Tag: Mark+Fischer

Mark Fischer Says UFC Has Significant Opportunities in Japan Now

Filed under: UFC, interview, JapanThe Japanese fight sport industry is in dire straits. The two leading event promoters, K-1 and DREAM promoter Fighting and Entertainment Group and Sengoku Raiden Championship promoter World Victory Road, have no events…

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The Japanese fight sport industry is in dire straits. The two leading event promoters, K-1 and DREAM promoter Fighting and Entertainment Group and Sengoku Raiden Championship promoter World Victory Road, have no events scheduled, are having major financial troubles and are losing fighters to the Western promotions at a rapid rate.

Out of great crisis comes great opportunity and the UFC is now planning on moving in. Leading the charge is the man responsible for bringing the NBA to China, Mark Fischer.

Now holding the title of Zuffa Asia Executive Vice President and Managing Director, Fischer spoke exclusively to MMA Fighting about Zuffa’s expansion into Japan.

Zuffa Targeting Japanese UFC Event in 2011

Filed under: UFC, News, JapanTOKYO, Japan – Zuffa Asia Executive Vice President and Managing Director Mark Fischer met with the Japanese press on Monday at Yoshihiro Akiyama’s Cloud Dojo to announce two new local UFC distribution deals and ambitious pl…

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TOKYO, Japan – Zuffa Asia Executive Vice President and Managing Director Mark Fischer met with the Japanese press on Monday at Yoshihiro Akiyama’s Cloud Dojo to announce two new local UFC distribution deals and ambitious plans to return to Japan.

Japanese fight enthusiasts will now be able to catch UFC content on their cell phones via TV Bank or through NTT Plala’s “Hikari TV” in addition to the existing UFC WOWOW private satellite TV broadcast, and if Fischer’s aspirations are met, local fans will also be able to attend an event live in Japan.

“Japan is the most advanced and important market for us in Asia so far,” Fischer stated. “We definitely want to hold a major event in Japan as soon as possible. I would say that we’re not ready to announce anything yet but we very much hope to have [an event] later this year or early next year in Japan.”

The new distribution deals are a step forward for the UFC in Japan, but the leading fight promoter is still lacking the network television contract that is essential for expansion in a country with a limited history of pay-per-view.

WEC Announces Signing of Chinese Lightweight Tiequan Zhang

Filed under: WEC, NewsIt didn’t take long for Zuffa to puts its official stamp on mixed martial arts in Asia.

Following UFC 118, UFC president Dana White announced the company had set up an office in Beijing, China, and hired Mark Fischer, formerly o…

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It didn’t take long for Zuffa to puts its official stamp on mixed martial arts in Asia.

Following UFC 118, UFC president Dana White announced the company had set up an office in Beijing, China, and hired Mark Fischer, formerly of the NBA’s China branch, to run its operations in Asia as executive vice president and managing director.

On Thursday, the WEC, the UFC’s sibling promotion, officially announced the signing of lightweight Tiequan Zhang, of Beijing. Zhang will be the first fighter from mainland China in the WEC’s history. His first task comes later this month against Alex Karalexis at WEC 51 in Broomfield, Colo.