("Actually, I think I’ll pass on the UFC. I was offered a movie role that could make me the next Jean Claude Van Damme.")
If you haven’t heard about the PRIDE: Secret Files book published by the Japanese MMA and wrestling magazine, Kamipro, you really need to look that shit up, son.
In a nutshell, the book reveals "30 sealed plans" that never came to fruition for the FEG-era owned organization, which, had they happened could have changed MMA as we know it.
Think of it like "The Butterfly Effect" except instead of Ashton Kutcher, the lead in the movie is Nobuyuki Sakakibara
The book was released in December in Japanese and has since been translated into English by an independent source who is hawking his version online for a nominal donation.
Some of the subjects of the tome include:
• The true ambitions of Lorenzo Fertitta when he bought PRIDE
• DREAM was born from the PRIDE LW GP that was supposed to happen in 2008
• PRIDE 1 was supposed to feature Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Renzo Gracie
• The other side of why Royce Gracie vs Mark Kerr never happened
• A planned PRIDE reality show that fell through
• Evander Holyfield was in talks to fight for the promotion
• "PRIDE Bushido" was originally named “PRIDE Survival”
• PRIDE’s Lightweight division was born from a life or death crisis of PRIDE Bushido
• Mike Tyson was in talks to face Cro Cop, Fedor, and Big Nog
• GSP and Kimbo were close to being signed by PRIDE
• A PRIDE revival that was secretly being planned
