Prior to the UFC Fight Night 34 event in Singapore, the UFC held a special press conference to announce the whereabouts of it’s next show in Asia as well as a few fights on that card.
UFC Asia managing director Mark Fischer started off the press conference by telling the press that the night’s card had been sold out and that the UFC’s next Asian event will be a Fight Night card on March 1st in Macau, China.
The card, which well be held at the Cotai Arena, will feature the welterweight and tournament finales of the inaugural season of The Ultimate Fighter: China.
Fischer also confirmed details about the fight card. The main event is scheduled to be a welterweight clash between Dong Hyun Kim (18-2-1, 1 NC) meeting John Hathaway (17-1). Both Kim and Hathaway are riding a three fight win streak in the division.
The other fights announced for the Macau card are a heavyweight fight between Shawn Jordan (15-5) and Matt Mitrione (6-3), a pairing featuring Ivan Menjivar (25-11) and Hatsu Hioki (26-7-2), and a clash in the lightweight division pitting Kazuki Tokudome (12-4-1) and Yui Chul Nam (17-4-1).
For those curious about when tickets go on sale for the Macau card, those will be available on January 6th according to Fischer.
When asked about when the UFC plans to put on an event in the mainland of China, Fischer told the media the plans were to have a “really big” event in 2015.
Fischer also added some anecdotes about The Ultimate Fighter: China. He told the media that 150 people tried out for the show, that there are plans for a second season, and that it will eventually be available on Fight Pass.
Cung Le, Dong Hyun Kim, and John Hathaway also fielded questions from the media. While there weren’t too many questions for Kim or Hathaway, Cung Le did tell the press that he plans to return to action sometime in August.
The current TUF China Finale fight card is below.
Dong Hyun Kim (18-2-1, 1 NC) vs. John Hathaway (17-1)
Shawn Jordan (15-5) vs. Matt Mitrione (6-3)
Ivan Menjivar (25-11) vs. Hatsu Hioki (26-7-2)
Kazuki Tokudome (12-4-1) vs. Yui Chul Nam (17-4-1)