http://subfighter.com/article2348.html

MONEY.
He wanted to make the same kind of money Yoshida's making.

i read that article when it was posted on subfighter. and honestly, i gotta agree with him. the article lists money as the major issue, and at one point, Sakuraba was the PRIDE japanese ace. he deserved to get paid at that level. i mean if Ogawa was getting paid at least 7 figures, Sakuraba should've made the same since he's defeated better opponents and is a better fighter than Ogawa is or may ever be.

Sakuraba has suffered against heavier fighters everytime he's fought them. his losses to Silva, Igor, big Nog and Arona were all pretty brutal. well maybe not big Nog, but the other three pretty much made his face look like hamburger.

i don't understand why they wouldn't let him enter the WWGP last year, if that rumor is true. i mean Sakuraba could've potentially made it to the finals, and pretty much cemented his PRIDE legacy if he won the belt.

I thought he was making $x,xxx,xxx for sure. He built Pride FC to what it is today and was one of the original Japanese superstars on Pride, while also performing great, especially on ground fighting. I don't think he will be succesful in K1. Yeah he knocked out Shamrock recently, but cmon the guy is years past his prime.