The NBA’s subservience to the Chinese Communist Party came as a result of the sport’s burgeoning popularity in China. Now, the UFC is in danger of following that same path.
The UFC announced an agreement to help train Chinese Olympic athletes at the UFC training facility in Shanghai.
“UFC is proud to partner with the Chinese Olympic Committee and be a valuable resource for their athletes,” said Kevin Chang, the UFC’s Asia-Pacific senior vice president. He added that the Shanghai facility was built “to demonstrate its strong commitment to China and to serve elite-level athletes who want to develop their skills and achieve excellence in their respective sports.”
UFC has become more popular in China thanks to the success of Chinese fighter Zhang Weili, the current women’s strawweight champion and the No. 2 ranked women’s pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Zhang won her belt in a UFC event in Shenzhen, China, in August 2019 as China continued to threaten the freedom of Shenzhen’s neighbor, Hong Kong.
The UFC’s current media rights deal in China was signed in 2016 and worth roughly $50 million over five years. When that deal expires, the organization has been hoping to double that price tag thanks to Zhang’s success and popularity.
This is the same buildup that led to the NBA’s current predicament with China. Yao Ming boosted the popularity of the league in China so much so that he became the president of the Chinese Basketball Association in 2017. The desire to find another Yao is what led to the NBA’s basketball academies in China where children were physically abused and American coaches were put under state surveillance.
UFC isn’t the only combat sport to look for a Chinese payday. Bob Arum’s Top Rank boxing has been less successful. One of his planned title fights in China was the first notable sports event canceled because of the coronavirus, and Russian champion Artur Beterbiev threatened to vacate his belt if he had to fight in China due to the country’s torture of Uighur Muslims.
The UFC should be careful with how it progresses in China. The NBA has allowed itself to be consumed by Chinese Communist Party propaganda due to how much the league relies on money coming in from the country. Nothing suggests that the UFC is going to avoid the same fate.
