Former Pride Owners Sue Zuffa Holding Companies, Fertittas

I have a new story up at Sherdog.com detailing the latest developments in the legal dispute over the Pride asset sale. The lead:

When Zuffa purchased Pride in March 2007, the MMA world immediately began anticipating the epic battles that would follow. However, the "Super Bowl of MMA" never materialized, and Zuffa ultimately abandoned the Pride brand in October.

Now, one year later, the acquisition appears set to provide the fireworks it initially promised -- only in the court room instead of the cage.

Nobuyuki Sakakibara, Ubon, and Dream Stage Holdings sued Pride FC Worldwide, both the Nevada and Japanese corporate entities, as well as Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta individually on April 2 in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas.

FULL STORY: Former Pride Owners Sue Zuffa Holding Companies, Fertittas

New Players, Familiar Faces

Several new players, with familiar faces, have either talked about or announced MMA plans in the last month. Some of the efforts look/have the potential to be more formidable than others. A quick rundown:

• YAMMA PIT FIGHTING - is Bob Meyrowtiz's long rumored project. Promises a new fighting surface with a focus on tournaments and "masters" fights. Seems ten years too late and ten times over the top.
  
• GOLDEN BOY PROMOTIONS - is reportedly exploring the space. Could be a major player thanks to its close ties to HBO and the sports establishment.
  
• AFFLICTION - the owners of the clothing line are reportedly in the process of putting together a promotion. Shot an Affliction "advertising campaign" featuring a Couture-Fedor stare down that resulted in a subsequent sponsorship ban by the UFC.
  
• DREAM - will replace Heros as K-1's MMA brand. Is a joint effort between K-1 and the former Dream Stage Entertainment staff that was ultimately laid off following Zuffa's purchcase of Pride. Looks like Japan's new premier MMA brand, however, the market's glory days appear to be behind it.
  
• WORLD WRESTLING ENTERTAINMENT - Perhaps the most interesting of the potential entrants. Had discussions about acquiring Pride last year and has came up as a potential buyer of the UFC in the Zuffa sale rumors. Dave Meltzer reported in this week's Wrestling Observer Newsletter that the company has recently started another round of information gathering on the MMA industry.
  

Background Checks at Center of Multi-Million Dollar Pride Lawsuit

I have a full breakdown of the complaint filed by Pride FC Worldwide Holdings (a Zuffa controlled company) against the former owners of Pride regarding last year's imfamous asset purchase. The lead:

One week ago Pride FC Worldwide Holdings LLC and its related subsidiaries, which were created when Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta acquired the UFC's top competitor, filed suit against the company's former owners: Dream Stage Entertainment, Nobuyuki Sakakibara, Ubon, Dream Stage Holdings and unidentified defendants to be named at a later date. The crux of the lawsuit, which alleges 14 claims for relief, stems from the purported failure of Pride's former ownership to cooperate with background checks and drug tests as required by the agreements.

FULL STORY: Background Checks at Center of Multi-Million Dollar Pride Lawsuit

UPDATE: Pride FC Worldwide v. Dream Stage Entertainment

A friend of MMAPayout.com sends the following description from the complaint:

Plaintiff purchased certain assets of defendant's business under the Pride, Pride Fight ing Championship and Bushido brand names. Because plaintiffs are involved in the gaming industry, defendants were required to cooperate with and submit to background checks and drug tests to ensure compliance with the regulatory requirements of plaintiff's gaming license. Defendants failed to cooperate with, submit to or pass such background checks, defrauding plaintiffs into entering the agreement for "millions upon millions of dollars."

Additionally, Sherdog.com reports:

A source close to DSE told Sherdog.com on Tuesday that Sakakibara was preparing his own suit against the Fertittas for breach of contract stemming from the decision to shut Pride down last October.

More to come.

Ghosts of M&As Past, Present, and Future

Mergers and Acquisitions past, present, and future are the talk of the MMA industry today:

• PAST: Dave Meltzer reports that Pride FC Worldwide Holdings (a Zuffa controlled holding company) filed suit today against Dream State Entertainment, Dream Stage Holdings, and Nobuyuki Sakakibara. The suit claims that Zuffa was defrauded millions of dollars in the purchase of Pride.
• PRESENT: Strong rumors within the industry suggest that sports giant IMG is poised to enter MMA. Sources tell MMAPayout.com that IMG is set to replace Showtime as the majority owner of Pro Elite (EliteXC) in a deal that is believed to be imminent.
  
• FUTURE: The potential sale of the UFC remains the talk of the industry (SEE: Zuffa Sale Rumor Goes Public).
  

MMAPayout.com's 2007 Power Rankings

MMAPayout.com's 2007 Power Rankings are based on the following formula: gross pay-per-view revenue ($40 per buy) + gross live gate revenue. Fighters are credited only for pay-per-view events headlined in 2007. A minimum of two main events is required in order to appear on the list, resulting in the exclusion of Tito Ortiz, Quinton Jackson, Tim Sylvia, Georges St. Pierre, Michael Bisbing, Travis Lutter, Matt Serra, Yushin Okami, Gabriel Gonzaga, and Keith Jardine, as well as Dan Henderson.

MMAPayout.com's 2007 Power Rankings:

1. Chuck Liddell - $81.1 million (3 Events)*
2. Randy Couture - $48.7 million (2)
   
3. Anderson Silva - $38.3 million (2)
   
4. Rashad Evans - >$33.7 million (2)**
   
5. Wanderlei Silva - $32.5 million (2)***
   
6. Rich Franklin - $24.7 million (2)
   

*NOTE - Includes UFC 79 at an estimated 600,000 buys.
**NOTE - A complete pay-per-view estimate for UFC 78 is not yet available, however, it is believed to have done in excess of 325,000 buys. Therefore, Evans grossed is credited with at least $33.7 million in gross revenue.
***NOTE - Includes UFC 79 estimate as well as Pride 2/24 show which did 40,000 buys and a $2 million gate.

For comparison, here are the 2006 Power Rankings using the same criteria. Excluded from the list are Couture, David Loiseau, Forrest Griffin, Renato Sobral, BJ Penn, Anderson Silva, and Georges St. Pierre.

MMAPayout.com's 2006 Power Rankings:

1. Tito Ortiz - $102 million (3)
   
2. Chuck Liddell - $89.9 million (3)
3. Matt Hughes - $67.4 million (3)
4. Royce Graice/Ken Shamrock - $62.1 million (2)*
5. Rich Franklin - $27.6 million (2)

*NOTE - Gracie and Shamrock would not qualify for the list, but were so significant to business and so similar in drawing capacity that it seems to make sense to include them as a pair.

Cumulative rankings for the current boom period look like this:

MMAPayout.com's 2006-2007 Combined Power Rankings:

1. Chuck Liddell - $142.1 million (5)
2. Tito Ortiz - $120.6 million (4)
3. Randy Couture - $68.1 million (3)
   
4. Matt Hughes - $67.4 million (3)
5. Royce Graice/Ken Shamrock - $62.1 million (2)
6. Rich Franklin - $52.3 million (4)
7. Anderson Silva - $52.1 million (3)
8. Georges St. Pierre - $40.9 million (2)
   
9. Rashad Evans - >$33.7 million (2)
10. Wanderlei Silva - $32.5 million (2)*

*NOTE - Not including Pride PPV events from 2006.

Inside the Collapse of Pride

Sam Caplan of FiveOuncesOfPain.com has a great interview at CBS Sportsline with former Pride executive Turi Altavilla. The picture of the Pride that emerges from the interview is that of a dysfunctional organization.

In light of some renewed gnashing of teeth about Zuffa's acquisition of Pride this week at BloodyElbow.com, it may be worth revisiting The Final Word (?) on Zuffa's Acquisition of Pride. Sam Caplan also has new details on the acquisition.

Final Word (?) on Zuffa's Acquisition of Pride

As a privately held company, we may never know the full details of Zuffa's complex acquisition of Pride. We do know that because of the structure of the deal and the way things played out, the company ended up with little more than a tape library. However, the price tag apparently wasn't anywhere close to the reported $65 million when all was said and done, thanks to the structure of the deal including the use of a third party holding company. Whatever the price and result, Zuffa admits no regrets. Dana White recently told Dave Meltzer:

The worst deal ever done in the history of business... [Pride] was totally bankrupt. They were out of money and had nothing. We wanted the company so we went in and bought it. It didn't matter how fucked it was, how crazy the deal was, we got what we wanted.