Sakakibara Speaks!

[Panzerfaust]

PRIDE President Speaks

11-25-2006

Denver, Colorado

A recent GONG kakutougi interview with Pride president Sakakibara Nobuyuki.

Sakakibara: "I will reform Pride strongly. Pride-Bushido was a toy box. We considered the various plans and something was born. We made a lightweight class and welterweight class. Fresh power came from it. Bushido was a special event for light and welterweights. Now, this separate system is nonsense. Bushido and Pride will be united in 2007 into one event including heavyweight fighters like Fujita and lightweights like Gomi Takanori."

Question: Is Bushido finished completely?

Sakakibara: "Bushido will become a brand name for foreign country's Pride events."

Question: How will you change the Pride Grand Prix?

Sakakibara: "We plan that a Pride Grand Prix is held every four years, for each weight-class, like the Olympics. So in 2007, only one weight-class Grand Prix is being held. All other events will be a number series and include a title match. In every event there will be a title match."

Question: Next year, Pride has operated for ten years. You made a revolution!


Sakakibara: "Yes, this first revolution is the February 2007, USA event. Wandarei Silva does a title match and there will be four weight-classes of fighters."

Question: If every event has a title match, will you have to make new weight-classes?

Sakakibara: "USA MMA has a super heavyweight class and it is possible we would make a under lightweight (73kg) class. But, it is not necessary to do that all at once. We will consider these options step by step"

[Standard01]

Title match every event sounds great. I like the way Sakakibara thinks.

[Knockout_Power]

Dana better take this to heart real quick