UFC
UFC 144 close to a sellout, UFC executive hopes to make annual return
Feb 23, 2012 - 4:15:07 PM UFC 144 close to a sellout, UFC executive hopes to make annual return

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Saturday's UFC 144 event at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan, is being configured for around 20,000 spectators. According to the UFC Asia executive Mark Fischer, the event should be sold out come fight time this weekend.

"I think we really put together a great event here," Fischer said in an interview with MMAJunkie.com. "It's going very well. We're just about a sellout. I think by event day, we're going to be sold-out, and there's incredible buzz in the market... We do expect the last few days to see a late surge and sell whatever is left, which isn't a lot."

UFC President Dana White is excited for the weekend, and said the event is happening now after getting things in place that they weren't able to previously.

"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."

"We're getting all this stuff dialed in. 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."

While many have characterized this card as a "vanity" project, and don't believe the UFC will be returning on any regular basis, that's exactly what Fischer says they're hoping to do.

"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."

Penick's Analysis: Japan's not going to be a market the UFC can run a bunch of times a year like they've been doing with Brazil, but this event has already been more successful than a lot of people expected. Because of that, they're more than likely going to make it a once-a-year locale, much like they've done with Australia for the last several years. The Japanese MMA scene is not what it was when PRIDE was going strong, but there still may be a market for the UFC, however small it may be.