Filed under: UFC
Many people questioned the UFC’s decision to return to Germany, where the public sentiment towards MMA isn’t overwhelmingly positive. UFC 122 might have been held in Oberhausen this past weekend, but the fights weren’t even available on TV in the host country.
But as UFC VP of regulatory affairs Marc Ratner told Ariel Helwani on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour, the mixed feelings about MMA from politicians and local media are precisely why the UFC decided to go back to Germany.
“To grow the sport, you have to keep educating,” Ratner said. “We want to do business in Germany. We want to show the people and the newspaper people…that’s the only way to do it. If you just walk away and say, ‘Gee, they won’t let us be on TV,’ it doesn’t make sense. So we’re just going to keep pushing. It was the right decision and I’m glad we did it.”