China's Wang Sai (R) and England's Danny Mitchel during their welterweight fight in a 2014 UFC Fight Night held at The Venetian Macao Cotai Arena in Macau. UFC and Sina Sports have now partnered to bring live streaming fights in China. (Photo : Getty Images)
American mixed martial arts promotional company Ultimate Fighting Championship had recently reached an agreement with Chinese digital sports media platform Sina Sports to broadcast live fights in China in an effort to elevate awareness of the sport in the Far East Asian nation and its neighboring countries.
One part of the strategic agreement is for the Beijing-based company to live stream UFC events "that include Chinese fighters as they (fight) in the Octagon against the best athletes in the world", as reported by UFC's official website.
Sports Pro indicated that Sina Sports, which operates an internet website, mobile website, and mobile app that are all available in the Chinese language, will also be in charge of "re-launching the UFC's official Chinese website, which will provide on-demand content including videos, images, columns, fighter profiles and fan forums".
Yearly, UFC presents more than 40 events that are broadcasted live in 150 countries worldwide. The partnership with Sina is reportedly aimed to further strengthen that reach in all corners of the globe, especially in Asia.
Aside from the above terms, Sina is also keen on co-producing exclusive UFC content solely for the China audience that includes "educational and training videos". They will also help UFC organize their events in the country and to promote them via China's own social media platforms.
"China's domestic sports industry is clearly booming," said UFC EVP and GM Kenneth Berger. "We felt that Sina Sports was a great fit for the UFC brand and would contribute greatly to our effort to expand our content and coverage to the large and loyal fan base across mainland China."
