UFC signs top Chinese fighter
31- year- old aims to keep clean record against ‘ the best’
The Ultimate Fighting Championship ( UFC) – the world’s biggest mixed martial arts organization – announced Tuesday that it had added another Chinese fighter to its roster as it continues to reach into the Chinese market.
The 31- year- old RUFF ( Ranik Ultimate Fighting Federation, the first Chinese MMA organization) featherweight champion Wang “The Dongbei Tiger” Guan, who fights out of the Xi’an Sports University, will now ply his trade in the UFC and is hoping to make his debut at the card set down for Singapore on June 17.
“I will continue to keep a clean record in the UFC, showing the world my ‘ China Power,’” Wang said in a statement. “It’s a dream come true. My ability is approved by the UFC now. This also means the opponents I face next will be the best in the world. This will push me to train even harder.”
Wang brings an overall MMA record of 15- 1- 1 to the UFC after fighting mostly in the Shanghai- based RUFF. He is listed at 146 pounds ( 66 kilo grams) and 5 feet 11 inches ( 1.80 meters).
Wang joins the Beijing- based Li “The Leech” Jingliang in the UFC, which last week claimed to be working toward staging its first event on the Chinese mainland. UFC has previously staged two events in the southern enclave of Macao.
“We’re definitely working on our first event” on the Chinese mainland, UFC Senior Vice President of International Business Joe Carr told a press conference in Singapore.
“We’ve had a couple of events in Macao, but it’s completely different going to a Beijing or a Shanghai [ event]. I have nothing to announce but it’s definitely a priority and a focus for the organization. We were successful in Macao and that’s fine but our ambitions are” the Chinese mainland.
Along with Singapore, the UFC will this year stage an event in Tokyo at a date to be decided, while another event is planned for Asia, as well as cards in Australia and New Zealand.
Li was the last Chinese fighter to appear at a UFC event – UFC on Fox 23 in Denver, Colorado in January – and he was an impressive winner, recording a second- round KO of American Bobby Nash to take his record with the organization to 4- 2 ( and to 12- 4 overall in MMA).