A Shanghai glove affair

The Ultimate Fighting Championship continues to punch high and heavy in its global ambition with a return to the Chinese mainland expected to help elevate mixed martial arts into the nation's sporting mainstream.

Six years since last staging a live event in the mainland, the Las Vegas-based MMA promotion has realized that, when bringing its fights back again, public awareness of the mixed-discipline combat sport has grown much stronger than expected, paving the way for guaranteed success on its return this summer.

"When we had our first fight in 2017, we had cautious optimism, we didn't know for sure if we would do well," Kevin Chang, UFC senior vice-president and head of Asia, said of UFC's mainland debut in Shanghai, which was followed over the next two years by events in Beijing and Shenzhen.

"This time around, we know what to expect," Chang said after the UFC announced last week that it will host its second Fight Night in Shanghai on Aug 23.

"We know it's going to be well attended and have huge media interest, and this will create waves that will set us up for more success in the future. That's the expectation now, not a hope."

Sure, the MMA juggernaut has every reason to expect a smashing success this time around, now that it has signed 17 Chinese athletes to multi-fight contracts, crowned a world champion in strawweight belt holder Zhang Weili, opened its largest Performance Institute in the country, and amassed over 16 million followers across major social media platforms.

Although not having confirmed the matchups on the card yet, the Fight Night at the Shanghai Indoor Stadium will be a celebration of MMA's exponential growth in China and a statement to the UFC's continuous localization efforts, Chang said.

"Our Chinese athletes are making a statement in UFC that they are a force to be reckoned with, and we are excited to showcase their talent in the city where it all began," he added.

The Fight Night will be the fourth such show to be held on the mainland and eighth overall on Chinese soil, including four events held in the Macao Special Administrative Region from 2012-2024.

The event will be co-organized by Shanghai's Municipal Sports Bureau, Alibaba subsidiary Orange Lion Sports and UFC's broadcast partner Migu, a China Mobile-owned streaming platform.

"We have always maintained close communication with top international events and organization such as UFC, and this collaboration to bring the UFC event back to Shanghai will deepen our presence in the sports industry," said Mu Yang, chairman and CEO of Orange Lion Sports, formerly known as Alibaba Sports.

"The city of Shanghai, as our headquarters, has given us great support. This collaboration with UFC has ushered us into a new era. In the future, we will bring more influential events to the doorstep of Chinese fans."

Road to UFC hailed

Despite it being unlikely she will lace up for a fight so soon after defending her strawweight title in February, Zhang, who beat Brazilian wrestler Jessica Andrade to claim the 115-pound (52 kilogram) belt at the 2019 Shenzhen event, said she cannot wait to get involved in the Shanghai event, regardless of her role.

"You will probably see me cheering them on from the sideline, or commenting, or promoting the event as an ambassador. I will be there, for sure," said Zhang, who attended a news conference in Shanghai on Thursday to announce the event.

More of her compatriots are expected to feel the adrenaline rush of a home fight, with semifinals of season four of Road to UFC confirmed to take place on the eve of the Aug 23 main event at the same venue, where a total of 16 contenders, having fought their way out of the opening round last week, will vie for final berths and the coveted opportunity to sign professional contracts with UFC.

The RTU talent selection program was launched in 2022 particularly for the Asia-Pacific region, and annually awards winners of four divisions — flyweight, bantamweight, featherweight and lightweight — lucrative multi-fight contracts.

Since the first edition, a total number of seven Chinese athletes have earned pro contracts with UFC by punching their way along that pathway.

Five Chinese youngsters, led by featherweight standout Li Kaiwen, defeated their respective opponents at last week's first round at the Shanghai PI to advance into the semis.

"I am back to pick up what I missed out on before. I will prove that I belong (in the UFC)," stylish striker Li said after his TKO win against South Korea's Seo Dong-hyun on Thursday.

"This is a great path to the Octagon, and quite an invaluable test before the main stage," said Li, who missed a shot at UFC promotion in 2023 after submitting to compatriot Yizha in the division final.

Watching his fellow countrymen pursue their Octagon dream at the home tournament, China's rising light heavyweight star Zhang Mingyang urged them to draw strength from their predecessors and seize the opportunity, one which would not have been possible just a few years ago.

"When the whole crowd of over 10,000 people chanted 'China Power!' I felt my blood was boiling," Zhang Mingyang said of watching welterweight pioneer Li Jingliang interact with Shanghai fans after a knockout win at the 2017 Fight Night.

"Ever since, it was my goal to become a pro MMA fighter like Li, and the RTU has helped me realize it. Hopefully, more young fighters will follow the same path," said Zhang Mingyang, who earned his UFC contract by winning the 2022 RTU final.

With a consistent supply of young talent emerging from local and regional promotions, the UFC is bullish on MMA's sustainable growth in the birthplace of ancient martial arts, and its business prospects in its biggest overseas market.

"Where we go from here is that we just keep adding; we build strength on strength," said Chang.

"We just keep doing what we are doing. Our investments in the academy (at the PI) and in the RTU, they don't stop. It's just such an important market for us to be able to have success.

"Our goal is to become a globally iconic sports property, and to do that, you have to be in the mainstream in every part of the world. China is of course no exception to that."