They bought the UFC for 2 million apparently, how much did the WEC cost?
Anyone know?
UFC President Dana White recently announced his intentions of bringing the WEC to Pay Per View, with the first PPV event to likely feature Mike Brown vs. Urijah Faber 2 during the summer of 2009, at a price of $39.95.
$39.95....Dish Network
Less then $64,000,000.
Is that what PRIDE cost?
crowbar - Less then $64,000,000.
I can`t remember exactly,but it was in between 50,000,000 & 70,000,000
You do realize that # is 64 MILLION right?
There is no way in hell Pride cost that.
voorhees - You do realize that # is 64 MILLION right?
There is no way in hell Pride cost that.
Actually it was around $65 mil.
http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/news/story?id=2814235
cbia -voorhees - You do realize that # is 64 MILLION right?
There is no way in hell Pride cost that.
Actually it was around $65 mil.
http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/news/story?id=2814235
LOL @ that article. Pretty much everything "the real lorenzo" said turned out to be a load of shit. But the funniest thing was the 2 comments at the end from wide-eyed fans, like me at the time, expecting ALL the top Pride fighters to duke it out with the UFC champs. So really, it's LOL @ myself and all the other fanboys... thanks for a good laugh, cbia.
But seriously, $65M was the official cost. How much did Pride's "silent partners" get off the books?
Has it been worth it to Zuffa? I don't know the numbers, but they've been doing great the last few years. Killing off their only rival at the time, who were making inroads (or at least trying to get a foothold) in the US, made business sense for sure. So I'm guessing it does... but those "dream" matchups have been disappointing, to put it mildly.
but those "dream" matchups have been disappointing, to put it mildly.
Why where they dissapointing?
Wrong guy won?
^ yes, that's part of it. By the time Chuck-Wandy happened it was like who cares, their stock was way down.
also so many Pride (or PED as I call them) guys were busts or quite disappointing in the cage - CroCop, Shogun, Wandy, Nog, Herring
and the actual "dream" matches we got were mediocre at best - Chuck-Wandy, Chuck-Rampage.
plus NOT being able to sign Fedor or the big Japanese names.
really only Anderson & Rampage have made a big, positive impact in the UFC.
enough disappointment for ya?
But it's water under the bridge, and I can genuinely laugh at it all, especially seeing funny-in-retrospect articles like the one in ESPN. I think it's cool that the "home-grown" talent has outshined the Pride imports. That's why I could give 2 shits about Dream or any other Japanese promotion for the most part.
Thumblock - ^ yes, that's part of it. By the time Chuck-Wandy happened it was like who cares, their stock was way down.Chuck/Wand was any thing but mediocre, go watch that fight again. and FYI Anderson was already the UFC champ way before Pride was bought out. Plus Rampage came from the WFA purchase and was fighting in the UFC before Pride was sold. But you're right the fighters that came from the Pride acquisition they have all been a flop besides Nog. Henderson has been solid, but Shogun, Cro Cop, Wand, Soku, Nakamura, Werdum, and Aurelio have all been huge busts.
also so many Pride (or PED as I call them) guys were busts or quite disappointing in the cage - CroCop, Shogun, Wandy, Nog, Herring
and the actual "dream" matches we got were mediocre at best - Chuck-Wandy, Chuck-Rampage.
plus NOT being able to sign Fedor or the big Japanese names.
really only Anderson & Rampage have made a big, positive impact in the UFC.
enough disappointment for ya?
But it's water under the bridge, and I can genuinely laugh at it all, especially seeing funny-in-retrospect articles like the one in ESPN. I think it's cool that the "home-grown" talent has outshined the Pride imports. That's why I could give 2 shits about Dream or any other Japanese promotion for the most part.
i think 3 hohos and a abazaba plus a pack of cools
Over 9000!
cbia -voorhees - You do realize that # is 64 MILLION right?
There is no way in hell Pride cost that.
Actually it was around $65 mil.
http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/news/story?id=2814235
Actually, it wasn't and your link doesn't confirm your claim:
"Company executives declined to comment on the sales price, but a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press that brothers Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta will purchase the Japan-based Pride for less than $70 million. The person was not authorized to speak to reporters and spoke on condition of anonymity."
Any figure below $70 million can be claimed by anyone. What is your source for the $65 million figure? Thanks.
Cindy
CindyO -cbia -voorhees - You do realize that # is 64 MILLION right?
There is no way in hell Pride cost that.
Actually it was around $65 mil.
http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/news/story?id=2814235
Actually, it wasn't and your link doesn't confirm your claim:"Company executives declined to comment on the sales price, but a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press that brothers Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta will purchase the Japan-based Pride for less than $70 million. The person was not authorized to speak to reporters and spoke on condition of anonymity."
Any figure below $70 million can be claimed by anyone. What is your source for the $65 million figure? Thanks.
Cindy
It was all over the internet at the time. If it was for $10 do you think the source I provided was still going to say Under $70 mil? If it was for $55 mil don't you think they would have put under $60 mil in the article?
I'm not 100% sure that 65 million came out of Dana or Lorenzo's mouth, but there were a number of reputable websites making the claim. Still not saying with a 100% certainty the $65 mil was spot on.
Here what a quick search was able to pull up (no I am not saying all of these are reputable - but if you type in ufc pride 65 million - there are a ton of folks making this claim):
http://www.ufcmedia.com/ufc-buy-pride-for-65-million.html
http://mmamania.com/2007/03/19/ufc-owners-fertittas-purchase-pride-fc-for-65-million/
I also remember an article from Sherdog (can't find it though), that said Pride wanted 60-65 mil. That was when other parties were interested in the purchase.
Bottom line is that no one has an 100% accurate number, unless you work for Zuffa, close to Dana/Fertitas, worked for DSE, or close to Sakakibara. I wonder why, if the 65 mil range was inaccurate, Zuffa didn't publicly come out and say so (even without giving the exact amount)?
Here is another source CindyO. Yes I know it's wiki, but this particular section has a reference (mma weekly).
Dissolution
A buyout of the company by Zuffa, the operators of UFC, had been rumored since late 2006, but on 26 March 2007, Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta held a press conference in Japan alongside PRIDE F.C. Executive Nobuyuki Sakakibara, announcing the complete buyout of PRIDE F.C. and all of its assets by Zuffa (sources close have indicated the buyout to be slightly under $70 million USD). While little official information has been released following the buy-out, it is presumed that DSE will fold and PRIDE F.C. will be operated by the newly created parent company, PRIDE F.C. Worldwide. [3]
IrishLew -Alright, I'll go watch it again.Thumblock - ^ yes, that's part of it. By the time Chuck-Wandy happened it was like who cares, their stock was way down.Chuck/Wand was any thing but mediocre, go watch that fight again. and FYI Anderson was already the UFC champ way before Pride was bought out. Plus Rampage came from the WFA purchase and was fighting in the UFC before Pride was sold. But you're right the fighters that came from the Pride acquisition they have all been a flop besides Nog. Henderson has been solid, but Shogun, Cro Cop, Wand, Soku, Nakamura, Werdum, and Aurelio have all been huge busts.
also so many Pride (or PED as I call them) guys were busts or quite disappointing in the cage - CroCop, Shogun, Wandy, Nog, Herring
and the actual "dream" matches we got were mediocre at best - Chuck-Wandy, Chuck-Rampage.
plus NOT being able to sign Fedor or the big Japanese names.
really only Anderson & Rampage have made a big, positive impact in the UFC.
enough disappointment for ya?
But it's water under the bridge, and I can genuinely laugh at it all, especially seeing funny-in-retrospect articles like the one in ESPN. I think it's cool that the "home-grown" talent has outshined the Pride imports. That's why I could give 2 shits about Dream or any other Japanese promotion for the most part.
I know Anderson & Rampage were not brought in as a result of the acquisition, but they are Pride guys b/c that's where they established their reputations. And their jumping ship played a part in the demise of Pride. Obviously losing broadcast TV in Japan was the big reason.
I heard they paid some beads and a few blankets. No wait, that was when someone bought Manhattan.
cbia -
Here is another source CindyO. Yes I know it's wiki, but this particular section has a reference (mma weekly).
Dissolution
A buyout of the company by Zuffa, the operators of UFC, had been rumored since late 2006, but on 26 March 2007, Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta held a press conference in Japan alongside PRIDE F.C. Executive Nobuyuki Sakakibara, announcing the complete buyout of PRIDE F.C. and all of its assets by Zuffa (sources close have indicated the buyout to be slightly under $70 million USD). While little official information has been released following the buy-out, it is presumed that DSE will fold and PRIDE F.C. will be operated by the newly created parent company, PRIDE F.C. Worldwide. [3]
I'm trying not to cross a line here but there are court records available to the public (try PACER and/or Wiznet-IIRC) that will explain some things that happened pertaining to thie sale and you'll understand why the purchase wasn't in the $65 million neighborhood. I think there are 3 cases filed with the court (could be more by now but I haven't kept up with it).
I can only tell you that at the end of the day, it wasn't close to $65 million. People like to laugh about how Lorenzo and Frank were STOOOOOOPID for paying such an insane amount for basically a library and a name... but they aren't because they didn't.
There isn't (to my knowledge) a single reputable source citing $65 mil as the purchase price... then or now. They can only speculate because they DON'T know and are simply using a figure someone spit out on the condition they could remain anonymous.
People accept the rumor because the buyers won't disclose what they did pay therefore speculation is all they have to go by, which is understandable.
How much do you think Zuffa paid for the WEC (I have no idea... just trying to get the thread back on track) =)
Cindy