MMASucka writers Shawn Smith and Justin Faux are venturing to every corner of the world to bring you the MMASucka International Spotlight. Every Monday and Thursday in November, a new article will debut highlighting the best fighters, prospects, and promotions from a country we feel deserves some spotlight. Enjoy.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship just invaded China for the first time in history, and while the event was a success , the crowd spent a majority of the evening sitting on their hands. Part of this is because it was a decision-heavy event without a stoppage for seven-straight bouts to start the card, but also most of those in attendance were not familiar with the sport.
Entering Macao for the first time, the UFC played it smart and ran a small venue and tag-teamed with local casino’s to push tickets, similar to how Bellator Fighting Championship’s do business all across North America.
As a result, the house was pretty full and very few seats were papered but those who were handed tickets from the casino weren’t rabid fight fans and just weren’t familiar with what they were viewing.
This is a market the UFC has wanted to get into for quite some time. As far back as 2006, UFC President Dana White was discussing coming to China and Teiquan Zhang was supposed to be their Trojan Horse into the area with him being their local star, essentially the blueprint they used to take over Britain with Michael Bisping. But Zhang hasn’t been able to put it together in the Octagon like Bisping did.
Locally there are two main promotions to pay attention to – Art of War Fighting Championships and Ranik Ultimate Fighting Federation (RUFF).
Art of War have been in the fight business since 2005 when a pair of Chinese-Americans based in California decided to get their foot in the door in promoting the sport that was skyrocketing to success in America.
At this point they have run 15 events, but their last was in 2009. They have planned another event for the following year but a date has yet to be set.
RUFF hasn’t been in the game as long as Art of War but has really taken over in recent times as the most prominent MMA promotion for two reasons. Firstly, they have the support of the Chinese Government, a feat not reached by any other promotion in China and they also run events in mainland China unlike any others.
While both are serving the MMA game well by running events and giving people opportunities to feed their families from fighting, there just isn’t a high demand for the sport right now.
Since there’s little desire for MMA right now, as you can probably guess there are not many hot prospects either. The two stand-outs that I have seen from my tape studies and research are Hailin Ao and Tuerxun Jumabiek.
Ao has been a pet project of the Art of War promotion since their debut event and aside from one bout all of his fights have taken place under their umbrella. The unbeaten welterweight submission fighter really needs to work on his striking to make an impact Stateside. He has basic boxing that he uses to set up his takedowns and get to the ground where he is comfortable but a solid striker will pick him apart in a kickboxing match.
Unfortunately for Ao, a fighter who needs experience and to fight better competition, he hasn’t fought since the last Art of War event that he headlined in 2009. For his evolution the 25-year-old needs to get fights under his belt, preferably out of China.
Jumabiek, the unbeaten bantamweight is widely regarded as the best fighter in China. Sporting a perfect 14-0 record, the former Legend FC 135-pound king has been a staple of RUFF events in recent times.
While he has a lot of experience under his belt for a three year pro, he isn’t great at anything. He has a well-rounded game but nothing about his game truly stands out. His striking has really come a long in recent times and his submission game isn’t too shabby but his wrestling has truly yet to be tested.
Similar to Ao the only way that he is going to get better is if he starts fighting outside of China and Hong Kong but with his recent deal to re-visit Legend FC that is unlikely in the near future.
Ultimately I do expect China to become a talent pool that the UFC can pick from in time but right now the Chinese people need to learn the art of MMA to truly get invested into the sport and it might not even take off as a spectator sport until there is a Chinese fighter who at the very least is a contender in the big-show.
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