Ed Fishman was the man who finally made it possible for PRIDE to put on their first American Shows.

“I believe they (Fertitta’s) didn’t want any competition. They knew that we have all of Harrah’s casinos (Rio, Paris, Flamingo, and more), along with the Hard Rock and the other casinos that came to buy tickets for the event. Because of that, the Fertitta’s knew that if I bought PRIDE, it would continue to do events in Las Vegas, and in Japan, and it would continue in the way it should be. The kind of flare, entertainment wise, PRIDE really is a great event.”

When PRIDE announced that Ed Fishman, the man behind the success of Harrah’s group, “is now on board of PRIDE USA,” everyone in Vegas was stunned. After five years of struggle by their US office attempting to penetrate Las Vegas, PRIDE might have finally gotten the right man to make things happen in this country. Indeed, that speculation was right. Within a half year after Fishman got involved, PRIDE had their first show in the United States. Every MMA fan in the world was excited about this. Finally PRIDE was here, in Vegas, a Mecca of fight sports in the United States, and most importantly they are ready to square off with their biggest rival, the UFC. With the backing of a major casino group, it seemed like PRIDE was now really here to stay.
However, on March 27th, everything changed. Lorenzo Fertitta’s new company called PRIDE FC WORLD WIDE took control of PRIDE in Japan. What does it mean? Are we are witnessing the beginning of a monopoly? The perfect person to answer these questions, perhaps providing a new light on the entire situation, has got to be the man who was the key factor in PRIDE making it to the US market. That person is Ed Fishman.

SH:
What do you think of the announcement of Lorenzo Fertitta getting control of PRIDE?

Fishman:
I am not quite sure if it’s the deal that they think they got, if all the assets, especially fighter’s contracts, will take place. With certain contracts, it doesn’t necessarily mean that they would allow a trade; automatically shipped to the other organization. They might make a choice on what they want to do. And we have to wait and see whether they run separately, (UFC - PRIDE) and do the kind of promotion and production that PRIDE is well known for doing.

SH:
At the press conference held in Tokyo on March 27th, Nobuyuki Sakakibara, the president of DSE stated that there was no official offer from Ed Fishman to buy PRIDE, and DSE felt that they could not get full results out of you, so they eventually asked you to resign, and that resulted in a law suit.

Fishman:
Well, what you supposed was said. Nobu (Nobuyuki Sakakibara) came to me in April (2006). They opened their office here in 2000, in Los Angeles, and for five years they were not able to get a chance to do PRIDE in the States. So we talked and we made the deal. In April I immediately got them, probably the best name in the world as far as casinos, Ceasars Palace, known for boxing and special events, to be the main sponsor, along with a dozen other casinos who never really participated in buying tickets of a fight event other than the UFC. And they were responsible for buying over a million dollars worth of tickets right off the bat. That was the main thing DSE wanted me to do. Get them into Las Vegas, get them the sponsor, but the problem is that the Japanese way of doing things in Japan is a well-oiled machine working all the time, but here, it took a very long time for them to make any decision. They evidently told me that a month and half after we signed the deal, they lost Fuji Television, and they were suffering from the money they lost, and could not advertise the way it should’ve been done, the way we suggested.
But as far as my job of getting them into the US market, getting them lots of support from casinos to buy higher-end tickets, it was done. The problem really was, we all discussed that they would not make money for the first several fights. I explained to them the difference between the 15,000 to 20,000 people they had in their database of people, who for the past six or seven years has bought $39.95 PPV’s. That person, who has been buying PPV’s, doesn’t necessarily mean they would spend several hundred dollars flying into Las Vegas, and buy tickets that could be anywhere from 50 dollars to 700 dollars.

SH:
So the problem, in terms of US shows were lack of money needed for promotion, and the different ways of doing business?

Fishman:
They have no base of development, no database, and they were not on TV, they didn’t have the kind of reality show they needed to have in the beginning. This was all explained and they understood completely but unfortunately what Nobu was saying, right off the bat was that he didn’t have the money to go ahead to really promote. And literally, in January, after the December 31st show, came to my home in Malibu and told me that he is going to resign, step down. Six months after Fuji Television let them go, he said he would try to get more television but he couldn’t do it. And he lost face to the Japanese audience. The sponsors didn’t want to pay the kind of money they have been paying anymore because they were not on (national) television, and fighters are disappointed in Japan because of not being on the television. With all that, it really was a problem in Japan, him not paying attention to what is happening in the States, and nothing could be done without his and somebody’s approval. I don’t know who his associate is; because I don’t think he owned the entire PRIDE, he told me he owns 85%. The truth is, in November, I came with an offer to lend him some money, with a collateral but this was never answered. It was approximately 10 to 12 million dollars, which I was willing to loan for a five-year deal. The offer was given to him. Then in January, when he came and told me that he was resigning, and told me that he was losing approximately 37 million dollars, and the people who he owe money to said, he must sell in order to get their money, that is when I made the offer. I said, “Listen, I know there are other companies who want to buy you. But I am a great fan of what you produced here, and I will be willing to buy. All I need is 30 days, the time for my accountants to take a look at it, in other words, a time to evaluate” and he didn’t give me that time.

SH:
Can you share a little more about how PRIDE had a different point of view in terms of the American market?

Fishman:
They hired this advertising agency but Nobu and his LA staff; they didn’t understand the American market. They wanted to go after the audience who has been watching UFC and the other mixed martial arts. But UFC has been here for almost ten years and many of them still didn’t know what PRIDE is. So the advertising agency pointed out a need for marketing. But for both shows, it took so long for them to come up with the cards, maybe two to three weeks before the fights. So even for the real mixed martial arts fan, they didn’t know who was going to fight. But I think, because of the financial trouble in Japan, Nobu really couldn’t concentrate on the United States. I think he really couldn’t spend time on thinking what we suggested. It wasn’t the question of making money because he knew we aren’t going to make money for the first several shows. He also knew that, even the UFC, for close to seven years, until three years ago, was losing 44 million dollars. He knew it from the beginning.
For the February show, they didn’t hire the advertising agency. They didn’t have the money we needed to spend. No print or TV advertising. (From the first show) It proved (from PPV sales) that not many people knew PRIDE in the States; the ones who knew were hardcore MMA fans.

SH:
So you expressed an interest in buying PRIDE but Mr. Sakakibara didn’t give you 30 days to evaluate?

Fishman:
That is exactly correct.
I really don’t know why he is saying the things he is saying in the Japanese magazine, papers, and at the press conference. He has said, that if it wasn’t for me, he wouldn’t even be here, and without being here, the Fertittas would never have paid that kind of money they did. Nobody else was able to get them to Las Vegas. The Fertitta’s run a very strong company, Stations Casino, but I was able to get them in, with my knowledge and background not only in casinos but also putting on major shows, and able to get dozen of casinos to buy tickets.
The problem was, there was no money to really promote this event well. And that was the real truth to it and what really happened was that he didn’t really ask me to resign. He didn’t pay me for the first event in October. He told me that he was really short on money and he would appreciate if I would hold off. I said I can absolutely do that, but I want to be compensated on what the agreement has said. Then in January when he told me that he was going literally “under,” as far as the financial, and the company would have to be sold, then I delivered the letter to him, for demand of payment, which I think started a bad feeling. But I knew if he couldn’t come up with this money he will not be able to come up with the money needed to promote the February event.

SH:
Is it true that you are supposed to get $200,000 a year as the president of PRIDE USA, and 10% of the gate?

Fishman:
$200,000 was strictly as a consultant. At first they wanted to do the event at the MGM Grand, I told them it’s better for them to do it at the Thomas & Mack Center, which is a non-casino, so the other casinos would be buying into that. I also introduced them people in Macao who might be interested in doing PRIDE in their casino. I also went to London to discuss with the London clubs about sponsoring, and I also went to Tokyo on his request to talk about the future of gaming. So my job was strictly consulting. Anything, not just PRIDE, generally how to make things work, where to go and that was a five-year deal. In the States, 10% of the gate, and literally he gave me a written business plan he developed, that showed six US events in 2007, and an average of 3 million to 3 and half million from the gate per event. So when you add that money up for a five-year deal that would end up being a little over 9 million dollars. Each year, they are supposed to pay me $200,000 and after each event, pay 10% of the gate.
That never happened. He only came back to me after the February event, the day after the event. Nobu, with Michael Cornett, took less than five minutes to say that well, “we can’t lose money anymore,” I got this big loss in Japan, I will pay you for yesterday ‘s event, but I would like you to tear up the agreement.
I couldn’t believe what he was saying because I took almost a year of time and reputation to get him into the United States, which he couldn’t do in five years. And literally got him a buyer.
I believe they (Fertitta’s) didn’t want any competition. They knew that we have all of Harrah’s casinos (Rio, Paris, Flamingo, and more), along with the Hard Rock and the other casinos that came to buy tickets for the event. Because of that, the Fertitta’s knew that if I bought PRIDE, it would continue to do events in Las Vegas, and in Japan, and it would continue in the way it should be. The kind of flare, in entertainment wise, PRIDE really is a great event.
I believe if Fuji did not go ahead and cancel the broadcast, PRIDE would have been unbelievable successful by itself here in the United States. We would’ve had a television show this year, PPV would be going up and up and up because they do better production than anybody else out there. They have some of the best athletes in the world, but unfortunately, Nobu and his group did not understand the market. I mean, it was proven. They opened their office here in 2000 in Los Angels and nothing happened.

SH:
Not until you got involved.

Fishman:
Well it is what it is. For five years they try to get something going and nothing happened. They had staff here working but they couldn’t get themselves a show. I provided that opportunity. And he knows me, he knows my reputation, and whether 60 or 70 million, that is an easy buy for me, personally, and I was willing to do it. There was no other reason except that I absolutely felt this was the best MMA organization out there.

SH:
Then why do you think they didn’t give you 30 days to evaluate?

Fishman:
I don’t know why he never wanted to show any of the agreements, contracts with the fighters, explain who are the other owners of DSE and PRIDE, where the losses are and who was the money owed to. I needed to know exactly what I was buying.

SH:
But DSE was not willing to disclose all this information.

Fishman:
Exactly.
Though I didn’t exactly understand his business arguments by saying to me that “I don’t have the time” yet three months later now I see what happened. He had plenty of time.

SH:
Apparently he had time to talk to the Fertittas.

Fishman:
Well, he did tell me that the Feritta’s wanted to buy it, but he didn’t want to sell it. So he talked to the WWE but he wanted to keep this in Japan separately but unfortunately I guess he couldn’t come to the settlement on what he owed and whom he owed the money to. And the most active possible buyer he was talking to for a long time, probably was Fertitta’s. He must’ve thought, he wanted to do the quick sale he could to get out of financial trouble, difficulties he has and that is the only reason I can understand because I don’t think its always good for fighters to have such a monopoly. Fighters won’t have much choice in fringes and benefits when we have a monopoly. I don’t believe, even though they keep it separate, that management would not be influenced by the American buyer. The Fertitta’s don’t do the kind of production, quality production, showmanship, that the Japanese have done. Only the future would prove that.

SH:
Do you feel somehow betrayed? How do you feel now?

Fishman:
Forty years of doing business after owning several companies, I only had to go to court one time in my life. I have never been sued. I believed I was used, literally, using my reputation. Using my marketing skill, to get them into the United States, to get to promote PRIDE, then eventually get them out of trouble. Because if I know the Fertitta’s, they were interested but not willing to pay the kind of money they wanted, till I brought them to the United States, and showed that we can get sponsorship, big hotels to join in, to buy high-end tickets.

Continued - Part 2