Fedor’s black mark. How the leagues where the Last Emperor shone died

Fedor’s black mark. How the leagues where the Last Emperor shone died

Sergey Sorokin December 25, 2023, 16:45 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.

Did the PFL deliberately go the way of the UFC to become big?

One of the main topics at the end of 2023 in the world of mixed martial arts is the purchase of Bellator from PFL. Two of the UFC’s most formidable rivals have teamed up to create an entirely new product. Frankly, this situation cannot be considered unique. And all because Dana White’s creation took the same path at the same time. It is interesting that two of the most important agreements in the world of MMA are associated precisely with those promotions whose star was Fedor Emelianenko. The Last Emperor was a real black mark on the leagues.

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In 2007, the Japanese Pride League was considered the main competitor to the UFC. It is true that he was going through very difficult times. In 2006, the Asian promotion lost its main television partner. After this, it became clear that the problems would only get worse. The league was left without a main source of income and literally reached a dead end. And all attempts to somehow return interest on the part of advertisers and television companies did not bear fruit.

In March 2007, Nobuyuki Sakakibara officially announced that Pride would be taken under the wing of the co-owner of Zuffa, the parent company of its main competitor, the UFC. Even then it was clear that the end had come. Additionally, information was leaked to the media that the settlement amount was disappointingly low, hovering around $70 million. By that time, Fedor had already left Pride, whose last fight took place on December 31, 2006.

It was initially said that the Pride would continue to exist and remain an independent combat unit. Therefore, Japanese fans were optimistic about the future. But reality was cruel for them. Dana White announced for the first time that all the best fighters would be transferred to the UFC. And then he fully expressed the opinion that the resurrection of Pride in Japan is almost impossible. The official “death” occurred on October 4, 2007, when Pride Worldwide closed its office in Japan. Here ended the glorious history of the promotion.

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Now history repeats itself, but it is far from identical. The PFL initially claimed that the main plan was the outright takeover of its neighbor. Therefore, there was no talk of Bellator’s further existence. And this is quite sad for fans of the promotion, which has lived a glorious history for 15 years. Of course, there were ups and downs along the way. But in recent years it seemed like the league had really grown in level. And most importantly, there were a lot of stars who were looked at with envy even in the UFC. And now all of this has been destroyed. It is curious that this time Fedor left the promotion shortly before his “death.” But this time because he put an end to his professional career.

On the other hand, a merger with the PFL could be the step each league was missing to truly compete with the UFC. Now the promotion has a large number of top-level fighters at its disposal. And there are several reforms planned that could completely change the game in the world of mixed martial arts. There will be a championship tournament, the emergence of a unique division for the most valuable fighters and other surprises for fans.

This broadcast season PFL are available at Okko.

The PFL’s purchase of Bellator could be a historic decision. There was a time when the deal with Pride allowed the UFC to quickly become the best league on the planet. And now the company has decided to take the same path, becoming the main antagonist of Dana White’s creation. 2024 will be a decisive year in the history of this rivalry.