Pride explains the Wanderlei Silva/Chuck Liddell deal
Dana White and the UFC refuse to talk to Sherdog.com and the other MMA media, so Sherdog.com editor Josh Gross did the logical thing. Gross asked Pride officials to explain the thinking behind their deal to have Wanderlei Silva fight Chuck Liddell in the UFC. Not surprisingly, Pride thinks it is getting the better end of the deal:
Though many on the outside saw Fuji TV's severed relationship with PRIDE as the death knell for the promotion, those on the inside believed that a unique opportunity had presented itself.
No longer hamstrung by television executives that often had as much say in matchmaking as PRIDE officials, DSE was free to do what it wished.
Believing the UFC holds an estimated 70 to 80 percent of the American market share, said the same PRIDE official, the promoter had two options if it wanted to flourish while establishing itself in the U.S.: Strike a deal with the No. 1 company or partner with its competitors.
With new kids on the block -- Strikeforce, the World Fighting Alliance (which signed Jackson away from PRIDE) and the International Fight League (which continues to be embroiled in lawsuits with the UFC) -- and established events -- King of the Cage, et al -- grappling for the remaining market share, PRIDE moved for the latter.
That meant a serious discussion was underway to send one of the best fighters in the organization's history to battle someone of equal standing on the other side of the world. Just a month ago, a deal was struck.
It's basic Marketing 101 stuff, said the PRIDE executive.
. . .
Relative to what it could gain -- an increased market share from 18 to somewhere near 25 percent, DSE said -- PRIDE appears to be risking very little.
Silva remains under exclusive PRIDE contract, meaning he fights where and when DSE officials tell him. The UFC will pay his purse in November. And a loss would not officially remove him from the belt.
The UFC, it seems, is the one gambling in this scenario.
It was widely reported that the UFC again topped the Yahoo! Buzz charts after Saturday's UFC 61 Pay-Per-View, yet few mentioned that because of his presence on the broadcast the number of searches on Wanderlei Silva increased an astronomical 444 percent -- head and shoulders the biggest gain of any search on Yahoo! related to the UFC.
For an organization that has struggled to market itself to the American audience, last weekend, from an awareness standpoint, may well have been worth the decision on its own.
Over the past six days Silva has received far more attention in the U.S. than he ever had before, and PRIDE is the company that will reap the early returns with its Open-Weight Grand Prix Pay-Per-View on September 10.
A few days ago I wondered "whether the UFC has financed its biggest competitor's foray into the UFC's dominant market (the U.S.) or if the UFC just bought control of a collapsing Pride and its roster." Well, the way Pride tells the story, it looks like it was the former.
Until White decides to talk to someone in the media to explain the UFC's thinking, the convetional wisdom will probably be that Pride strategically out-maneuvered UFC management.
The good new is that, regardless which promotion struck the better deal, the fans get to see a fight many thought would never happen.