LAS VEGAS – The UFC could make its long-awaited return to Japan this year.
UFC president Dana White today said that plans are moving forward for for the organization to promote a show in the country, which hasn't hosted a UFC event since UFC 29 way back in 2000.
"The rumor is true," said White, who couldn't given any exact details on a date or host venue. "We're going to come to Japan, and probably soon."
Just how soon?
"This year," he said.
White and other officials have long teased the possibility of an upcoming show in Japan, where four pre-Zuffa LLC events took place in Tokyo (twice), Chiba and Yokohama more than a decade ago. Until the past few years, the UFC largely ignored the region.
However, in 2009, the UFC amped up its efforts in Asia, signed new TV and Internet deals in Japan, and began serious recruiting of Japanese talent.
In recent months, domestic Japanese MMA has been on the decline. While some mid-level promotions have continued developing talent and hosting solid shows, the most notable (at least to North American fans) have struggled. DREAM has hosted just one show in 2011 (with another planned for July 16), but both have been scaled back with virtually no television presence and smaller seating configurations.
World Victory Road's Sengoku event series, meanwhile, has been dormant since December, and financial struggles suggest the promotion may be done. In fact, some of the organization's top talent – such as featherweight champ Hatsu Hioki, middleweight champ Jorge Santiago and heavyweight Dave Herman – recently have signed with the UFC.
Meanwhile, the UFC has picked up many top-level Japanese fighters who were left without major homes, such as Norifumi "Kid" Yamamoto and Riki Fukuda. Additionally, perhaps its most recognizable Japanese star, Yushin Okami, challenges UFC middleweight champ Anderson Silva in August at UFC 134.
Source: UFC to host event in Japan "this year"