Koubousen Companion: News And Notes From Japan
PRIDE and UFC News
Jordan Breen Sep 8, 2006
Television and the Tyson effect
While Mike Tyson is being counted on as an important part of PRIDE's success in North America, Tyson may also play a role in Dream Stage Entertainment's goal to get PRIDE back on television in Japan.
There has been constant speculation over the future of Dream Stage
Entertainment and PRIDE ever since Fuji Television's termination of
their contract with DSE, effectively removing PRIDE from
television.
Now as Dream Stage Entertainment has at least ostensibly entered into a deal with the former heavyweight boxing champion Tyson, there is a growing interest in television companies in picking up PRIDE.
It is important to understand that many stories of this nature are mere promotional bluster, especially in light of the fact that it has been noted many times since K-1 entered into a partnership with Tyson a few years ago that the former champion boxer’s felony rap sheet may keep him from competing in Japan. However, if there is any substance to Tyson's deal with Dream Stage Entertainment, it could pay rich dividends back in Japan.
Tyson has long been a very popular figure in Japan since his dominance of the heavyweight division in the mid- to late-1980s, and still holds much allure for the Japanese public. A Japanese television broadcasting insider has been quoted as saying that Tyson in PRIDE is a very attractive offer for any broadcasting station, and that if he is able to compete in PRIDE in some fashion, Nippon TV may be the frontrunner in acquiring PRIDE's broadcasting rights.
Rising sun
The UFC has made recent use of Japanese fighters Yuki Sasaki (Pictures) and Yushin Okami (Pictures), and now Japanese BJJ ace Kuniyoshi Hironaka (Pictures) is scheduled to make his UFC debut at the next edition of UFC Fight Night on October 10, possibly against Jon Fitch (Pictures).
More Japanese fighters may be on their way.
UFC matchmaker Joe Silva recently conducted an interview with prominent Japanese MMA journalist Manabu Takashima for God Bless The Ring in which Silva discussed Japanese fighters in the UFC. Silva stated that he wanted to give more Japanese fighters opportunities to compete in the UFC. Silva mentioned a variety of fighters by name that he enjoyed and wanted to see compete in the UFC, including former UFC competitor and HERO'S fighter Caol Uno (Pictures), as well as Shinya Aoki (Pictures) and Dokonjonosuke Mishima (Pictures).
Silva also mentioned that he still wants Rumina Sato (Pictures) to compete in the UFC. Silva said that he knew Sato was nearing the end of his career and that he's suffered a few hard losses lately, but that he was still a big fan of Sato and wanted him to fight in the UFC.
When Zuffa first acquired the UFC, Sato was often rumored to compete seemingly at every UFC card, either against Jens Pulver (Pictures) or B.J. Penn (Pictures), though he never appeared in the Octagon.
Of particular note, Silva was asked explicitly how Japanese fighters could go about competing in the UFC. Silva said that he wanted Japanese managers to get in contact with him about their fighters competing in the UFC, and left his e-mail address at the article's conclusion.
Many Japanese fighters have been vocal in the past about their desire to fight in the UFC. Former Pancrase champion Kiuma Kunioku (Pictures) stated repeatedly in the past that he wanted to fight in the UFC, as did PRIDE star Takanori Gomi (Pictures) while he was Shooto world champion. More recently, Shooto world champion Shinya Aoki (Pictures) and Shooto Pacific Rim champion Keita "K-Taro" Nakamura have both commented that they would like to compete in the UFC.
The UFC may also enjoy some heightened visibility in Japan in the near future. In the past, one hindrance to the UFC's popularity in Japan was that the UFC's event were broadcasted on delay on WOWOW, a private satellite pay station in Japan, as opposed to the more popular SKYPerfecTV!, Japan's main provider of satellite television. However, now, SKYPerfecTV! users will have easy access to WOWOW through their existing satellite receivers.
SKYPerfecTV!, which boasts 4 million subscriptions in Japan as of July, has formed a worked agreement with WOWOW to gain access to its 2.36 million subscriptions in Japan. Both companies feel the pressure from the growing popularity of broadband distribution formats and have partnered up to compete. As a result, SKYPerfecTV! customers will now have access to WOWOW's programming, giving a massive boost in visibility to the UFC in Japan.
While Mike Tyson is being counted on as an important part of PRIDE's success in North America, Tyson may also play a role in Dream Stage Entertainment's goal to get PRIDE back on television in Japan.
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Now as Dream Stage Entertainment has at least ostensibly entered into a deal with the former heavyweight boxing champion Tyson, there is a growing interest in television companies in picking up PRIDE.
There has been some talk in the media about Dream Stage
Entertainment utilizing Tyson as part of their New Year's Eve card
in an effort to get back onto television, and in such a cash,
Nippon Television and tv asahi are both interested in acquiring the
broadcasting rights for such an event.
It is important to understand that many stories of this nature are mere promotional bluster, especially in light of the fact that it has been noted many times since K-1 entered into a partnership with Tyson a few years ago that the former champion boxer’s felony rap sheet may keep him from competing in Japan. However, if there is any substance to Tyson's deal with Dream Stage Entertainment, it could pay rich dividends back in Japan.
Tyson has long been a very popular figure in Japan since his dominance of the heavyweight division in the mid- to late-1980s, and still holds much allure for the Japanese public. A Japanese television broadcasting insider has been quoted as saying that Tyson in PRIDE is a very attractive offer for any broadcasting station, and that if he is able to compete in PRIDE in some fashion, Nippon TV may be the frontrunner in acquiring PRIDE's broadcasting rights.
Rising sun
The UFC has made recent use of Japanese fighters Yuki Sasaki (Pictures) and Yushin Okami (Pictures), and now Japanese BJJ ace Kuniyoshi Hironaka (Pictures) is scheduled to make his UFC debut at the next edition of UFC Fight Night on October 10, possibly against Jon Fitch (Pictures).
More Japanese fighters may be on their way.
UFC matchmaker Joe Silva recently conducted an interview with prominent Japanese MMA journalist Manabu Takashima for God Bless The Ring in which Silva discussed Japanese fighters in the UFC. Silva stated that he wanted to give more Japanese fighters opportunities to compete in the UFC. Silva mentioned a variety of fighters by name that he enjoyed and wanted to see compete in the UFC, including former UFC competitor and HERO'S fighter Caol Uno (Pictures), as well as Shinya Aoki (Pictures) and Dokonjonosuke Mishima (Pictures).
Silva also mentioned that he still wants Rumina Sato (Pictures) to compete in the UFC. Silva said that he knew Sato was nearing the end of his career and that he's suffered a few hard losses lately, but that he was still a big fan of Sato and wanted him to fight in the UFC.
When Zuffa first acquired the UFC, Sato was often rumored to compete seemingly at every UFC card, either against Jens Pulver (Pictures) or B.J. Penn (Pictures), though he never appeared in the Octagon.
Of particular note, Silva was asked explicitly how Japanese fighters could go about competing in the UFC. Silva said that he wanted Japanese managers to get in contact with him about their fighters competing in the UFC, and left his e-mail address at the article's conclusion.
Many Japanese fighters have been vocal in the past about their desire to fight in the UFC. Former Pancrase champion Kiuma Kunioku (Pictures) stated repeatedly in the past that he wanted to fight in the UFC, as did PRIDE star Takanori Gomi (Pictures) while he was Shooto world champion. More recently, Shooto world champion Shinya Aoki (Pictures) and Shooto Pacific Rim champion Keita "K-Taro" Nakamura have both commented that they would like to compete in the UFC.
The UFC may also enjoy some heightened visibility in Japan in the near future. In the past, one hindrance to the UFC's popularity in Japan was that the UFC's event were broadcasted on delay on WOWOW, a private satellite pay station in Japan, as opposed to the more popular SKYPerfecTV!, Japan's main provider of satellite television. However, now, SKYPerfecTV! users will have easy access to WOWOW through their existing satellite receivers.
SKYPerfecTV!, which boasts 4 million subscriptions in Japan as of July, has formed a worked agreement with WOWOW to gain access to its 2.36 million subscriptions in Japan. Both companies feel the pressure from the growing popularity of broadband distribution formats and have partnered up to compete. As a result, SKYPerfecTV! customers will now have access to WOWOW's programming, giving a massive boost in visibility to the UFC in Japan.
