New in Japan

Following Zuffa's acquisition of Pride FC last April, the UFC would have expected to have become the premier global MMA brand. With its forays into the UK market (UFCs 70,72, 75 and 80) and Canada (UFC83), the UFC certainly does have the largest global presence of all the MMA players, consistently producing profitable events and expanding its business. But what it lacks is a significant presence in the Japanese and East Asian markets. The acquisition of Pride looked to be a step in that direction as it appeared to give Zuffa access to Pride's fighters, administrators and highlight-reel-rich back catalogue. Any business school student could probably tell you that when one company acquires another, securing the services of the acquired firm's talent is vital for long-term success. While it's understandable that Zuffa was unable to secure the services of many of Pride's fighters because they had non-exclusive contracts, it's remarkable that they (apparently) didn't acquire the services of many of the former staffers of Pride or its parent group, Dream Stage Entertainment.

Instead, many of those staffers went on to produce Yarennoka!, a New Year's Eve show in collaboration with Fight Entertainment Group (FEG), DEEP and M-1 Global (more info here on Wikipedia). Hailed as a parting thank you from DSE executives, it provided more questions than answers. Now many of those questions have been answered, as we now know that two rival MMA organisations have been created - World Victory Road (WVR) and Dream. While WVR is a solo venture, Dream appears to be the heir to Yarennoka! as it sees collaboration between many former Pride staff and K-1 parent company, FEG. Each has announced that it's first events will be March - WVR's Sengoku on March 5th and Dream's as-yet-unnamed event on March 15th. The Sengoku card is coming together nicely so far, combining a number of tried-and-tested former Pride fighters with some newish faces (incl Josh Barnett vs Hidehiko Yoshida, Takanori Gomi vs Duane Ludwig, Kazuo Misaki vs Siyar Bahadurzada). Meanwhile, Dream has announced that the Dream 1 card will include the Shinya Aoki - JZ Calvancanti fight that was originally slated for Yarennoka! (but postponed when JZ suffered an injury), along with the return to Japan of Mirko Cro Cop. While Dream is basically a rebranding of K-1 Heroes, the addition of further heavyweight talent such as Cro Cop to its roster is a welcome addition to the depth it's had in the lower weight classes.

The emergence of WVR and Dream is certainly good news for fight fans. How this pans out for the two new organisations may well depend on whether they work together or not. While their focus is definitely on the Japanese (and to a lesser extent, Korean) market, the standard of the fighters on display will be of interest to a global audience. Whether they attempt to establish a global presence remains to be seen. What is clear is that in missing the opportunity to push the UFC brand into Japan or continue to promote Pride shows, Zuffa appears to have made a strategic mistake in allowing these two new ventures to gain a foothold in the Japanese market.