Doctor-turned-fighter captures imagination of MMA fans

Consistent investment

Thanks to growing public interest and the government's push to elevate the country's sports industry, the world's major MMA promoters have deepened their reach into the Chinese market, despite live events being suspended for years due to the pandemic.

As the first international MMA promoter to host fights on the Chinese mainland, Singapore-based ONE Championship has staged 12 live events in six Chinese cities since its first in Beijing in 2014.

A Memorandum of Understanding signed last month between ONE and the city of Jinan, capital of Shandong province, is expected to see the promoter bring live fights to China for three years in a row.

"The growing appetite for combat sports in China has been significant, highlighted by the popularity of relevant classes among gym-goers and the trending content on social media," Annie Li, president of ONE Championship China, said after the MOU was announced.

"Combined with the cultural heritage of martial arts in China, this paves the way for MMA to make deeper inroads in a sustainable way here," she added.

From four fighters in 2016, ONE has now signed over 60 Chinese MMA athletes, led by men's featherweight champion Tang and women's strawweight titleholder Xiong Jingnan. It has also kept expanding its talent development system in the country through cooperation with sports schools, MMA gyms and media partners.

For the UFC, another major player, its ambitions in China have expanded beyond the elite ranks to include getting people involved in the sport at the grassroots level.