While no English-language announcement was made available, the UFC has reportedly announced their intention to launch their reality fighting series in China. Bloody Elbow was the first to report the news. The formal announcement can now be found on the UFC’s Chinese website.
According to their report, ‘The Ultimate Fighter: China’ will be auditioning featherweight, lightweight and welterweight fighters of Chinese descent who are capable of speaking the language. However, tryouts are not exclusive to mainland China. Three different events are going to be held to recruit talent: July 21st at the Metropark Lido Hotel in Beijing, July 25, at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel in Singapore, and August 3 at the Venetian Hotel in Macau.
The show is expected to be conducted like other forms of the reality show, namely, 16 fighters in a house battling for a two-year, six-figure contract. The finale is expected to take place at the Venetian Hotel in Macau, the site of the UFC’s first event in China when Cung Le knocked out Rich Franklin at UFC on FUEL TV 6 in November of 2012.
The show will be broadcast on LioNingTV, one of Chinese’s pay satellite nationwide networks. There is no word on when the program would begin airing.
No coaches were yet named for the show. The UFC only has two Chinese nationals on their roster, Jumabieke Tuerxun and Zhang Tiequan.