Major MMA Promotions of Asia
A Brief Look into the World of MMA in Japan, Korea and China
Oct 21, 2009
The sport of MMA is getting more and more popular by the day. In the USA, the UFC is undoubtedly the king of the hill with a few other legitimate promotions trailing behind. Strikeforce with its recent CBS deal and the signing of Fedor Emelianenko is also on its way to the big times.
Now what about MMA on a global scale? How many other countries have well organized and professional major MMA promotions? Here is a look at the major MMA promotions on the eastern front.
MMA Promotion in Japan
In the Far East, most of the North American fans focus their attention on the Japanese promotion, Dream. The Dream promotion consistently puts on high quality shows featuring top ranked fighters. The only criticism it often draws is the occasional “freak show” match ups that they set up for entertainment purposes.
The most recent example would be the “Super Hulk Tournament” featuring South Korean giant Hong Man Choi, former NFL player Bob Sapp, as well as light heavyweights Rameau Thierry Sokujou and Gegard Mousasi. This type of open weight tournaments, albeit entertaining, often draws criticism for hindering the effort of legitimizing MMA as a mainstream sporting event.
Although Dream is the largest MMA promotion in Japan, it is not the only one. Other notable promotions include Shooto, World Victory Road Sengoku, Pancrase, Deep, and Rings.
South Korean MMA: Spirit Martial Challenge
South Korea also has its major MMA promotion called Spirit Martial Challenge. Even though the North American audience typically gets minimal exposure to this organization, quite a few recent UFC talents has competed in Spirit MC. Most notably, Dennis Kang, who is thought to be a legitimate contender in the UFC middleweight division, and also the undefeated South Korean prospect, Dong Hyun Kim.
The Art of War Fighting Championship
In China, the Art of War FC has emerged as a popular proving ground for a lot of their Wushu/Sanda fighters. Founded by two Chinese-Americans, Andrew Pi, and Konrad Pi, the Art of War FC held its first event on November 6th of 2005. Since then, it has grown in popularity and has even included some notable foreign fighters in its match ups. Most recent, Rolles Gracie of the legendary Gracie clan, competed twice for the Art of War FC before signing with the UFC.
As Sanda fighters are few and far in between in the North American MMA scene, the Art of War FC provides a good alternative for the fan of the style to study how Sanda adds to the already exciting combat system that is MMA
Different Rules Make for More Excitement
The unified rules of MMA competition in the US slightly favors ground fighters mainly due to the prohibition of kicking or kneeing to the head of a grounded opponent. In most of the Asian promotions, however, soccer kicks to the face or face stomps is fair game.
Although which set of rules one might prefer comes down to personal preference, most people can agree that these different sets of rules allows for different kinds of dynamics to happen in the ring, and ultimately benefits the fans of the sport. .
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