FISHMAN WANTS ‘HONOR’ UPHELD

By Loretta Hunt

Casino Tycoon Looking to Enter MMA Arena Alone in Wake of PRIDE Break-Up

Ed Fishman’s decision to enter into a legal battle with Japanese mixed martial arts juggernaut Dream Stage Entertainment has a lot to do with money, yet the casino entrepreneur says it also has to do with something that the proud Asian culture prides itself on - honor.

“I want them to honor the contact,” Fishman said this afternoon from his home in Malibu, California, a day after filing court papers against the parent company of PRIDE Fighting Championships in Nevada's Clark County District Court for breach of contract.

Fishman claims he was hired as a consultant for the world-recognized MMA promotion last April. Almost a year later, he says he is still due multiple payments for the two U.S. events he helped orchestrate with them in Nevada, including their debut show last October.

As President of PRIDE USA, a role that suddenly found Fishman at the podium leading the charge of the promotion’s long-awaited U.S. invasion, Fishman says he traveled as far as Macao and London for business meetings pertaining to the expansion of the PRIDE brand worldwide.

On the entertainment front, where he had success with various TV shows in the 80s, Fishman says he had fielded two potential programs for PRIDE: an MMA reality series and another proposal centering around NFL stars “with fifth and sixth degree belts” training under today’s top fighters.

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