UFC expands China presence, signs on to design new national fitness competition
- World’s leading MMA organisation enters into partnership with Migu Co Ltd and China Leisure Sports Administrative Centre to host series of events
- New agreement designed to build awareness for adopting a healthy lifestyle and improving physical fitness
UFC has expanded its presence in China by signing up to help the country’s physical fitness drive, and is to create a new national competition in the process.
The world’s top MMA company has joined forces with Migu Co Ltd, a subsidiary of China Mobile, and the country’s Leisure Sports Administrative Centre to host fitness competitions inspired by mixed martial arts.
A series of national fitness competitions will be hosted by the centre, which operates under the General Administration of Sport, and organised by the Chinese Martial Arts Sports Development Commission.
With a new state emphasis on exercise, which has set targets such as a two-hour minimum of daily physical activity in schools, the new partnership aims to “build awareness for adopting a healthy lifestyle and improving physical fitness, by driving mass participation for all ages and backgrounds”.
“Chinese martial arts has been popularised to promote traditional Chinese culture and the spirit of martial arts, improving the physical fitness of all people, especially the youth, and to achieve the ambitious goal of ‘Healthy China’,” Hu Qin, secretary general of the China Martial Arts Development Committee, said.
“The new competition aims to make use of international scientific training experience to engage more people in scientific fitness through the mass media, stimulate their enthusiasm for sports, explore their sports potential and make sports and fitness a part of public life.”
According to a statement from UFC, its role will be to “design the programmes and tests, establish the rules and scoring, and provide the equipment and execution for each event”.
The events will be held at the company’s base in Shanghai, which also doubles at the Chinese Olympic Committee’s high performance training centre.
Kevin Chang, UFC’s senior vice-president and head of Asia said, the organisation was honoured to be supporting “such an important government initiative”.
Migu, meanwhile, will use its position to raise awareness of the competition and promote events across its networks.
