The Pit Report: Have the Ferttitas purchased PRIDE?

News

TJ De Santis and Josh Gross announced yesterday on Sherdog’s Beatdown radio show that Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta would be purchasing PRIDE FC from Dream Stage Entertainment for an astounding $65 million. The show is relying on an anonymous source that is “very reliable,” and an official announcement is expected to come as early as Wednesday.

The timing of the rumor is very interesting given that Sakakibara is currently headed to Las Vegas. As we’ve reported before, PRIDE has seen its shares of trouble over the last year. Between losing their television deal in Japan, the money they allegedly lost on their U.S. debut, and the pending lawsuit from Ed Fishman, selling the company would ultimately make sense. However, DSE has denied over and over again that PRIDE is for sale, despite reports saying otherwise.

Today Ken Pishna at MMAWeekly is claiming, based on their sources, that an agreement between DSE and the Fertittas has been reached. Pishna warns though that this, “is an agreement, not a finalized transaction.”

Pishna added, “According to our sources, the purchase is believed to include fighter contracts, Pride’s video library, and the Pride FC name brand. The issue of fighter contracts is one of the more touchy points, as there can be variables in each individual contract that will have to be dealt with, and no information has come forth that states which fighters would be included.”

While Sherdog and MMAWeekly are two of the most respected MMA news sources, most fans aren’t holding their breath for an official announcement. Granted, many of the forum-trolling, basement-dwelling variety can’t hold their breath for very long.

We’ll have more information as it surfaces.