The Ultimate Fighting Championship "brought its razzle-dazzle to town" Thursday, according to Mathew Scott of the SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST. It declared its first-ever fights in North Asia and claimed that the event would be the "biggest show the region has ever seen with a global audience of around a billion fans." The UFC will host a card at the Venetian Macao-Resort Hotel's Cotai Arena on Nov. 10 that will include 10 Asian fighters. These fighters include China's Zhang Tiequan and Vietnam-born American Cung Le, "best known in Hong Kong for his appearance in Dir Peter Chan Ho-sun's multi-award winning film Bodyguards and Assassins." UFC Asia Managing Dir Mark Fischer said, "It'll be broadcast in 20 different languages and reach more than a billion homes around the world." He added that the UFC was developing a stable of Chinese fighters and bringing them to the U.S. for training and "sending coaches to the mainland to identify talent. " UFC is also looking at a "long-term partnership with the Venetian as host venue for its events" (SCMP, 9/7).
