Franklin, Le clash in MMA Macau duel

MANILA, Philippines - Filipino mixed martial arts fans in Macau brace for top-notch MMA duels when the UFC Macau: Franklin vs Le fight card is held tomorrow at The Venetian Macao-Resort-Hotel’s Cotai Arena.

Former UFC middleweight champion Rich “Ace” Franklin and former Strikeforce middleweight titlist Cung Le held separate open workouts a couple of days ago, giving the fans samples of what to expect in the blockbuster event.

“Since opening our Beijing office in 2010, UFC has grown by leaps and bounds and has taken a strong foothold in China,” said Mark Fisher, UFC Asia’s executive vice president and managing director, in the recent press launch.

“The UFC is the most programmed sports league in the country, and UFC fighters are some of the most followed athletes on Chinese social media sites,” he added.

Aside from the 40-year-old Le, a Vietnamese based in the US, among the Asians competing are South Korean Dong Hyun Kim, Chinese Zhang Tiequan, Japan’s Takanori Gomi, Yasuhiro Urushitano, Riki Fukuda and Takeya Mizugaki will face Mac Danzig, John Lineker, Tom DeBlass and Jeff Hougland and South Korea’s Kyung Ho Kang, Hyun Gyu Lim.

Dong will face off with Brazilian Paulo Thiago in a welterweight fight while Zhang, the first fighter from China to step inside the Octagon, will clash with Guamanian John Tuck, who fought in the Philippines for the PXC early this year, in a lightweight bout.

UFC, meanwhile, said it hopes to expand its fan base in Asia.

“With over 21 million fans of sport in China alone, it’s only a matter of time before we start seeing more homegrown Chinese MMA talent joining the world’s most elite fighters at future UFC events,” said Fisher.

“Saturday’s event is sure to be the first of many for UFC in China – this is history in the making,” he added.

BALLS, ABS-CBN’s sports cable channel, will telecast the UFC Macao: Franklin vs Le live.

“UFC is a fastest growing sport in Asia and in the Phl and we hope UFC continues to stage fights not just in Japan and China but other Asian countries as well,” said BALLS head Jojo Estacio.