Did UFC Buy Pride FC?

Origins and Prominence

Pride Fighting Championships, known as Pride FC for short, was a Japanese mixed martial arts organization dedicated to sports spectacle. It hosted over sixty events and had millions of worldwide viewers.

In contrast, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) had emerged as an MMA industry leader with grand designs to reign supreme in mixed martial arts following its purchase by Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta III in 2001. The UFC was riding high with popular TV shows and a huge international footprint as their popularity and revenue grew. 

Acquisition of Pride FC

The majority owners of UFC, Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta purchased Pride FC in March 2007. Pride FC Worldwide Holdings, LLC, "the new Pride," acquired the assets of Pride, including its video library and intellectual property rights, suable trademarks, and name use only fighters in contract rights. With that name came the intention of the Fertitta Brothers to keep fights in under the very popular Pride name.

With this acquisition, the Fertitta brothers' dreams of dominance in the MMA industry took a major step forward. It finally allowed them to set up mega fights and bolster their firepower further in all things sports and business-related.

Impact on MMA Landscape

The purchase changed the course of MMA forever. It was meant to create mega fights between the UFC and Pride FC titleholders, which would generate large pay-per-view audiences. The deal enabled the Fertitta brothers to promote cross-promotional matches that fans desired. It assured all of Zuffa's controlled fighters would always have an outlet to perform, and no future disputes regarding either organization signing top-ranked talent could occur.

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