The UFC announced on Thursday that it would be heading to Singapore on Jan. 4, 2014, as part of its long-awaited Asian expansion. The venue has previously been confirmed as being Marina Bay Sands, which has a capacity of 5,000.
No fights have been confirmed at present, but the UFC used Evolve MMA in Singapore for promotional purposes this week with former UFC light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin doing a demonstration. Rafael dos Anjos, who fights out of that camp and defeated Donald Cerrone at UFC Fight Night 27 on Wednesday, would be an obvious candidate for the card.
Mark Fischer, the UFC’s Managing Director of Asia, says that Jan. 4 will be the first of many dates where fans in Asia will get a glimpse of the Octagon next year.
“This marks a bold step for UFC’s expansion in Asia and is the first of a series of events in Asia planned for 2014. After kicking off the year in Singapore, our fans can expect several other UFC events around the region on the docket next year, including two more fights at the Venetian’s Cotai Arena in Macau.”
Singapore is ONE FC’s backyard and Asia’s biggest MMA promotion has put on four shows at the 12,000-capacity Singapore Indoor Stadium with another booked for Oct. 18, but Fischer believes fight fans in the former British colony will welcome the UFC.
“We know many fans in Singapore and Southeast Asia have been waiting to experience the excitement of a live UFC event and this will certainly be a great springboard for our continued development in this part of the world.”
The UFC also plans to return to Tokyo where it has held one event per year for the two years. Dana White also confirmed this week that Manila was also on the agenda for 2014, as well as China with a Mandarin language version of TUF scheduled to start filming in November.
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UFC Announces Jan. 4 Event for Singapore, Plans Several 2014 Dates in Asia
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