The Grapevine: A little look behind the scenes of the UFC / Pride merger…

Disclaimer: Please bear in mind that this information has been gathered from a badly translated RUMOUR that was found on a Japanese website. Source: Miruhon.net

Word on the street in Japan is that Zuffa’s sensational buy-out of Pride FC may not be as clear cut as it first appears.

Japanese insiders claim that Zuffa only part owns Pride FC and actually hold a minority share in the company.

It is RUMOURED that Japanese television company Tokai Television own over 50% of Pride FC, and Zuffa bought in for the rights to use the Pride FC name, brand, footage / image library, as well as association with the show and it’s fighters.

Tokai TV is part of Fuji Television, the television network that was Pride’s former sponsor and provider of free to air TV… So effectively Fuji TV, who dropped Pride because of it’s alleged Yakuza connections, now have majority control over the event itself.

Allegedly, considerable propaganda was brought in to play which fed information and disinformation through several channels on the internet in the lead up to the merger, including the reported $60,000,000 price tag.

Tokai allegedly allowed the UFC to state that they had taken over the Pride organisation and a unified global network had been formed for the benefit of Pride Fighting Championships; so as to convince the fans that the event's tradition and heritage was still upheld.