The Japan Times reports that the Chinese Olympic Team has forged a partnership to use the UFC Shanghai Performance Institute to train its athletes for the 2021 and 2022 Olympics.
The $13 million facility which is projected to serve as an outlet to find and train international fighters will be used by non-MMA athletes to prepare for the delayed Summer Olympics in Tokyo in 2021. The 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing will take place just 6 months after the Summer Olympics.
The Performance Institute which rivals the original built in Las Vegas is a state of the art facility that assists athletes prepare and train for their upcoming events. Currently, Zhang Weili, the UFC’s first Chinese champion uses the Shanghai facility. The UFC also hopes to use the institute to train and prepare fighters in China.
Payout Perspective:
The partnership is interesting but also makes sense at this point in time. Certainly, having Chinese Olympic athletes using the facility may help the UFC find an athlete that could eventually move into MMA. Also, the relationship with the Chinese Olympic organization can help them create further inroads with the athletes in the country.
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