- SPIKE TV TO START AIRING "BEST OF PRIDE FC"
Monday, August 10, 2009 - by MMAWeekly.com Staff
Spike TV on Monday announced a new weekly mixed martial arts series. “Best of Pride Fighting Championships” will premier on Sunday, Jan. 11, at 11 p.m. ET/PT, featuring bouts from the now defunct fighting organization owned by Zuffa, LLC, the parent company of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.
Word of the series first came to light when UFC President Dana White mentioned it at his Fight Club Q&A session at UFC 101 on Friday.
Hosted by Kenda Perez, the series features past and present UFC champions among the legendary MMA combatants that includes Chuck Liddell, Anderson Silva, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Dan Henderson, Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic, Wanderlei Silva, Fedor Emelianenko, Josh Barnett, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Mark Coleman, Frank Trigg, Hidehiko Yoshida, Akihro Gono, and Takanoro Gomi.
“As the destination for the best mixed martial arts on television, Spike TV is always looking for ways to give fight fans more of the incredible action and competition they crave,” said Kevin Kay, president, Spike TV.
Pride held more than 60 mixed martial arts events during a decade of operation including the largest live MMA event audience record of over 70,000 people in August 2002. Zuffa, LLC purchased Pride in March 2007.
About time they start getting their 60 million dollar library going.
SwishaSlim - About time they start getting their 60 million dollar library going.
+1
Cool can't wait.
i'm guessing these will be really edited down and overlayed with interviews of former Pride fighters who are now in the UFC. i cant see Spike or the UFC showing complete fights with Bas and Mauro as the sole audio.
PatrickFreitas - i'm guessing these will be really edited down and overlayed with interviews of former Pride fighters who are now in the UFC. i cant see Spike or the UFC showing complete fights with Bas and Mauro as the sole audio.
And with any luck we can get them to edit out the fighters music and add something from the UFC undisputed soundtrack
WTF? Sakuraba fought in the UFC and they leave his name out of the press release?
This is cool, but it leaves me wondering why?
DROC
Well, I like the host:
Interesting that Fedor's name is mentioned in the list. I would have guessed he would have been completely blackballed.
Here's what's up on SpikeTV - http://www.spike.com/blog/spike-shows-its/84914:
Spike TV officially announced today that it will air The Best of Pride Fighting Championships series starting January 11, 2010 at 11pm.<!-- pagebreak -->
The weekly one-hour series, to be hosted by beautiful Kenda Perez, will feature the best and most memorable fights in the history of Pride.
Between the years of 1997 and 2007, Pride FC was considered one of the world's top mixed martial arts promotions and it was hotly contested that Pride housed the world's toughest fighters. A hefty claim, but with guys like Chuck Liddell, Anderson Silva, Dan Henderson, and Akihro Gono, they had the muscle to back up their story. Pride made its home in Japan, where the phenomenon of mixed martial arts caught on long before it made its way to the States.
Setting the world record for MMA attendance at 70,000 in August of 2002, Pride was a world super power in the realm of MMA but allegations of fixed fights and other shady business deals running rampant at the highest level of its management proved be the demise of the organization. In March of 2007 Pride was purchased by Zuffa, LLC (parent company to UFC).
Spike is now proud to bring this crucial piece of MMA history to network television. For the first time millions of fans will get the chance to see the framework that helped build up some of today's biggest matchups. The new exposure will offer valuable context to a growing sport and the early supporters should enjoy of a bit of welcomed nostalgia.
SwishaSlim -PatrickFreitas - i'm guessing these will be really edited down and overlayed with interviews of former Pride fighters who are now in the UFC. i cant see Spike or the UFC showing complete fights with Bas and Mauro as the sole audio.
And with any luck we can get them to edit out the fighters music and add something from the UFC undisputed soundtrack
oh man. i wanna hear CroCop coming out to Duran Duran. and i would love it more if they left the Pride theme IN! best event music ever. sounded epic, even olympic. so much better than that "you're gonna git knocked out!" crap.
My guess is that they are going to try to build up the name so that they can have shows in Japan but have them on PPV in the US.
Zedlepln - Pride FC was considered one of the world's top mixed martial arts promotions and it was hotly contested that Pride housed the world's toughest fighters. A hefty claim, but with guys like Chuck Liddell, Anderson Silva, Dan Henderson, and Akihro Gono , they had the muscle to back up their story.
lol at this top 4 of PRIDE.
and so the revision of history has begun.
Fox Sports tried this back when Pride was Pride and it didn't go so well. Thank god Jay Glazer won't be the host and hopefully they show unedited fights.
will Fedor be in it?
Why is Kendra Perez hosting this show?
TheVileOne - Why is Kendra Perez hosting this show?...because it's on SpikeTV. You've got questions? They've got manswers.
Interesting that they picked a Sunday time slot, although Jan 11 is a Monday.
Zedlepln -TheVileOne - Why is Kendra Perez hosting this show?...because it's on SpikeTV. You've got questions? They've got manswers.
LOL!!!