PRIDE Presser: Fighters Talk, Sakakibara Remains Silent

OSAKA, May 4 — On a pleasant afternoon here in the Land of the Rising Sun, the Mitsui Urban Hotel Osaka Bay Tower played host to the PRIDE Open-Weight Grand Prix Press Conference.

I kind of feel sorry for the fighters during these things. It’s a lot of sitting around for them, mostly doing nothing, but it is a necessary exercise in order to hype the event. If they know the guy sitting beside them and speak the same language, sometimes they talk or joke quietly (Mark Hunt (Pictures) is notorious for this). Other times it looks like they have to struggle to stay awake. Sitting in one spot, trying to look interested for 30 or 40 minutes isn’t easy.

After both PRIDE General Manager Nobuhiko Takada (Pictures) and DSE President Sakakibara made opening addresses, the fighters had the opportunity to express their feelings on the event and their opinions of their respective opponents.

After this the media has the opportunity to ask the fighters whatever questions the have.

During the press conference, it was stressed that only questions related to the Open-Weight GP would be permitted. At the end of the press conference, it was announced that DSE President Nobuyuki Sakakibara would come outside to meet the press and answer their questions.

I was extremely interested in what the Sakakibara would have to say with regards to their upcoming legal battle with Shukan Gendai (a weekly tabloid newspaper) and the recent revelation that PRIDE veteran and icon Kazushi Sakuraba (Pictures) had signed with their biggest rival, K-1.

As soon as Mr. Sakakibara sat down, the first question he received from a member of the Japanese press was related to the situation with Sakuraba. The DSE President politely sidestepped the question by saying that he would only comment on questions related to the Open-Weight GP.

So why the silence about Sakuraba? This was DSE’s first chance to address this situation. At about the same time as the PRIDE press conference, K-1 also held a press conference in Tokyo to officially announce Sakuraba’s signing with the company.

Sakakibara stated that he wants to focus on the show at hand, and that he would address the Sakuraba situation after the event. It’s hard to blame him — talking about the Sakuraba matter could bring negative press on PRIDE, thus possibly affecting the success of the first round of the Open-Weight GP tomorrow.

Sherdog.com will keep a close eye on this situation and will be there to cover it when DSE states their side of the story.