Bad DREAM: Lackluster ratings could put Japanese promotion to sleep
by Jesse Holland on Sep 25, 2008 11:10 AM EDT
48 comments
Japan's Fighting & Entertainment Group (FEG) had everything it needed to make sure its mixed martial arts promotion DREAM was a success.
Well, almost everything.
FEG secured a prime time spot on Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS), one of Japan's top five TV networks and littered its fight cards with Japanese fan-favorites like Shinya Aoki, Ikuhisa Minowa and Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic.
What it didn't have was enough people to actually care about its product.
The rabid fan base that was so desperate for a non-UFC fight promotion since the demise of PRIDE FC was a no-show. Either that, or the fan base was grotesuqely overestimated.
Is mixed martial arts in Japan a thing of the past?
In an attempt to prove its drawing power, DREAM 6 was aiming for a minimum 12.0 rating for its sixth event but had to settle for a much lower 9.0 - a mere .1 above it's 8.9 debut back in March.
DREAM has underperformed in all three of its contracted four television events, prompting FEG's Sadaharu Tanikawahas to consider dissolving the company if they eventually lose their television contract.
With their inability to hit their target numbers, it almost seems like a foregone conclusion.
On paper, DREAM 6 was a can't-miss. Unfortunately the show as a whole was average, with a quick ending to the middleweight grand prix and a dissappointing no-contest between Mirko Cro Cop and Alistair Overeem.
Add to that an abundance of commercials during the TBS broadcast (and a choppy, watered down presentation on HDnet) and fans were left with little reason to come back for more.
And fans aside, why should fighters continue to come back for more?
Several DREAM combatants are still crying foul over back wages, including a very public report by Seoul Sports earlier this month.
I guess there still wasn't enough money to pay the actual fighters after dumping a pallet of cash onto Fedor Emelianenko's yacht for his brief cameo at DREAM 6.
FEG had plans to hold its fourth televised event on New Year's Eve. If you're a fan, I suggest finding a way to watch it. It could be the last time you see mixed martial arts in Japan.
Unless of course the UFC decides to "get it on" in the house that Mothra built.
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that would be a shame, there the best org ourside of the ufc and there first 6 shows could compare or beat any ufc cards.
by roy on Sep 25, 2008 11:13 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Once Dream is done, the UFC will do the Japanese a favor and show them real production and fights! And what was up with Fedor giving Overeem and Cro-Cop flowers??? Was Fedor coming out the closet?
by JV on Sep 25, 2008 11:31 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
It could be something to do with the start of the new japanese season, but I’m not exactly sure.
Bas was mentioning during the broadcast that he had received flowers at a fight too(“Been there, done that, my friend.”), although with Bas it is hard to tell if it was a formal ceremony, or just some girl gave him flowers.
by DirtyML on Sep 25, 2008 11:37 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
jv have you watched dream? what are you talking about real prodution and real fights? there prodution and fights have been outstanding and the first 6 cards where great 2-5 where better are could compare to any ufc card.
by roy on Sep 25, 2008 11:46 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
All of Dreams good fighters vs cans! It was about 5hrs! Fedor giving guys flowers! Cro-Cop is not the same fighter anymore! Overeem is good, not great as a fighter! Main-event ends with BS (nut crushing) MW prix was ok I guess? So why was Dream good roy???
by JV on Sep 25, 2008 12:17 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
you must be talking about dream 6 only, it wasn’t close to being bad it wasn’t great but 2-5 where nothing short of great.
by roy on Sep 25, 2008 12:21 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I guess I just dont like Dream roy! I tried to give it a chance, but its boring to me!
by JV on Sep 25, 2008 12:43 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Roy, I learned a long time ago not to agree with that knuckle head! DREAM is amazing. Its a real shame if it folds.
About the flowers, Someone used to always come out and give 2 fighters flowers before match ups in pride. 1 year, tito did it. Another year Couture handed the flowers out to wanderlei and who ever he was fighting.
by john on Sep 25, 2008 5:14 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
JV is swinging on Dana’s nutsack apparently
by brendan on Sep 25, 2008 8:57 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
If Dream is so great, why are they about to fold? It’s not rhetorical, I’m really curious what you Dream fans have to say.
by RedDog on Sep 26, 2008 1:00 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
bad ratings unfortunatly, sometimes there are great shows that people don’t watch and they get cancelled.go watch all of the dream events and tell me if you think they where not great shows.
by roy on Sep 26, 2008 11:11 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
It’s a ceremonial thing. Watch some older Pride championship fights and you’ll see Tito and Randy giving flowers to fighters like Wanderlei before a big fight.
by Space on Sep 25, 2008 12:52 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
True fans of the sport would love to see good fighters in any organisation. Damn I’d watch Dream even if the whole production and commentating was in Japanese goddamnit if I had to, because I love MMA. For all these people talking shit about other orgs and rely solely on the UFC to watch MMA, you’re NOT a true fan because Dream has put on some of the best events this year…NO QUESTION and although its not Pride (and people talked shit about that when it was around) it still has some awesome fights and GP’s which definately fills a gap that I just don’t get from the UFC. Maybe its the Pride feel that makes me warm to it so much as I haven’t really enjoyed Sengoku that much this year but either way I watch as much MMA as I can.
by Ca$z on Sep 26, 2008 10:58 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
At least Hansen and Mousasi got those cool looking belts.
by the_mexicutioner on Sep 25, 2008 11:15 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
jeff sherwood was a little bit more optimistic about DREAM’s situation on the mma live show
by brendan on Sep 26, 2008 12:21 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Sherwood is a tool…they need Mania on there!
by RedDog on Sep 26, 2008 1:01 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
They need to build up the fighter they had before..
Give it time you will fight your Rampages’ W. Silva’s.. Fedor’s.. Give it time Japan!
by mikeybear on Sep 25, 2008 11:15 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Man this kind of sucks to hear. I like having several organizations just so that I can see more fights over a broad span. UFC has the best in my opinion but I still like having the quantity of fights as well as the quality.
by RyanHobbs on Sep 25, 2008 11:21 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
See you later…Those guys cant run a company to save their lives!…
by Bill Espreston Esquire on Sep 25, 2008 11:24 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
DSE not paying all their fighters (nick diaz for one) is unforgivable. they have put on some great shows, but honestly they dont deserve to be running a fight org.
by b.w. on Sep 25, 2008 11:42 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs
as of just recently FEG does. not the 1rst 5 shows were some of the fighters havent got paid for. ive read some good things about FEG, so they should pay the fighters that are owed.
by b.w. on Sep 25, 2008 12:21 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Another lame Japanese promotion going down in flames. (Yawn)
Tell me why I should care again? It’s not like we’re missing anything. The less competition there is for the UFC, the more I like it. Bringing the best fighters together under one roof makes all the sense in the world.
Let them have their pro wrestling and leave it at that.
by Graham on Sep 25, 2008 12:28 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
The problems are that most of the great Japanese MMA stars will NOT come to the USA to fight. They only want to stay in Japan.
But if the UFC was the only MMA show around, they would have to try. HOWEVER, that would be the last thing that I would want. There are too many great fighters out there to have them all in one organization. We would never see our favorite fighters fight. They’d get 1 fight per year. I love when a month with 4 events rolls around!
Losing DREAM would be awful for the real MMA fans.
by ViolentMike on Sep 25, 2008 4:45 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Violent Mike: but the more fighter they have, the more popular the UFC would become and we’d get to see more shows. Imagine if the UFC was as popular as like college football and we get up every saturday morning for a day of MMA fights headed by one organization? Endless possibilities, the best fighters on the planet, etc. We can only benefit as the sport goes mainstream. That will be more difficult to do with the best fighters divided up all over the world.
by RedDog on Sep 26, 2008 1:05 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Did you watch Dream 5 or 4? Lame?
That’s just like, your opinion, man.
by Space on Sep 25, 2008 12:52 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Hey i’ve got an idea! why dont we support DREAM event though they are taking their fighter earning with them as they go down the whole. Unfortunately Pride will never be again. DREAM is just a shell of its former DSE production in pride. but just Because UFC does a few thing wrong does not mean we should support and Org that use to be pride for the sake of “supposed decent competition” and to try an resurrect PRIDE, when the dream itself is really starting to struggle, their talent roster is very similar to Elite XC(but still way better and Elite) about 15-20 damn good fighters and a crap load of cans to try and keep drawing power at a maximum capacity or support and org. who is losing money and claiming to be be able to pay fighters good money when most are complaining about back wages. I wont stand for an org that demands fighter to fight twice in one night and put their lively hood on the line and then get stuck with back wages. that is not what us as fan in MMA should do. i hate to see something so close to PRIDE be washed out again but im in it for the sport.
by santiago69us on Sep 25, 2008 2:05 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
jesus, get off of Dana’s nuts. Dream had some great fights and two great GP’s. Having all of the fighters under one roof (which will not happen ever) would be the worst thing possible for MMA. the UFC could pay fighters whatever they wanted and they would almost never fight.
by Bill Maher on Sep 25, 2008 6:25 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Bill Maher (the comedian) is one of the biggest nut cases on the planet. Why you would take his name I have no idea; unless of course you ARE Bill Maher in which case…I feel sorry for you man.
by RedDog on Sep 26, 2008 1:08 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Isn’t this the house that Godzilla built or destroyed depending on his mood. Kind of like DSE like they will pay you or won’t depending on their mood or if they got a proper Yakuza loan.
by dandeman on Sep 25, 2008 12:30 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Sad. I like japanese MMA. Pride set the standard for what the UFC should be doing production wise many years ago. Anyone who is happy or says they don’t care about Dream really aren’t MMA fans, they are UFC fans.
by Ballam on Sep 25, 2008 1:33 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
I call bullshit on this. I’ve watched MMA since UFC 8 and saw pretty much every PrideFC event. My friends and I have had many discussions on what we found so enthralling about Pride shows.
Pride was unregulated and inherently corrupt, put on fixed matches, was at times booked TERRIBLY, couldn’t finalize a card line-up to save their lives (how many last-minute changes were there), had bullshit judging that benefited local and favored fighters, wasted Sakuraba’s career by having him fight larger men, wasted EVERYONE’s time putting on irrelevant freakshow matches, wasted EVERYONE’s time by cutting out parts (or all) of fights in order to show favored fighter entrance/exits to and from the ring, and that’s just off the top of my head.
Based on the comments from the Zuffa camp, the people at DSE couldn’t run a company to save their lives. Oh, and there was that whole Yakuza/organized crime thing that got them DROPPED from Fuji TV. Dumbasses got what they deserved.
So why did we enjoy watching the shows? Primarily, it was for the spectacle. Pride made the fighters out to be larger than life with the elaborate entrances and lighting. I think it’s easier to film in a ring than it is in an Octagon too, plus DSE blew their wad on high-end camera equipment which showed awesome replays.
If you think that Pride set a “standard”, production wise, you should be thanking Vince MacMahon and Kevin Dunn for setting the standard that Pride followed.
by Graham on Sep 25, 2008 1:53 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Although I agree with many of your points I think they are pretty exaggerated. Its important to remember that in between the spectacles and lights Pride did truly put on some big time match ups and tournaments.
by RichFranklinFTW! on Sep 25, 2008 2:31 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Exaggerated? Everything I cite is fact.
The bottom line is this – I will remember Pride as a flawed organization. In some ways, they may have reached greater heights than Zuffa did back in the day, but ultimately the better organization won out for all the right reasons.
Dream looks to be following the exact same path.
by Graham on Sep 25, 2008 2:56 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Pride did have alot of all-time great fighters and fights, but it’s clear who was the better org. from top to bottom with talent and production and business savvy. the ufc did and probably always will unless affliction and elite combine for more than 1 fight and are able to come up with the money to sign some of the great dream fighters (a very big IF)…….. they would probably have to find a way to clone dana white as well! lol! just kidding.
by b.w. on Sep 25, 2008 3:55 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Well it’s my opinion that Pride had better production values than the UFC, never once did I say anything about pro wrestling. Did I say Pride was perfect? No. Did I list off things I don’t like about the UFC? No. I enjoyed watching Pride and those are my opinions dude, relax.
by Ballam on Sep 25, 2008 5:19 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I was talking with my wife last night about where we (as a society) were about 15 years ago before the read advent of the ’net, and how we were unable to communicate easily with people across the country or globe.
I was reflecting on whether or not we’re better off for the ability to discuss things online. This had to do with the amount of time I’ve spent since the mid-90’s arguing with people online. I think it’s a toss-up… the jury is still out.
by Graham on Sep 26, 2008 9:41 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Pride was the shit dont even try and bring that shit up. Anyways if Dream fails i will be fucken sad they give great fights and i love the Entrances and annoucements intRRRRoooDUcing FEEEEEDOOOOOOOORRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr EmeLLL ianenK0.
That lady is the shit!
by Khaos_WArrior on Sep 25, 2008 3:02 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
It will be sad if Dream goes out of business but it will give the UFC or any of the other orgs a chance at bringing some of their better fighters to North America.
by NorthStar on Sep 25, 2008 3:33 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Well it is fairly obvious that 99% percent of the people here have no idea what really goes on with MMA in Japan. I’d suggest you head over to fight opinion which has about 30 articles and posts on what actually happens over there(prob. allot more than 30). Graham is pretty much right on the money
by DannyD on Sep 25, 2008 3:41 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Fight Opinion is the best site for all things japanese mma, and for all the latest news/rumors on most of the other major and minor mma web-sites. i have been using them for a long time and would highly reccomend any mma obsessed fan to do the same. just make sure and come back to MMAMANIA to blog, the best site to blog, debate and discuss all things mma -related imo. MANIA RULES!
by b.w. on Sep 25, 2008 4:00 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
Yeah; I diddn’t mean to dog this site at all I enjoy it quite a bit, but Zack does a amazing job on the business side of MMA. best that I know of.
by DannyD on Sep 25, 2008 4:43 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
huh its a great card they just put out?
the place was full to the ceiling !!!
how are these fuckers losing money ?
,its not like the fighters get a ton of money???
by cyd cyanide on Sep 25, 2008 8:27 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
So, who was that fighter that said something like “I’d rather have one Japanese fan than a thousand American fans” Well, he may have just gotten his wish. I’m so sick of hearing about the “devoted” Japanese fan. No hard feelings, I’m just saying, if they were really that devoted, any decent org would have no problem staying on their feet. Sianara.
by Jrandolph on Sep 25, 2008 11:48 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
i agree! it was hellboy that said that inane statement.
by b.w. on Sep 26, 2008 10:54 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
It would be such ashame to lose Dream. It’s not Pride, but it’s the closest thing to it yet. All 6 shows have been a must-see. Hopefully it will stay afloat.
by Anuskostaja on Sep 26, 2008 12:55 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
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