Many old-school MMA fans miss the days when the Japan-based promotion PRIDE FC was still around to compete with the UFC. Their trademark white ring, majestic opening shows and fighter walk-ins, the liberal rule set and dozens of memorable battles betweens some of the sport's biggest stars have made PRIDE a fan favorite and a nostalgic artifact in MMA culture.

Attempts to resurrect the PRIDE spirit have failed in the past, and in December of last year, former PRIDE CEO Nobuyuki Sakakibara debuted with his new organization RIZIN FF. It was filled with some of PRIDE's biggest stars such as Fedor Emelianenko and Kazushi Sakuraba, and is looking to fill the shoes of its famed predecessor.

In October of 2006, less than a year before it's demise, PRIDE held the first of two events in the United States. And according to Sakakibara, Rizin could hit the US market as well.

"My dream is, I want to come back to US market with RIZIN," Sakakibara told MMAFighting.com. "We need the right time. We have to bring people back to the Japanese market, first."

When PRIDE attempted to conquer the US market, they had to tweak their infamous rule set a bit in order to get sanctioned by the Nevada Athletic Commission. Back then, Sakakibara negotiated a middle course by abandoning soccer kicks and stomps and using the 10-point-must scoring system, and was allowed to have a PRIDE-style 10-minute first round, followed by a second five-minute round.

Rizin's rules, which are practically identical to the PRIDE rule set, would likely have to be adapted in a similar way for a possible US debut, said Sakakibara.

"We've negotiated with the commissions before in the past, about certain rules and whatnot," Sakakibara said. "And I believe that soccer-ball kicks, knees to the head, those type of stuff may be difficult to negotiate, hard to get to, but the 10-minute rounds shouldn't be that much of an issue from a fighter's safety standpoint. 10-minute rounds shouldn't be that hard, shouldn't be harder than having to accept soccer-ball kick."

RIZIN will co-promote their first-ever event outside of Japan on June 17 when Fedor Emelianenko faces UFC veteran Fabio Maldonado in St. Petersburg, Russia.