The UFC today announced that it will hold its first ever event in China this year to continue the Mixed Martial Art’s promotion ambitious expansion into new regions.
With MMA and the UFC frequently being heralded as ‘the world’s fastest growing sport,’ it’s no surprise that China was somewhere in the minds organisation President Dana White and Chairman and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta down the road.
Today though the organisation took the ambitious step of officially announcing its first-ever event in the People’s Republic of China, and its second-ever event in Asia this year in Macau for November 10, 2012.
The event will take place at The Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel’s CotaiArena, a 15,000-seater venue.
Over the last several years, the UFC has built its broadcast reach in China to more than 450 million television viewers and more than 500 million unique viewers through the nation’s leading internet portals. UFC fighter Zhang Tiequan leads a growing group of professional MMA fighters in mainland China, several of whom are candidates to make their UFC debut in Macau.
“Breaking into a market with a population of over 1.3 billion is both a testament to the growth of our sport and a long-term challenge we are excited to undertake,” said Lorenzo Fertitta, UFC Chairman and CEO. “This is just the first of many world-class fights we plan to hold over the coming years in China, one of the birthplaces of martial arts.”
Ticket information and fight cards will be revealed at a later date.
As much as whiney UK boybands attempt to break America, breaking the lucrative and growing Chinese market is the Holy Grail for many sports.
The UFC will no doubt be relying on the spirit of martial arts pioneer Bruce Lee to kick some ass in this latest venture.
What do people think is this the next step in MMA attempting to overtake boxing as the number one combat sport in the world?
Photo credit: The Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel
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