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UFC to hold first event in mainland China since pandemic

Ultimate Fighting Championship will hold its first event in mainland China since the Covid-19 pandemic, it said Thursday, announcing a Fight Night in Shanghai this summer.

The top MMA promotion has poured resources into developing the China market and has a multimillion-dollar performance institute in Shanghai. 

But its ambitions were hampered by the tight travel and quarantine restrictions of China’s zero-Covid era, which led to the cancellation of most international sports events in the country until the policies were lifted at the end of 2022. 

A planned Shanghai Fight Night in December the following year was relocated less than a month beforehand to Las Vegas because of “logistical issues”.

Kevin Chang, UFC’s head in Asia, said this year’s event will take place on August 23.  

“This promises to be an action-packed weekend that will showcase both the city and our sport, and China power, to the world,” he told a press conference. 

UFC held a Fight Night in semi-autonomous Macau in November, but its last event in mainland China was in 2019 in Shenzhen. 

However, it has maintained a presence in the country through its performance institute, which was opened in 2019 to develop Asian mixed martial artists. 

The centre has a partnership with the Chinese Olympic Committee.

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