run North American UFC event but it would have a different name on the cage, what’s the point?
Rebrand and revamp WEC into PRIDE. Seriously, I cant believe Zuffa would keep “Extreeeeeme” in that name.
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\FLAMESHIELD!!!////////////////
Mauricio Shogun Rua #1 LHW in the World. The TRUE Champion.
Mike Goldberg: "You know Joe, When Matt and his brother Mark Hughes were growing up, they would pound each other behind the barn."
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