UFC in China: plans revealed to open state-of-the-art performance complex in Shanghai
- New facility slated to open in Shanghai in mid-2019
- Complex will become the organisation’s centre of operations for the Asia-Pacific region
“This is going to be the catalyst in terms of digging in and really developing these athletes the right way,” Kevin Chang, UFC vice-president of Asia-Pacific, told the Post.
“It will also give a lot more athletes from around the region a clear path to be recognised, and to get into the UFC. It’s not something that has existed in the past so it is a huge opportunity.”
Measuring in at around three-times the size of the UFC’s famed Performance Institute in Las Vegas, the new Shanghai centre – to be situated in the city’s central Jing’an District – will include the very latest in high-tech strength and conditioning facilities, as well as centres for sports science and nutrition, and is slated for opening in mid-2019. The complex will also become the UFC’s centre of operations for the Asia-Pacific region.
Training programmes at the institute will be guided by UFC Hall of Famer and the UFC’s vice-president of athlete development Forrest Griffin, the popular former light-heavyweight champion who retired in 2013 with a lifetime record of 19-7.
The news comes as the UFC kicks off pre-bout activities before Saturday night’s UFC Fight Night 141: Blaydes vs Ngannou II card at the Cadillac Arena in Beijing – the first time the Las Vegas-based promotion has staged an event in the Chinese capital.
