http://www.sherdog.com/news/news.asp?n_id=7048

Thursday, March 22, 2007
by Sherdog.com Staff

PRIDE CEO Nobuyuki Sakakibara informed staff inside the Japanese promoter's Los Angeles office Wednesday that he was stepping down as part of an agreement to sell the company to Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta, who own the UFC.

According to a report by Dave Meltzer at wrestlingobserver.com, Sakakibara suggested only minor points separate the deal, which Sherdog.com first rumored on Monday, from reaching its conclusion. No contract has been signed, the report said.

While Sakakibara appears to be leaving a company he's been a part of since its inception in 1997, the man who stepped in as PRIDE CEO after Naoto Morishita committed suicide told his staff that the company would remain intact and autonomous from the UFC, but that hurdles no longer remain between UFC versus PRIDE cards, Meltzer reported.

Wil dit zeggen dat UFC en Pride een event organisatie worden ? Met een titelgevecht ?

K

ik vermoed dat ze pride als aparte entiteit in japan gaan blijven draaien, en hopelijk bv eenmaal per jaar UFC vs PRIDE kampioenen laten vechten