I watch my old pride DVDs, and it seems like the stadiums were absolutely filled. Ever since pride was bought by UFC, demand seems like it crashed. Why do you think the Japanese market moved on? Did it really move on, or is it just untapped? 
I think it was a lack of Japanese stars. Japanese people are very nationalistic, if there arent alot of japanese stars in MMA, they wont watch.
yakuza happened
indianrob - I think it was a lack of Japanese stars. Japanese people are very nationalistic, if there arent alot of japanese stars in MMA, they wont watch.
Pride always felt like an attempt to create native Japanese stars, only to have then fed to wandy and fedor
mrwhipple - People will say it was fad, which may be true, but that doesn't really explain the complete collapse. There was still a demand at the end. Watered down dream which was a shadow of Pride still drew respectable ratings and gates at the beginning. What killed it was the taint of the Yakuza. The big channels refused to air MMA anymore and without the ad and TV money they couldn't put on the big shows the fans wanted. At that point it collapsed. Zach Arnold at Fightopinion has got some great rundowns that are much more detailed as to what happened.
I don't think many Westerners can relate to the feeling of shame and respect that are integral parts of Japanese culture.
Pride's association with the Yakuza was extremely dishonorable. To be associated with being a fan of an organization like that would be shameful and your peers would think less of you, something that cannot happen.
Bull_in_chinashop -mrwhipple - People will say it was fad, which may be true, but that doesn't really explain the complete collapse. There was still a demand at the end. Watered down dream which was a shadow of Pride still drew respectable ratings and gates at the beginning. What killed it was the taint of the Yakuza. The big channels refused to air MMA anymore and without the ad and TV money they couldn't put on the big shows the fans wanted. At that point it collapsed. Zach Arnold at Fightopinion has got some great rundowns that are much more detailed as to what happened.
I don't think many Westerners can relate to the feeling of shame and respect that are integral parts of Japanese culture.
Pride's association with the Yakuza was extremely dishonorable. To be associated with being a fan of an organization like that would be shameful and your peers would think less of you, something that cannot happen.
Very cool insight. This is why I love the UG
The Yakuza scandal caused the TV companies and sponsors to pull out, without them the entire industry died.
.
It was too thin to cut anymore weight
Organized crime.
Yakuza ran shit and then dipped. Are YOU going to have the balls to go onto their old territory/market and begin collecting the money that they used to make?
That could be VERY dangerous.
That is basically what happened. Which is why Dana used to talk a certain way about breaking back into the Japanese market..he knew/knows its dangerous. Though with enough time I think it's about to turn a corner. I think the market will come back. But if you are honestly wondering what happened to Japanese MMA market....it really comes down to organized crime....really bad guys stepped away...and people were scared to take their place because they could be killed for infringing.
Imagine Al Capone in the 30's...say he has been selling alcohol in your city for years...now imagine if he, due to circumstances..is forced to step away from your town for a while. Are you going to have the balls to begin selling alcohol in his old territory when you know he's still out there and willing to call a hit on principle if nothing else?
^ very good post. Why did the yakuza pull out? Seems like they were raking in the money.
The Yakuza scandal and PRIDE feeding Sakuraba to the wolves repeatedly and not having a "new Sakuraba" to carry the torch.