Wednesday, July 21, 2010
No Holds Barred: Mike Kogan of FEG USA
On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman speaks with Mike Kogan, Director of FEG USA.
FEG (Fighting and Entertainment Group) is a worldwide combat sports organization based in Japan, and the parent company of the K-1 kickboxing and Dream mixed martial arts promotions.
Last week at a news conference in Tokyo, what may become one of the most significant developments in the world in the combat sports was revealed.
At this news conference, FEG Inc. Director and CEO Sadaharu Tanikawa announced a partnership with the Shanghai-based investment bank Puji Capitals. He said its purpose is to "win in the world market and become the world's greatest fight sport company. To recreate or even eclipse the success of soccer's World Cup, we will bring in investors from all over the world and partner with businesses all over the world. We have formed a business entity called an SPV (special purpose vehicle) in order to create an organization like soccer's FIFA and to take the UFC and WWE head on."
Also at this news conference, Dream Event Producer Keiichi Sasahara said, "When you think of international standard in fightsport UFC may come to mind, but we plan to replace them in that respect. The numbers 20 or 30 billion have been mentioned and I think fighting sport definitely has that kind of potential. I'm sure the fans are wondering what kind of effect the partnership will have on K-1 and Dream."
We spoke with Mike Kogan Tuesday afternoon by phone to find out more specifics about what this will all mean for the combat sports. In a lengthy and candid interview, he explained how this new partnership will benefit both K-1 and Dream, but also how it will affect them differently, as K-1 already has a large international presence while Dream needs mainly to focus on Japan. He elaborated on these plans to hold a version of the World Cup, which for now will be for K-1. He presented his views on the structure of mixed martial arts, and why mixed martial arts is not a sport but "a promoter-driven fight entertainment."
We went into depth on the plans of FEG to "become the world's greatest fight sport company" and what this means for both K-1 and Dream, for Japan, North America, and the rest of the world, and much more.
You can play or download No Holds Barred here. You can also download No Holds Barred here. If one link does not work, please try another. The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.
The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter.
Make sure to visit the official boxing forum for No Holds Barred, the MySpace Boxing Forum.
No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:
BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.
American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/.
Bragging Rights Corner, for news and always independent opinion about the sport and business of boxing. Check out their web site at http://www.braggingrightscorner.com.
FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.
FEG (Fighting and Entertainment Group) is a worldwide combat sports organization based in Japan, and the parent company of the K-1 kickboxing and Dream mixed martial arts promotions.
Last week at a news conference in Tokyo, what may become one of the most significant developments in the world in the combat sports was revealed.
At this news conference, FEG Inc. Director and CEO Sadaharu Tanikawa announced a partnership with the Shanghai-based investment bank Puji Capitals. He said its purpose is to "win in the world market and become the world's greatest fight sport company. To recreate or even eclipse the success of soccer's World Cup, we will bring in investors from all over the world and partner with businesses all over the world. We have formed a business entity called an SPV (special purpose vehicle) in order to create an organization like soccer's FIFA and to take the UFC and WWE head on."
Also at this news conference, Dream Event Producer Keiichi Sasahara said, "When you think of international standard in fightsport UFC may come to mind, but we plan to replace them in that respect. The numbers 20 or 30 billion have been mentioned and I think fighting sport definitely has that kind of potential. I'm sure the fans are wondering what kind of effect the partnership will have on K-1 and Dream."
We spoke with Mike Kogan Tuesday afternoon by phone to find out more specifics about what this will all mean for the combat sports. In a lengthy and candid interview, he explained how this new partnership will benefit both K-1 and Dream, but also how it will affect them differently, as K-1 already has a large international presence while Dream needs mainly to focus on Japan. He elaborated on these plans to hold a version of the World Cup, which for now will be for K-1. He presented his views on the structure of mixed martial arts, and why mixed martial arts is not a sport but "a promoter-driven fight entertainment."
We went into depth on the plans of FEG to "become the world's greatest fight sport company" and what this means for both K-1 and Dream, for Japan, North America, and the rest of the world, and much more.
You can play or download No Holds Barred here. You can also download No Holds Barred here. If one link does not work, please try another. The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.
The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter.
Make sure to visit the official boxing forum for No Holds Barred, the MySpace Boxing Forum.
No Holds Barred is free to listen to and is sponsored by:
BJJMart.com, your premier source for all Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gear, videos, books, and much more.
American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/.
Bragging Rights Corner, for news and always independent opinion about the sport and business of boxing. Check out their web site at http://www.braggingrightscorner.com.
FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.
Labels: Dream, Eddie Goldman, FEG, K-1, Mike Kogan, No Holds Barred
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