Despite all that, I've been enthralled with the story behind the "kakutogi" collapse. Between MMA Fighting's Dan Herbertson and Sherdog's Tony Loiseleur (both of whom would be welcome additions to western MMA media coverage), the story of Dream, Sengoku, FEG, World Victory Road, and the remnants of Dream State Entertainment have been uniquely captured for English-speaking consumption.
Loiseleur's latest piece for Sherdog continues that coverage. In the wake of the massive earthquakes and tsunamis that hit Japan in March, Loiseleur catches Dream Event Produceer Keiichi Sasahara in a revealing mood.
On Dream's failure to pay its fighters, specifically the recent allegation of Gesias Cavalcante:
"First of all, he should certainly be paid; we must pay him," Sasahara stresses. "However, things are difficult, and payments are behind schedule. We are hoping to be in a position to finally pay him soon. We're not trying to run away from the problems. As you know, it's something that's been happening in the past, like with Gary Goodridge and Bibiano Fernandes."
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"Part of the difficulty is that, for example, I cannot speak wholly on FEG's behalf to give the exact reasons why our fighters are being paid late," he explains. "Our position [at Real Entertainment] is one in which we have an agreement with FEG to help promote and produce [MMA] events. We can't say exactly what the financial problems are, but as you
already know, we clearly have had difficulties recently."
On the May 29 "Fight for Japan" event:...
"Part of the difficulty is that, for example, I cannot speak wholly on FEG's behalf to give the exact reasons why our fighters are being paid late," he explains. "Our position [at Real Entertainment] is one in which we have an agreement with FEG to help promote and produce [MMA] events. We can't say exactly what the financial problems are, but as you
already know, we clearly have had difficulties recently."
Given Dream's typically flashy, over-the-top production, the energy costs of staging an event are understandably steep, even in the best of times. As much of the Kanto and Tohoku regions are engaged in indefinite energy conservation campaigns, Sasahara assures that Dream's May 29 event will be similarly bare-bones. Coincidentally, these concessions tie directly into charity plans for the event.
"We're doing things like charity auctions and, of course, donating a percentage of revenue to charity. We haven't decided how much just yet, but it will all be going to the [United Nations Human Settlements] program," says Sasahara. "But, besides what we can save in our budget, a percentage of what we raise will be given the UN program. This event will be conducted with maximum effort toward energy conservation, trying to save energy costs. "
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"Some people will probably say, ‘If you're going to do a charity event like this, why can't you afford to pay all your fighters?' And while we see their point, charity is still charity. This is what needs to be done at the moment. The financial matters will be resolved, but in time," he explains.
This is a must-read for anyone interested in the "kakutogi" scene, the business of MMA, or damn good writing."We're doing things like charity auctions and, of course, donating a percentage of revenue to charity. We haven't decided how much just yet, but it will all be going to the [United Nations Human Settlements] program," says Sasahara. "But, besides what we can save in our budget, a percentage of what we raise will be given the UN program. This event will be conducted with maximum effort toward energy conservation, trying to save energy costs. "
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"Some people will probably say, ‘If you're going to do a charity event like this, why can't you afford to pay all your fighters?' And while we see their point, charity is still charity. This is what needs to be done at the moment. The financial matters will be resolved, but in time," he explains.