Latest news with #ShanghaiFightNight
The Star
15 hours ago
- Sport
- The Star
Pride of place
Zhang Weili celebrates after defeating Tatiana Suarez in their women's strawweight UFC 312 title bout at Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney on Feb 9. — AFP CHINESE mixed martial arts superstar Zhang Weili said she would relish fighting on home turf again after Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) announced their first event in mainland China since the Covid-19 pandemic. Weili, the first Chinese fighter to win a UFC title and current strawweight champion, is the face of MMA in a country where millions of dollars have been poured into the sport's top promotion. The Shanghai Fight Night announced is the first event on the mainland since UFC's ambitions there were hampered by the tight travel and quarantine restrictions of the zero-Covid era. UFC held a Fight Night in semi-autonomous Macau in November but otherwise its last event in China was in Shenzhen in 2019 – where Weili took the title for the first time with an upset knockout of champion Jessica Andrade in just 42 seconds. 'Competing on home soil feels completely different,' said Weili, adding that she was 'really looking forward' to fighting in Shanghai. 'When you step into the arena with a roaring home crowd behind you, it gives you an incredible boost of energy. So when I won the championship in Shenzhen, the atmosphere was absolutely electrifying.' UFC have not confirmed the line-up for the Shanghai event, which will be held on Aug 23 at the vast Shanghai Indoor Stadium, but Weili would be a huge omission in a country where she is a household name. Weili is the face of MMA in a country where millions of dollars have been poured into the sport's top promotion. China is one of UFC's 'priority markets' globally, Kevin Chang, its head in Asia, said. The 2019 launch of a state-of-the-art performance institute in Shanghai, aimed at developing Asian MMA, was a US$13mil (RM55mil) statement of that interest. However, China's strict border controls during the pandemic meant the cancellation of most international sports events there until the policies were lifted at the end of 2022. A planned Shanghai Fight Night in December the following year was relocated to Las Vegas less than a month beforehand because of 'logistical issues'. 'There were some hurdles along the way, but I think we learned a lot from that,' Chang said. 'We've had such a warm reception here in Shanghai this time around... it's been night and day,' he said. Chang said some of China's local governments had also expressed interest in hosting UFC events. 'This is the next frontier. I think we're going to continue to grow and there's a lot of room to grow.' Weili said she thought the future for the sport was bright. Song Yadong, who is ranked fifth in his UFC bantamweight class, is also raring to fight in Shanghai. 'So many Chinese athletes are joining the UFC now... I'm confident the sport will continue to grow here,' she said. Fellow UFC fighter Song Yadong, who is ranked fifth in his bantamweight class, agreed. He is also raring to fight in Shanghai and said he thought the UFC fan base in China had multiplied 10 times since the 2019 Shenzhen bout. 'I think the biggest change is that we have our own champions, such as Zhang Weili,' he said. 'Since then there is more foreign media coming and paying attention to Chinese players... Then we continue to prove that we Chinese can also achieve good results in the sport of MMA.' — AFP
France 24
22-05-2025
- Sport
- France 24
Zhang Weili keen to wow home crowd at first mainland post-Covid UFC event
Zhang, the first Chinese fighter to win a UFC title and current strawweight champion, is the face of MMA in a country where millions of dollars have been poured into the sport's top promotion. The Shanghai Fight Night announced on Thursday is the first event on the mainland since UFC's ambitions there were hampered by the tight travel and quarantine restrictions of the zero-Covid era. UFC held a Fight Night in semi-autonomous Macau in November but otherwise its last event in China was in Shenzhen in 2019 -- where Zhang took the title for the first time with an upset knockout of champion Jessica Andrade in just 42 seconds. "Competing on home soil feels completely different," Zhang told AFP, saying she was "really looking forward" to fighting in Shanghai. "When you step into the arena with a roaring home crowd behind you, it gives you an incredible boost of energy. So when I won the championship in Shenzhen, the atmosphere was absolutely electrifying." UFC has not confirmed the line-up for the Shanghai event, which will be held on August 23 at the vast Shanghai Indoor Stadium, but Zhang would be a huge omission in a country where she is a household name. 'Priority market' China is one of UFC's "priority markets" globally, Kevin Chang, its head in Asia, told AFP. The 2019 launch of a state-of-the-art performance institute in Shanghai, aimed at developing Asian MMA, was a $13 million statement of that interest. However, China's strict border controls during the pandemic meant the cancellation of most international sports events there until the policies were lifted at the end of 2022. A planned Shanghai Fight Night in December the following year was relocated to Las Vegas less than a month beforehand because of "logistical issues". "There were some hurdles along the way, but I think we learned a lot from that," Chang said. "We've had such a warm reception here in Shanghai this time around... it's been night and day," he said. Chang said some of China's local governments had also expressed interest in hosting UFC events. "This is the next frontier. I think we're going to continue to grow and there's a lot of room to grow." Zhang said she thought the future for the sport was bright. "So many Chinese athletes are joining the UFC now... I'm confident the sport will continue to grow here," she said. Fellow UFC fighter Song Yadong, who is ranked fifth in his bantamweight class, agreed. He is also raring to fight in Shanghai and said he thought the UFC fan base in China had multiplied 10 times since the 2019 Shenzhen bout. "I think the biggest change is that we have our own champions, such as Zhang Weili," he said. © 2025 AFP
HKFP
22-05-2025
- Sport
- HKFP
UFC to hold first event in mainland China since pandemic with Shanghai fight
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. The Octagon returns to Shanghai! 👋 #UFCShanghai & the #RTU4 semifinals are headed to China! — UFC (@ufc) May 22, 2025 '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.
The Hindu
22-05-2025
- Sport
- The Hindu
UFC to hold first event in mainland China since pandemic
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) will hold its first event in mainland China since the COVID-19 pandemic, it said on Thursday, announcing a Fight Night in Shanghai this summer. The top MMA promotion has poured resources into developing the Chinese 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.
