Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to mainland

The Ultimate Fighting Championship is coming back to the Chinese mainland by staging a Fight Night event, its first live showpiece since the pandemic, in Shanghai on Aug 23, following a sold-out event in Macao in November.

The Las Vegas-based mixed martial arts promotion announced the event on Thursday in Shanghai at a news conference, where all of its top-ranked Chinese fighters, including reigning women's strawweight belt holder Zhang Weili and men's bantamweight contender Song Yadong, celebrated the long-awaited return.

The roster on the Fight Night card has not been confirmed yet, but Zhang, the first Chinese athlete to win a world title under the organization, said she cannot wait to get involved in any possible roles.

"You will probably see me cheering them on from the sideline, or commenting, or promoting the event as an ambassador. I will for sure be there," said Zhang, who beat Brazilian wrestler Jessica Andrade to claim the strawweight belt in UFC's third and last event in the mainland in Shenzhen, Guangdong province in August 2019.

"To fight at home is always the most exciting experience, without having to get used to the jet lag, language barrier and different weather fighting overseas. The home fans' vocal support has been nothing but a huge source of energy for every athlete," Zhang recalled her experience of the home fight.

Shanghai also hosted the organization's mainland debut in 2017, followed by a second Fight Night in Beijing in 2018. The Macao Special Administrative Region, meanwhile, has also played host to UFC events four times since 2012.

To further help grow the sport's profile in the birthplace of ancient martial arts, the UFC opened its second, and largest, Performance Institute in Shanghai in 2019, and has helped an increasing list of not just MMA talents, but also national team athletes from across Olympic sports to improve their performances at the multi-functional elite-level training center as part of an agreement with the Chinese Olympic Committee.

The organization also launched its fourth consecutive edition of the "Road to UFC" talent development program on Thursday with promising MMA fighters from across Asia to vie for coveted professional contracts awarded for winners at the selection tournament.

A total number of six Chinese athletes have earned pro contracts with UFC by punching through the pathway since the first edition in 2022.

"Every country has its own style of martial arts and China is widely recognized of having the oldest and most respected traditions," Kevin Chang, UFC's senior vice-president and head of Asia, said at the launch of the Shanghai Fight Night.

"The UFC has quickly become a global phenomenon and China has quickly become the most important overseas market for the UFC. The goal, with the PI in Shanghai, was not only developing a new generation of mixed martial artists, but also raising the bar of the sport as a whole," he said.