A lot of mixed martial arts promotion has sprung up through the years. From the Ultimate Fighting Championship to Strikeforce FC to Bellator MMA, mixed martial arts has grown in popularity and is still rising throughout the world. Now, boxer Amir Khan wants to bring the fight sport to Europe.
In a report by BBC Sports, the British boxer is planning to start a team-based mixed martial arts league next year in Britain in hopes to capitalize on the meteoric rise of the sport and the population of other countries.
The former unified light-welterweight world champion will bring the Super Fight League, an Indian mixed martial arts promotion he is a financial stockholder of, to Britain where eight teams from different parts of the country will see action and compete.
Khan said that mixed martial arts is getting bigger and better with the likes of UFC star Conor McGregor raking in massive pay per view numbers with his fights and charisma and he hopes the sports' popularity in the Americas could be duplicated in Europe.
Last November, McGregor became the first fighter in UFC history to hold two titles in two divisions simultaneously after dispatching Eddie Alvarez in UFC 205 for the lightweight belt. UFC 205 broke the former record in pay per view buys with 1.6 million buys.
Khan added that the market would be huge for his league and he wants to reach countries like India which has a population of 1.2 billion people.
In other news, the Nevada Athletic Commission pulled out former UFC heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez in his fight against Fabricio Werdum at UFC 207 in Las Vegas on Dec. 30, as reported by MMA Fighting
The commissions' executive director Bob Bennett said that the commission's officials wanted to secure the health of Velasquez since he is still feeling pain from a back and leg injury with just a week heading into the fight.