While the UFC have dabbled in the Asian market, it looks as if they are going to go full bore in the Far East. The UFC will be opening the world’s biggest MMA training facility in Shanghai.
Brett Okamoto at ESPN first broke the story.
“There are over a billion people in China and that economy is booming, it’s a big initiative for us,” UFC president Dana White told ESPN. “And the way you make a market grow is find a world champion who is from there.
“When you become a global brand like the UFC, breaking into every new market has its ups and downs, it’s own challenges. It doesn’t happen overnight. I think building this facility — not everybody who goes through there will be a world champion, but you know what it will do? It will create some great coaches who will go out and open a jiu-jitsu studio somewhere, or a Muay Thai school. That’s how you ignite the sport and get it to grow.”
Apparently, this training center will be three times the size of the one in Las Vegas. It will have the same amenities and then some. Also, the UFC will be holding live events from there and broadcasting them via UFC Fight Pass. This is another huge step for the UFC in the direction of their global domination.