Press Release – Friday, 26 October 2012
Less than a year after forming a strategic partnership with Emmy Award-winning Los Angeles-based Mandt Bros. Productions, RUFF (Ranik Ultimate Fighting Federation), the first government-sanctioned professional MMA organization in China, is set to unveil the release of a groundbreaking reality-TV series, RUFF: Journey.
Expected to begin airing on televisions across China in late November, the 10-part RUFF: Journey series will be broadcast weekly leading up to the 2013 RMB 1,000,000 Super Fight, and will focus on RUFF and its fighters, and chronicle the organization’s first MMA season.
“As the birthplace of Martial Arts, China holds enormous potential as a place where the sport of Mixed Martial Arts can flourish,” comments RUFF co-founder and CEO Joel Resnick. “All that the fighters in China need is a big enough platform and the right opportunities, and that’s what we’re here to provide.”
RUFF: Journey will provide TV viewers across China with incredible access to RUFF’s world-class athletes, offering insight into these fighters’ lives, and profiling their moving stories of courage, determination, and hard work.
“This series will give viewers an unprecedented chance to hear from the best fighters in RUFF, learn where they come from, what their stories are, why they are fighting and who they are fighting for,” explains Michael Mandt, who founded Mandt Bros. Productions along with his brother Neil.
RUFF: Journey will culminate in February 2013 with the Super Fight, a championship event where 10 RUFF athletes will compete to become China’s first MMA National Champions in five different weight classes, with each winner earning a championship belt and RMB 1,000,000 in prize money.
“We are the only MMA organization sanctioned by The Wushu Administrative Center of the General Administration of Sport of China [and] we are the only promotion that can rightfully award National Championship belts,” comments Resnick on the significance of the Super Fight. “And what I love about RUFF: Journey is that is chronicles the journey to that night, focusing on introducing the top fighters who are vying for this incredible opportunity.”
Each episode will focus on a pair of fighters battling head-to-head in the RUFF cage, offering viewers the chance to see these young men fighting for their lives, and the chance to better the lives of all those around them. The stakes are enormous and RUFF: Journey hopes to show just how hard the athletes who represent RUFF are willing to fight to reach their goals.
Official information regarding broadcast dates, times, and networks will be made public shortly.
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