FEG: "We're Declaring War on the UFC and WWE"

[Turd Ferguson]

DREAM, which not too long ago seemed like they were on the brink of extinction and on the verge of going the way of PRIDE, found a major lifeline in a Chinese Investment Bank. Today, they outlined the deal, and their future plans. They want to become what PRIDE was. In addition to all of this, they want to create a World Cup of Fighting. THAT would be entertaining as hell.

DREAM and K-1 promoter FEG announced Friday that it is entering a partnership with Shanghai-based investment bank PUJI Capital that could be worth 20 billion yen ($230 million).

K-1 President Sadaharu Tanikawa stressed that FEG had not been sold and in fact it will now be setting its sights much higher.

"This is a declaration of war against the WWE and UFC. From Asia, we will take the world," Tanikawa stated.

Tanikawa admitted that expansion to American soil would be futile at this stage and under the watchful eye of K-1 creator Kazuyoshi Ishii, they will set their sights on the rest of the world.

"Mr. Ishii is completely supporting us. We won't stand a chance in the American market so we will spread to the rest of the world."

Tanikawa stated that changes should start from 2011 and that Japanese events will continue with K-1 on Fuji TV and DREAM and K-1 MAX on TBS. PUJI will not be involved with the day to day operations regarding the actual promotions but will instead be in charge of fund raising and leading the global expansion. and have forecast that they will gather 20 billion yen ($230 million).

A call for a drastic change in Japanese MMA has been needed since the collapse of PRIDE, even Tanikawa admitted himself.

"When K-1 and PRIDE were competing against each other, 80% of the martial arts market was in Japan. It is now the opposite and Japan is only 20%. We were worried that Japan would be left behind if we let this continue, it is unacceptable. We needed to change our business model."

"We've let Dana White get a lead on us. Before (Shinya) Aoki beats (Gilbert) Melendez, we must win as promoters."

DREAM EP Keiichi Sasahara, FEG's Korean representative and PUJI representative Michael Chen outlined the plan for global expansion but predictably sights are set firmly on Asia initially with Europe to follow with the US market described as too developed and not lucrative.

This could either be the dawn of a true #2 to the UFC, where Japan once again becomes a mecca for fighting, or it could be a colossal bust. I really want to see how this plays out. DREAM, not too long ago looked like they had a decent direction and they're still putting on really good fights. Hopefully they play it smart, because competition is always good and PRIDE, when it was in its prime, had some tremendous fighters on their roster. I doubt Japanese MMA will see a resurgence like that, but nonetheless, DREAM is going to emerge as a contender again.

I wonder how Dana will combat this. International expansion, especially in the Asian market, has been a major brand focus for the UFC in the past year, and now they suddenly have major competition with FEG trying to stake their claim to their territory. DREAM is undoubtedly going to hold shows in the Korean and Chinese markets, in addition to where they're already a recognized brand in Japan.

 

[jmt225]

I love it, I love it, I fucking love it.

Competition is awesome, man, and the fact is... MMA as a whole has suffered without Pride. Sure, the UFC has done a fantastic job growing the sport and making the spectacle it's become, but still... there's just something missing. And that something is a successful Japanese promotion who can put on big fights that make people care.

DREAM has actually had some shows like that... and then again, they've had some horrible shows. If they can somehow manage to grab some big names, then fuck... that would be AWESOME. Fuck Strikeforce, man... I'd much rather see their big names go to Japan, fight in a ring, and have DREAM be the 2nd biggest promotion in MMA. It would just feel right if that's the way it was. Nick Diaz could be DREAM's Wanderlei Silva, Overeem could be DREAM's Fedor (if they can't get Fedor back themselves), Aoki or Melendez could be DREAM's Takanori Gomi, etc. In a perfect MMA World, that how it would be.

And personally, I think Dana would prefer this as well over a company like Strikeforce trying to compete with them and getting a fucking CBS deal and all that mess. Dana won't mind competition from Overseas.

 

[ITurnGirlsGay]

I still don't see what the WWE has to do with their expansion of MMA. Let's be real, NEITHER of these companies could touch the WWE. They don't have the pockets or the notoriety. If I were DREAM, I would simply focus on making their company the second largest MMA company in the globe and not worry about what the UFC and WWE are doing. To be honest, I believe the REAL reason that many of these smaller promotions are failing is because they care TOO much about what the UFC is doing and so they fuck themselves. Tom Attencio heard that the UFC wasn't paying their fighters enough, so solution was to pay the fighter WAY TOO MUCH. They folded. EliteXC saw that the UFC couldn't get on network TV, so they put themselves on network TV without a solid product and once their main (and only even though he shouldn't have been) draw lost, they folded. Strikeforce actually has a great stable of fighters, but they are shooting themselves in the foot with title matches that make NO FUCKING sense. Stupid fights on national television, mismanaging their stable of fighters, and cutting promos that clearly favor one fighter & then that fighter loses (Henderson v. Shields). If DREAM can just "do them" as I like to say, they'll be fine. They'll collapse just like everyone else, though, if they worry about what the UFC is doing and ESPECIALLY what the WWE is doing. People need to learn, you CANNOT tell Dana what you're going to do, he has the money to do it first, and if you DO tell him what you're going to do, don't be surprised if he does it first and then rubs it in your face.