MMA Combat - UFC Books 2012 Japan Return

MMA Combat - UFC Books 2012 Japan Return

Tuesday, September 6, 2011, The Ultimate Fighting Championship officially announced their intention to return to the Land of the Rising Sun on February 26, 2012. The news was delivered via a video message from UFC President Dana White during a press conference that was held at the Shinjuku Wald 9 Theater.

The event is expected to take place at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, and the venue is expected to host up to 20 000 spectators. In order to better accommodate their Western audience, preliminaries will begin at 10:00 am Japan time, with the main card taking place from 12:00 noon to 3:00 pm.

Zuffa LLC Asia Executive Vice President and Managing Director, Mark Fischer, was present to address those in attendance.

"To give another idea of the scope of this event, it will literally be witnessed by millions of fans all over the world,” said Fischer. “Moreover, this event will be a boon for Japan's economy. For example, UFC 100 in Las Vegas generated more than $51 million for the local economy. In Sydney, Australia, our two events generated over $30 million for the local economy. We're pleased to bring the similarly anticipated event to Saitama and the greater Tokyo area."

"Let me also say that while UFC Japan in 2012 will be the first event for Zuffa in Asia, it certainly won't be the last. We hope to make UFC Japan an annual fixture on our calendar and we also have plans to follow-up with a series of high quality events across Asia."

The UFC has not held an event in Japan since April 14, 2000, when the Yoyogi National Gymnasium in Tokyo was witness to the below card.

1 LaVerne Clark def. Koji Oishi via Decision (Majority) rd3 5:00
2 Ikuhisa Minowa def. Joe Slick via TKO (Cut) rd3 2:02
3 Ron Waterman def. Satoshi Honma via Decision (Unanimous) rd3 5:00
4 Sanae Kikuta def. Eugene Jackson via Submission (Armbar) rd1 4:38
5 Murilo Bustamante def. Yoji Anjo via Submission (Arm Triangle Choke) rd2 0:31
6 Tito Ortiz def. Wanderlei Silva via Decision (Unanimous) rd5 5:00

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