This Saturday will be the first time the Octagon rests on Chinese soil, as UFC on Fuel TV 6 will be broadcast to the masses from Macau. As the Ultimate Fighting Championship continues to plant its flag into the soil of different countries each year, the importance of a successful first card is vital, even more so as we approach this event. The success of the UFC’s continued international expansion is determined by how events such as this one are received, and while this show has flown under the radar, that doesn’t make it any less important.
In order to be successful at promoting cards outside of the United States, the UFC needs to develop and utilize stars that are from those regions. We’ve seen how successful they have been with Dan Hardy and Michael Bisping in England, as well as the multiple Brazilian stars that have been mainstays on UFC cards taking place in their home country. When the UFC travels to those countries, the support from the home crowd is always monumental. Take a look at UFC 153 and the level of crowd participation that could be felt through the television from start to finish. The UFC would love to replicate that level of fan reaction in every country that it visits, and Macau, by virtue of being a center of gambling and tourism akin to the UFC’s home of Las Vegas, represents an opportunity to reach out to fans from throughout Eastern Asia, in addition to the Chinese mainland. Because of that, this card may not be filled with the big names that the mainstream UFC fan would know, but it does have a number of fighters who have the potential to appeal to Asian fans.
The South Vietnam-born San Jose native Cung Le was placed at the top of the card with the hopes that his star power, both inside and outside the Octagon, would help catch the attention of the Chinese fan base. He has appeared in number of Hong Kong action and martial arts films, and has achieved world class success in Sanshou, a Chinese sport and martial art originally developed by the Chinese military. Though Le isn’t expected to be a force within the Octagon at any point during this end-of-career run, it is no secret that the UFC recognized his star power in San Jose, as well as his ability to be an ambassador for the sport among both the Vietnamese-American and broader East Asian communities, and signed him to capitalize on that.
Le has a tough opponent in Rich Franklin, and this will not be a showcase bout in any shape or form for the former Strikeforce middleweight champion. Franklin has both the ability and fighting intelligence to nullify Le’s standup strengths, and you can look for him to do that throughout this bout. Le’s standup skills are world class and he can hit just about anyone from a myriad of angles, but we’ve seen him struggle with conditioning, and Franklin is not a fighter you can get tired against and expect to pull out a victory. This bout should go to Franklin by unanimous decision.
In addition to a light heavyweight matchup featuring Thiago Silva and Stanislav Nedkov, the rest of the UFC on Fuel TV 6 card is filled with names that should appeal to fans from many different parts of Asia. Takeya Mizugaki, Riki Fukuda, and Yasuhiro Urushitani are have been stars in Japan for an extended period of time. Tiequan Zhang is the only Chinese fighter on the card, and will be showcased on the main card in the hopes that a rousing hometown ovation and win will start the televised show off with a bang. And “Bruce Leeroy” Alex Caceres was no doubt chosen for the card due to his emulation of the iconic Chinese action star.
In a very interesting matchup in the welterweight division, the South Korean Dong Hyun Kim will be taking on Paulo Thiago. While both are coming off of losses, they have maintained an air of relevance within the division, and still rank among the top 15 to 20 fighters in the weight class. Their styles should create an exciting fight.
Takanori Gomi and Mac Danzig are two fighters whose names should be familiar to the mainstream fan, and who do not mind throwing caution to the wind and exchanging punches with their opponents in the middle of the cage. They are expected to bring those styles into this bout as well. Neither fighter has truly been on a tear as of late, but this bout should make for a fun action fight.
All in all, it remains to be seen whether UFC on Fuel TV 6 becomes the kind of successful event that the UFC intends, one that can be pointed to as a turning point in their Asian expansion strategy. However, it should make for a good slate of fights, worth getting up early on a Saturday morning to watch.
