It has been rumored that Dream Stage Entertainment has explored the idea of selling the Pride Fighting Championships. Despite denials of the sale by DSE, speculation is swirling that the billionaire founder and CEO of Bodog Entertainment Group, Calvin Ayre, is the likely acquirer. The Pride Fighting Championship is widely considered one of the premier mixed martial arts promotions in the world.
Other potential suitors for the Pride Fighting Championship include Showtime, Vince McMahon of the WWE & the owners of the UFC (Zuffa LLC).
MMA, short for “mixed martial arts” was recently featured in a segment of the popular CBS News show “60 Minutes”. The story pointed out the growing popularity of the sport and touched on the commercial endorsements the sport has been able to secure despite its violence.
There is no doubt that Calvin Ayre has the coin to acquire Pride Fighting Championship from Dream Stage Entertainment, but the real question is: Does Bodog Fight need Pride to survive in the MMA community?
“Why buy the cow if you are already getting the milk?” commented 411mania.com MMA columnist Sam Caplan. “Bodog Fight's rumored $1 million, one-fight deal with Fedor demonstrates that Bodog can land Pride's top fighters without having to pony up for the entire promotion. Unfortunately, the deal also brings to light the fact that big-time fighters don't take the company seriously enough to commit long-term.”
Ayre could not be reached for immediate comment for this story since he is currently on location in Russia filming the second installment of his wildly popular Bodog Fight series.
