UFC President Dana White and Zuffa LLC Asia Exec Vice President and Managing Director Mark Fischer officially announced the Ultimate Fighting Championships return to the land of the Rising Sun on Tuesday morning.
The UFC will return to Japan after a more than ten year absence by holding an upcoming event on February 26, 2012 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. This is the same venue for the former PRIDE Fighting Championships promotion, and for DREAM. It was announced that the plan is to configure the venue for 20,000 spectators.
All of the Japanese fighters currently under contract with Zuffa were mentioned as probable competitors for the event, including Yushin Okami, Yoshihiro Akiyama, Norifumi “Kid” Yamamoto, Hatsu Hioki, Michihiro Omigawa, Takanori Gomi, Riki Fukuda, and Takeya Mizugaki.
Fischer offered these comments at the press conference (transcript via MMAFighting.com).
“It’s been over 10 years since a UFC event was held in Japan and we’re pumped to bring the fastest growing sport in the world there once again,” said UFC President Dana White via video message. “Japan has played a huge roll in getting the sport to where it is today. UFC stars such as [Quinton] “Rampage” Jackson, Wanderlei Silva, [Antonio Rodrigo] “Minotauro” Nogueira all made names for themselves fighting in the Pride organization and dozens more fought in front of the passionate Japanese fans at some point in their careers. Japan has also produced world class fighters such as [Yoshihiro] Akiyama, [Takanori] Gomi and Yushin Okami. They have all headlined major UFC events all over the world. Now, this February, the wait is finally over – we’re coming back to Japan.”
“To give another idea of the scope of this event, it will literally be witnessed by millions of fans all over the world,” stated Fischer. “Moreover, this event will be a boon for Japan’s economy. For example, UFC 100 in Las Vegas generated more than $51 million for the local economy. In Sydney, Australia, our two events generated over $30 million for the local economy. We’re pleased to bring the similarly anticipated event to Saitama and the greater Tokyo area.”
No details were provided as to whether the event would be a numbered show or a “Fight Night” event, but the start time was given. The Japanese event will kick off at 10AM Japan time, with the main card beginning at noon.