UFC Expects Sell Out For UFC 144, Considering Annual Shows in Japan

Posted by Larry Csonka on 02.23.2012

Dana White speaks…

- Dana White and UFC Asia executive Mark Fischer recently spoke about UFC 144 and the possibility of more events in Japan, here are the highlights...

Dana White On The Return to Japan: "It's exciting. I love it here. I'm very excited about coming back here. … This is a place where a lot of great organizations held events. Not only did they build up a lot of Japanese talent but a lot of talent from around the world here in Japan. I think the event's already been successful. We're close to a sellout already, and obviously the card we put together for this event is phenomenal."

Dana White On Japan Being Ready For The UFC: "We're getting all this stuff dialed in," White said. "We tried to come back to Japan earlier than this, but the deal we had put together fell apart. We stayed on it and didn't abandon coming to Japan. The deal didn't fall apart this time. We got everything done that we needed to get done to put on an event. All the things that go into bringing a live event to a new territory and not getting smashed financially, we got done."

UFC Asia executive Mark Fischer on More Events in Japan: "I think it's a little bit wait-and-see but certainly we do feel based on the strength of what we've seen so far leading into the event – the buzz, the ticket sales so far – that I think it's a market we'd love to come back to with a big event at least annually," Fischer said. "Whether or not we complement that with maybe one or two smaller events – perhaps 'Fight Nights' – and we think there's quite good potential for an 'Ultimate Fighter,' maybe in a slightly different format here. That's a little bit wait-and-see, but I do think that in some shape or form, we will be coming back on probably a semi-annual basis – a big event and, ideally, a second event, whether that be a 'Fight Night' event or 'Ultimate Fighter' format."