Japanese MMA dead

liger05 · Jul 27, 2010

http://www.fightersonlymagazine.co.uk/news/viewarticle.php?id=4950

A leading Japanese MMA agent has cast doubt on the future of the sport there, telling Fighters Only that the recent announcement that DREAMs parent company K-1 is partnering with investment bank PURI is a desperate move.

Speaking on condition of anonymity the agent - who has represented big-name fighters at the absolute pinnacle of the Japanese MMA scene since PRIDE FC began operations - says that MMA in Japan has been thrown into almost terminal decline by a combination of several factors.

First of all, PRIDE FC went under with associations of Yakuza (mafia) ties and that has done serious damage to MMAs image in Japan. More recently, Japans economy took a turn for the worse and that means that the sponsors have all but disappeared. They have no money to throw around like they sued to, he told us today.

Then youve got the exodus that happened when PRIDE went under. All the big names went to America, most of them to the UFC. Television ratings have not been good, they have not got many fighters to get casual fans interested. They are making desperate moves.

Asked about the recent announcement that K-1 had made, concerning a partnership with investment bank PURI and a search for $200 million of investment capital, the agent was extremely sceptical.

PURI has promised K-1 it will find $200 million in investment - well, what if it doesnt? What if nobody wants to invest? And that is extremely likely, given the state of Japanese MMA at the moment - would you invest your money in it? he said.

Look at the last DREAM show - and DREAM is widely considered to be head and shoulders above Sengoku - who did they have? Aoki, Kawajiri, Mousasi, Manhoef - they were the biggest names on the card. The likes of Fedor and Nogueira have gone and they are never coming back. This has really hurt [Japanese] public interest in MMA.

With a damaged economy, a lack of big sponsorship funds and a necessity to play it safe in order to stay within comfortable operating margins, DREAM and Sengoku are unable to offer the plump purses that PRIDE used to tempt the top talent to Tokyo.

The top purse on DREAM these days is something like $30,000 in American dollars, the agent says. Sakuraba might get something like $50,000 or $70,000. They just dont have the money to bring in the big names and if they cant do that they will not win the fans back. They just arent interested.

After a long pause the agent gave a heavy sigh and said, with heavy regret, Japan is dead.
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Harsh but true. There fight business in Japan is serious decline. There will still be MMA but those boom days of 2000 - 2005 are long gone and dont seem to be coming back anytime soon.

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Japanese MMA dead

liger05 puroresu fan 4 life!! Full Member