UFC and First Event in China Set for November
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will make history later this year by holding its first ever event in China. It has been announced that a special UFC event will take place in China on Nov. 10, according to an official announcement made on Tuesday night.
China is well known for its strict communist regime, and the move is a surprising one. However, despite the strictly governed state, it is believed that UFC has thousands of fans across the region. The special event in November is scheduled to take place in Macau, which is a special administrative region of China, located about 37 miles west of Hong Kong, and is on the southern coast of mainland China.
It has been reported that the Venetian Macao-Resort Hotel will host the event at its Cotei Arena, and it fully expects the event to be a complete sell out. The Cotei Arena has a total capacity of 15,000 but tickets are believed to be in great demand and will be sure to sell out fast.
UFC chairman and CEO Lorenzo Fertitta has announced, "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."
He added, "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."
Fertitta also said, "The world-class CoteiArena in Macau is an ideal place to start this journey."
It is not yet sure which fighters will participate on the card for the China event but it is believed that the organizers will try to ensure some of the biggest names attend the landmark event to try and breakthrough in the Asia and China region.