Shanghai set to shine bright in UFC universe

City will house fight promotion's newest performance institute

The Las Vegas-based Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on Tuesday announced it will open the world's largest mixed martial arts performance institute in Shanghai next year.

Located in a former industrial zone along Wenshui Road in downtown Jing'an district, the 93,000-square-foot facility will be three times larger than UFC's first institute, which was built in Las Vegas in 2017.

It will offer UFC athletes a host of amenities such as training areas, hypoxic labs, cryotherapy chambers and cognitive performance lounges.

The venue will also function as UFC's Asia-Pacific headquarters and a content development hub.

"We chose Shanghai as the place to set up our next performance institute because it's a major city where we have many local partners, and it's centrally located so fighters around the region can easily come here to train," said UFC chief operating officer Lawrence Epstein.

One of the key attractions of the $13 million institute will be the active involvement of UFC specialists in training fighters.

"The mission for this facility is slightly different than what we're doing in Las Vegas in the sense that we're also going to focus on talent development instead of just nutrition, health and safety, physical therapy and performance," said Epstein.

"In Las Vegas, our athletes are free to use the facility with their own trainers. But here in China we're going to be working directly with the athletes to help hone their skills. This is also one of the reasons we needed a bigger space."

Since its establishment, UFC's performance institute in Las Vegas has been fostering exchanges between sports, with more than 400 professional athletes from American football, baseball, basketball and hockey having used the facility.

The Shanghai institute will offer similar outreaches.

Epstein said making the institute available to other sports has allowed UFC to share its offerings with a wider community as well as learning how other athletes from other sports train.

He noted that UFC fighters have enjoyed this collaboration because learning how to train like an NFL, MLB, NBA or NHL player adds new dimensions to their workout routines.

While the institute will not be open to the public, Epstein said the UFC is considering introducing tours and community engagement events to give fans the opportunity to view the venue.

Promising Chinese MMA fighters aspiring to break into the UFC will also train there. According to Epstein, the company has already been working with local gyms to identify homegrown talent with potential.

"We plan on awarding about 30 scholarships to local athletes to train at the facility. These scholarships will cover all the expenses associated with training to become a UFC fighter," he said.

"Forrest Griffin, our vicepresident of athlete development, has been going to gyms around the country and meeting with athletes and trainers to scout talent.

"We are very confident there are a lot of athletes in China who are interested in becoming UFC fighters."

Tuesday's announcement comes ahead of the UFC's first event in Beijing, set for Saturday at Cadillac Arena.

The card is headlined by a heavyweight clash between Curtis Blaydes and Francis Ngannou, and Epstein is optimistic the event will replicate the sell-out at Shanghai's Mercedes-Benz Arena last fall.

"We're looking at other markets throughout the country such as Guangzhou and Shenzhen. That's one of the most exciting things about China - it's such a huge market," he said.

"There are small cities here that have 10 million people. This just goes to show the amount of opportunities we have. We are looking at showcasing this sport throughout the entire nation."