The UFC may be going to Russia, and according to president Dana White, it could be soon.
Following Saturday's UFC 148 event in Las Vegas, White said the promotion is targeting a trip to Russia, though he did not elaborate on a timeframe for the potential new market.
White joked about how he personally would be received in Russia, given his contentious history with the management team of the nation's most popular MMA product, Fedor Emelianenko. White, of course, attempted to sign the legendary Russian to the UFC several years ago but was unsuccessful.
"I don't know how well I'd do in Russia," White said. "But yeah ? we're actually taking an event to Russia very soon. Very soon. Sooner than you'd think."
The news comes on the heels of the UFC's announcement this past week that it will do its first show in Macau on Nov. 10 for UFC on FUEL TV 6. That will be the UFC's first foray into Chinese territory.
Earlier this year, the UFC returned to Japan and has held three events in Brazil since returning to that country. In addition to the show in China, the UFC recently announced plans to break into countries such as India and South Africa, first with television programming and then, eventually, the hope for live shows.
"It's important every time we go into a new market to be successful," White said. "We just went to Japan. We were trying to get into Japan for so long and to do an event there. We finally got it off the ground, and it was a huge success. Now we're going into China, and we're hoping to really introduce that country to the UFC and mixed martial arts."
White said when the UFC breaks into a new market, the effects might not be instant, but eventually it can pay dividends beyond just financial boons for the company.
"I think every time we go into a new country and put on a huge, great event, it starts to spark in the country," White said. "People start training, gyms start opening, and more and more fighters start to come out of those countries."
In 2009, before the real courting process began between the UFC and Emelianenko, an April Fool's Day joke at UFC.com said the promotion was building a new stadium in Russia just for fights involving the heavyweight. The closest Emelianenko came to a UFC career was a deal with Strikeforce. But he lost three consecutive fights in the promotion and was released this past year after a final defeat to Dan Henderson. Emelianenko this past month announced his retirement from the sport after a win over Pedro Rizzo.
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