Asian MMA took a major hit when Pride was swallowed up by Zuffa in 2007. It seemed like the glory days were over, but in the last couple of years the scene has exploded with new promotions popping up all over the place.
There are slow and steady organizations like Dare in Thailand and Legend FC in China, which put on regular shows in smaller venues, while Road FC in Korea and the SFL in India are already attracting slightly larger crowds.
The URCC in the Philippines has been going strong for an entire decade and acts as a conveyor belt of talented Filipino fighters. Japanese MMA is not what it once was, but Deep and Shooto are both putting on regular events and Dream is just about hanging on.
There is no doubt that the main force in Asian MMA at present is One Fighting Championship, which is preparing to put on a massive card on March 31st. It is the only thing in Asia at present that can rival the UFC and has the perfect combination of strong leadership and a supposedly bottomless budget.
Pride is gone, but there is plenty to get excited about with the existing Asian MMA promotions. Here’s a list of the top ones.