Legend FC: how Conor McGregor’s manager is reviving a dormant Hong Kong MMA promotion
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What do UFC stars Li Jingliang, Kai Kara-France and Robert Whittaker all have in common? In the earlier chapters of their careers, they all competed for Hong Kong-based fight promotion Legend Fighting Championship.
If you haven’t heard of Legend, don’t worry. That doesn’t make you a bad fight fan. The company closed its doors in 2013, following a run of 11 successful events in Hong Kong, Macau, China and Malaysia. It lay dormant until 2018 when it relaunched with new owners and leadership.
Today, Legend is helmed by chairman Matt Kwok, who produced 10 of the promotion’s original 11 events. He always hoped to bring Legend back. It was just a question of waiting for the right moment.
“We acquired the property knowing that we would incubate it and, with the right opportunity, relaunch,” Kwok told the Post.
“The previous owners did a really good job of growing the brand, but I believe they were about five years too early. MMA was not huge in Asia, it wasn’t big in China, and they were facing an uphill battle.