Following the opening of offices in the U.K. and soon Toronto, the UFC is "finalizing plans for its third international division," as the promotion "next will open an office in mainland China," according to Morgan & Stupp of MMAJUNKIE.com. The promotion's Chinese website, UFC.cn, "launched over the weekend, a new division head has been hired," and UFC President Dana White said the office will open "immediately." White and UFC Chair & CEO Lorenzo Fertitta "will make official announcements -- including the introduction of the head Chinese UFC official, who was hired this weekend -- in the coming weeks." The UFC "sees huge potential for the sport in China ... as with nearby India," and White said that the region "will be a target of quick expansion." The UFC "plans to host live shows in the world's most populous state, and a Chinese version of 'The Ultimate Fighter' reality series is expected to kick off the expansion." White "wants to see a global footprint for the UFC and an international Web-based media platform that gives all fans access to the varied offerings" ( MMAJUNKIE.com, 7/4 ). ANOTHER GROWTH MARKET : YAHOO SPORTS' Dave Meltzer reported UFC heavyweight champion Brock Lesnar, who defeated Shane Carwin Saturday at UFC 116, next will face undefeated Cain Velasquez, and an "interesting aspect of a Lesnar vs. Velasquez match is its potential effect on the UFC growth in a new market: Mexico." White said that he will "sit down with Lesnar to plan when the match would take place," and he "spoke of wanting to do a show in Mexico City." The UFC "has exploded in popularity on Mexican television over the past year, but it remains well behind the boxing and pro wrestling that have long been staples in the culture for decades." Lesnar is "already a star in Mexico from his tenure with World Wrestling Entertainment," and the UFC "has attempted to market Velasquez as a Latino hero." Velasquez was "born in the U.S., the son of an undocumented immigrant" ( SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 7/4 ). SOCIAL EXPERIMENT : In Vancouver, Gillian Shaw noted the UFC leading up to Saturday's Lesnar-Carwin fight launched 116.UFC.com , an interactive site where fans could "create their own virtual fighters, stacking up against heavyweights Carwin and Lesnar and making predictions for the fight's outcome." RED Interactive Agency President Donny Makower, whose company created the site, said that UFC 116 marked the "first time a UFC site has been directly linked to Twitter and Facebook." Makower: "It's the first site we've built exactly like this for the UFC. The thing that makes this different is that it ties in with Twitter and Facebook. The other ones didn't have social media tie ins." Shaw noted the strategy seemed to be "paying off, with the UFC getting a Facebook mention every six seconds in the final week before the fight and UFC mentions on Twitter pushing toward two million" ( VANCOUVER SUN, 7/3 ).
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