Former PRIDE president Nobuyuki Sakakibara in KOK

Nobuyuki Sakakibara, the man who once headed PRIDE before the promotion sold to the UFC in 2007, is planning a comeback this year. At first, everyone heard some rumors, but after tonight-live show on Eurosport during the “King of Kings” tournament Nobuyuki Sakakibara showed up in the ring – it became official.

From 1997 to 2007, the Japanese promotion was the main force in mixed martial arts. Unfortunately, after the company was sold to Zuffa eight years ago, millions of fans were left feeling like nothing will ever compare to PRIDE.

And it is fair to say Pride still holds the record for MMA event with the largest attendance, 2002 Pride/K1 Shockwave/Dynamite, which drew over 91,000 people to the Tokyo National Soccer Stadium.

Former PRIDE president appeared in the ring of the „King of Kings” LIVE show on EUROSPORT on September 26th, officially announcing that he is planning a huge come back this year in Japan and KOK president Donatas Simanaitis with the “KOK” promotion is joining him in Tokyo.

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