Is Pride for Sale? - MMAUniverse.com

Following this article from the wrestling observer, many fans and MMA news sources believe that the world’s number one MMA organisation could be up for sale:

"According to several different sources in both Japan and the United States, Dream Stage Entertainment has talked with various groups about selling the Pride Fighting Championships. Most of the prospective buyers are outside the country. Among them are a group from South Korea, as well as several different U.S. groups. It is believed WWE was approached and it is known UFC has been approached.”

wrestlingobserver.com

However this information has come from a Japanese source posting on MMA.tv, who claims that the facts are actually quite the opposite:

“Contrary to what other places have been reporting my sources in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan have informed me that the rumors about PRIDE being for sale are not true, the promotion has labelled this New Years show "Immortal" for a reason

Contrary to what the wrestling observer is reporting, Pride is not for sale.

The wrestling observer obviously has their facts mixed up. Instead of being for sale it seems that Pride has been receiving offers from various major organizations including television and other media outlets as well as several promoters of other sports within North America.

Apparently several high level American media mogul executives were in attendance for the Real Deal in Vegas and liked what they saw, this has created a bidding war for the rights to be associated with the PRIDE name-brand. DSE has been entertaining these offers not with the hopes of selling but instead hoping to get foreign backers to help invest in PRIDE on a global scale.

Pride is supposedly using Mike Tyson as leverage in order to convince those parties that have expressed interest, in order to create a Mike Tyson's world tour which is rumored to be an extraordinary event that will take place across the world with Iron Mike and several of Pride's top fighters taking on all comers from around the world.”

Posted by fatboy1fan on MMA.tv’s The Underground Forum

So far, we have yet to recover hard evidence whether The Wresting Observer has hit the nail on the head, or got the wrong end of the stick. But MMA Universe will keep you posted with all the latest.