UFC-China head hired, new office opening "immediately"

JonnyMuzz · **Posted:** Mon Jul 05, 2010 8:34 am

LAS VEGAS – Following the opening of offices in the U.K. and soon Toronto, the Ultimate Fighting Championship is finalizing plans for its third international division.

As UFC president Dana White first suggested in May, the Las Vegas-based promotion next will open an office in mainland China.

In fact, the UFC's Chinese website launched over the weekend, a new division head has been hired, and the office will open "immediately," White said.

White and UFC CEO Lorenzo Feritta will make official announcements – including the introduction of the head Chinese UFC official, who was hired this weekend – in the coming weeks. Regardless, he said the region will be a target of quick expansion.

"(The office opens) within the next few weeks," he told MMAjunkie. "I'm telling you, in the 10 years that you guys have known me, have I ever said (something) that I didn't at least try to make happen? When we say we're going to do something, we do it. We don't just go, 'Oh, yeah, we're going to go to China,' and then we just kick around for six months. If I say we're going to China, we're going to [expletive] China."

In fact, once the Chinese office is up and running, "we go to Indian then we work on South Korea," White said.

UFC public-relations director Jen Wenk said China's country-specific website, UFC.cn, launched this past Friday. White said that's the first step toward what will be a speedy process.

"We're working on China right now," he said. "We're moving fast in China."

As White told MMAjunkie in May, the UFC plans to host live shows in the world's most populous state (1.3 billion people), and a Chinese version of "The Ultimate Fighter" reality series is expected to kick off the expansion.

As with nearby India, the UFC sees huge potential for the sport in China, which also has become the world's fastest growing major economy. Additionally, the country boasts approximately a quarter-billion male residents in the UFC's targeted 18-24 demographic.

Ideally, White wants to see a global footprint for the UFC and an international Web-based media platform that gives all fans access to the varied offerings.

"We could have a show [in the U.S.] on Saturday night and five more going on in five other countries," he said. "That's what's going to eventually happen. It's figuring this thing out, putting the pieces together, and like I said, it's a work in progress. But I'm telling you guys, I said it years ago, and I've been saying it – how big this thing is going to be.

"I think people are now really starting to realize how big this thing is really going to be."

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UFC-China head hired, new office opening "immediately"

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