Luis Cruz reporting…
For the fans and fighters, who is better off buying Pride FC? I have been split on my assessments of how it would play out ever since it was known. There is one person who firmly believes the right buyer is not the UFC, and he is none other than Ed Fishman. Mr. Fishman is, of course, the man on one side of the fence trying to purchase Pride. He currently is the President of Pride USA and is looking to turn it into full ownership. He’s been in the gaming industry for some time and owns numerous casinos. He admits he began acquainting himself with Pride about four years ago. He compared the company with others and came to the conclusion that the best fighters in the world were there.
I caught up with Mr. Fishman and spoke briefly with him about his thoughts on purchasing Pride and possibly going head to head with the UFC in that manner, he did not hold back his true feelings. The first thing we discussed was the possibility of the sport becoming a monopoly if the UFC were to be successful in the purchase. Mr. Fishman said that it could possibly lead to the main attraction fighters not receiving the paychecks they should be, because of the fact they only have one option of where they fight on a bigger stage. He feels the UFC would not give the fighters what they deserve because they will know there is no real competition to worry about.
Ed Fishman then goes on to talk about the direction he would take. “I would take it all over the world to different countries such as Macau, Russia, Europe, and other places. There are a dozen casinos that did not want the UFC but will have interest with Pride and myself. I have no intent on making a monopoly, just to find out who the best fighters in the world really are. I want to put on a “Super Bowl” of MMA with the UFC. I would throw out a challenge to them and put my money where my mouth is. It would be four divisions battling it out to determine the best fighters in the world [155lbs, 183[5] lbs, 205lbs, 206+] and the organization with the majority of wins taking the pot. So if we win three of the four we take the revenue. If they win three of four then I could be writing a twelve to fifteen million dollar check but I want to prove we are the best. I think the UFC knows where the best fighters truly fight at, which is why they gave Mirko [Filipovic] so much money to sign him.” I asked Mr. Fishman if he had watched the Elite XC card from the past weekend and what he thought of the female MMA bout that took place. “The fight was amazing and the ovation at the end was really great.” When I asked if he would consider a female division with full ownership of Pride he responded, “If the fans really wanted it, then yes I would. I believe most people should want it.”
With all the talk of Pride selling, it’s now become a waiting game for the fans and fighters and a battle of dollars and debate between the parties who want it. I called a few of the fighters from different organizations to get their take on this possibility and see who they would rather be successful with the ownership rights. With the promise of anonymity to the fighters, their identities will not be revealed. One fighter was very adamant about the negatives of a possible monopoly stating “It is already hard to make a career out of this without a side job unless you are Chuck [Liddell] or another UFC golden boy who get all the bread while the rest try and make ends meet. The pay has gotten better but it doesn’t take a genius to see that the pay and the companies revenue doesn’t add up.” Another current fighter added “I like options, if they don’t give me what I feel I deserve then I can go to a higher bidder. With one company running everything, that won’t be possible.
So with the war of dollars still going on, Ed Fishman has stated his case to the fans and to Pride in hopes of being the future owner of this large MMA organization and give the fans the match ups they truly want and have been waiting for – for a long time. I can only hope, along with the rest of the MMA world, for closure to this situation so we can all know where the future of Pride is heading. I also hope to have an ending that can see the fans get what they want and the fighters what they deserve.
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