Nearly one year to the day after Spike TV debuted "Best of PRIDE," the series will make a similar introduction on FUEL TV.
FUEL TV officials recently announced 'Best of PRIDE' will make its first appearance on the channel on Jan. 3 at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.
MMAjunkie.com has learned that current plans include for the debut episode to include Fedor Emelianenko vs. Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic, Quinton "Rampage" Jackosn vs. Ricardo Arona, Dan Henderson vs. Renzo Gracie, Wanderlei Silva vs. Ikuhisa Minowa and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Mark Coleman.
Following its initial airing, "Best of PRIDE" will take a Thursday night
Maxim model Kenda Perez, who hosted the series on Spike TV, also hosts the program on FUEL TV. Twelve episodes of the show have been filmed for the first season on FUEL TV.
The UFC planned to operate the now-defunct PRIDE Fighting Championships as a separate entity after the 2007 purchase of the promotion but with the promise of "mega-fights" between each organization's stars. Fans were promised Chuck Liddell vs. Wanderlei Silva, Rich Franklin vs. Dan Henderson, and Forrest Griffin vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. However, those fights only happened after PRIDE was shut down and most of the organization's fighters were folded into the UFC.
White has long blamed the organization's previous owners for duping the UFC about PRIDE's financial stability, TV relationships and overall health of the organization.
Zuffa never operated a show under the PRIDE banner. However, the UFC hasn't let the brand name die completely. PRIDE merchandise, including clothing and DVDs, is now available through the UFC, and the UFC has hosted PRIDE-themed autograph sessions at various times throughout the year.
The Japanese-based PRIDE organization was once one of the world's biggest MMA promotions after its launch in 1997. Among its 68 total events, two drew more than 67,000 spectators each.
Source: http://mmajunkie.com/news/26654/fuel-tv ... ro-cop.mma