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- US$13m performance facility opened in June 2019 to MMA talent
- COC athletes will use facility to prepare for Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has signed a multi-year agreement with the Chinese Olympic Committee (COC) that will see the mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion serve as the body’s official high performance advisor.
The deal sees Chinese athletes given access to the UFC’s US$13 million high performance training institute in Shanghai as part of their preparations for next summer’s postponed Tokyo 2020 summer games and the Beijing 2022 winter games.
UFC will also provide a variety of high performance physical and rehabilitation services to Chinese athletes, with a focus on strength and conditioning, sports science, physical therapy and nutrition.
Prior to the new agreement, UFC and the COC had spent the past 18 months collaborating on training a selection of China’s national teams representing cycling, judo, rowing, sailing, speed skating, swimming, track and field, wind surfing, and wrestling.
Duncan French, the facility’s vice president for performance, said: “The larger ambition of the UFC Performance Institute is to be a global leader in high performance across all sports, not just MMA.
“While our core mission continues to be to support UFC athletes, we have the resources and expertise to be a difference maker to elite athletes who want to optimise their approach to competition preparation and recovery. We plan to use our staff experts in both our Las Vegas and Shanghai facilities to apply their knowledge and experience to help Chinese Olympians reach their full potential.”
Kevin Chang, senior vice president of UFC Asia-Pacific, added: “UFC built this facility 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. This partnership is a model for how we want to serve the athletic community in Asia going forward.”
The UFC’s first high performance training centre was opened in Las Vegas in 2017. In addition to its MMA roster, the facility has supported more than 100 athletes from the National Football League (NFL), the National Basketball Association (NBA), the National Hockey League (NHL), Major League Baseball (MLB) and Olympic sports.
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) has signed a multi-year agreement with the Chinese Olympic Committee (COC) that will see the mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion serve as the body’s official high performance advisor.
The deal sees Chinese athletes given access to the UFC’s US$13 million high performance training institute in Shanghai as part of their preparations for next summer’s postponed Tokyo 2020 summer games and the Beijing 2022 winter games.
UFC will also provide a variety of high performance physical and rehabilitation services to Chinese athletes, with a focus on strength and conditioning, sports science, physical therapy and nutrition.
Prior to the new agreement, UFC and the COC had spent the past 18 months collaborating on training a selection of China’s national teams representing cycling, judo, rowing, sailing, speed skating, swimming, track and field, wind surfing, and wrestling.
Duncan French, the facility’s vice president for performance, said: “The larger ambition of the UFC Performance Institute is to be a global leader in high performance across all sports, not just MMA.
“While our core mission continues to be to support UFC athletes, we have the resources and expertise to be a difference maker to elite athletes who want to optimise their approach to competition preparation and recovery. We plan to use our staff experts in both our Las Vegas and Shanghai facilities to apply their knowledge and experience to help Chinese Olympians reach their full potential.”
Kevin Chang, senior vice president of UFC Asia-Pacific, added: “UFC built this facility 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. This partnership is a model for how we want to serve the athletic community in Asia going forward.”
The UFC’s first high performance training centre was opened in Las Vegas in 2017. In addition to its MMA roster, the facility has supported more than 100 athletes from the National Football League (NFL), the National Basketball Association (NBA), the National Hockey League (NHL), Major League Baseball (MLB) and Olympic sports.
