The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), one of US President Donald Trump’s favourite sports organisations, is set to hold a tournament in Shanghai next month, part of a broad effort by American sports leagues to tap into the world’s leading leisure and entertainment market.
Weeks after UFC Freedom 250 was staged at the White House, the mixed martial arts promoter announced that it will host its second consecutive Fight Night event on August 29, with China’s Song Yadong set to square off against top contender Umar Nurmagomedov of Russia in a headline bout.
Ticket sales will open on Friday, according to the organiser.
UFC is not alone in eyeing the emerging opportunities in China’s sport sector as the country’s huge middle-class cohort – larger than the total US population – embraces new sports and appears willing to loosen their purse strings to spectate.
The promoter is applying a similar star-driven strategy to the one adopted by the US’ National Basketball Association, which penetrated China’s market with great success after the Houston Rockets selected Yao Ming, a Shanghai native, as the first overall pick in its 2002 draft.
The move provided the league with a direct connection to Chinese audiences. UFC has emulated this approach, placing Chinese stars at the centre of its fight cards.
After Zhang Weili became China’s first UFC world champion in 2019, her mainstream popularity caught the attention of Estee Lauder. In 2020, the beauty giant featured her in a China-specific campaign, marking its first-ever partnership with an athlete from the country.
The Road to UFC tournament, held the day before next month’s Fight Night, will also provide a pathway for emerging Asian talent, and the promoter opened the UFC Performance Institute Shanghai in 2019 to support long-term athletic development in the country.
UFC’s audience in China is also expanding rapidly. The promoter now claims more than 188 million fans in the country, with over 17 million followers across social platforms.
Digital engagement has increased 70 per cent since its 2021 broadcast partnership with Migu, a sports streaming platform owned by China Mobile.
Other North American leagues have since adopted similar approaches, with Major League Baseball expanding youth development efforts through centres in China and the National Hockey League launching China Games in Shanghai and Beijing.
PwC’s Global Sports Survey found that 41 per cent of Chinese sports fans expressed interest in new sporting leagues and concepts, indicating potential demand for properties such as UFC.
The State Council’s official September 2025 guidelines stated that by 2030, China aimed to “cultivate a group of globally influential sports enterprises and events”, with the total scale of the sports industry projected to exceed 7 trillion yuan (US$1 trillion) within the next four years. -- SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST
