After recently confirming the possibility of the first-ever international edition of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s reality series “The Ultimate Fighter,” UFC president Dana White said he now has a likely location in mind: the Middle East. Back in November White said the UFC hopes to use “TUF,” which first launched on Spike TV in 2005, as a way to enter and educate new regions of the world about the UFC’s brand of MMA.
But with the organization’s UFC 112 show in Adu Dhabi now a reality with an April 12 event date, more MMA could be coming to the area via the reality series. But really, the Middle East could be the first of the “TUF” international editions?”Yup,” White told MMAjunkie over the weekend. “There are a thousand years of heat over there that we can do.”
Flash Entertainment, an event company and wholly owned subsidiary of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, recently purchased a 10 percent minority stake in Zuffa LLC, the UFC’s parent company. That opened the door for UFC 112, which takes place at Concert Arena at the Ferrari World theme park on Yas Island, and will also help fund the UFC’s continued international expansion.
White didn’t go into details about the Middle East edition of “TUF,” and its not known if it would extend beyond the UAE, but in November, he told MMAjunkie that UFC officials are working on distribution and production deals to bring UFC programming worldwide. He said “TUF” has to be the foundation of those offerings, whether they’re through traditional television partnerships or online broadcast deals.
“How do we plug this whole thing in with television and how to watch it everywhere?” White pondered. “We’re trying to figure that whole thing out and build that now. But the groundwork for this thing is ‘The Ultimate Fighter,’ and we’ve been working it very hard, and we’re making it happen. ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ is going to be all over the world. That’s the goal.”
The UFC’s reality series launched in 2005 and his since launched the careers of more than 100 UFC fighters, including ex-champs such as Rashad Evans and Forrest Griffin (Matt Serra also won a title after winning a “comeback” season of “TUF”). And though the UFC has repackaged some of its past 10 seasons into programming for international markets, White said the goal eventually is to have region-specific shows that recruit and groom local talent.
White said the “TUF” expansion is just one project in an increasingly congested pipeline.”We are working on some stuff right now that will blow people away,” he said. “And what we do in the next two years will just be off the [expletive] charts. I’m just so excited about the stuff we have coming up.”
“TUF” next returns on March 31 with the debut of season 11 on Spike TV. The show features former champs Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell as coaches with 14 middleweight fighters competing in a tournament format. White said the season has “some very exciting fights” and that it’s benefited from the coaches’ competitive nature.
On the other hand After visa issues prevented UFC heavyweight and British fighter Mostapha Al Turk (6-5 MMA, 0-2 UFC) from making a fight with Rolles Gracie this past weekend at UFC 109, the promotion has booked him for an international event.Al Turk is set to face “The Ultimate Fighter 10″ contestant John Madsen (3-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC) at UFC 112, and sources close to the fighters told MMAjunkie that bout agreements have been signed. The match-up was first reported by aroundtheoctagon.
UFC 112 takes place April 10 at Concert Arena at the Ferrari World theme park on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, and it marks the promotion’s first trip to the Middle East and a component of a new deal with U.A.E.-based event company Flash Entertainment.
Two title fights headline the card; middleweight champion Anderson Silva faces former champ Vitor Belfort, and lightweight title-holder B.J. Penn squares off with contender Frankie Edgar. Al Turk, 36, has not fared well in two previous octagon appearances. After he gave up his heavyweight belt in the now-defunct Cage Rage promotion, Al Turk quickly lost his debut at UFC 92 when Cheick Kongo stopped him with strikes in the first round.
In his most recent appearance, Al Turk became another talking point in the case for instant replay when his opponent Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic temporarily blinded him with an eye poke and finished the fight with strikes at UFC 99 this past June.Al Turk, who trains with London Shootfighters, is fighting for his UFC future with the April bout.
Madsen, 29, is best known for his stint on the most recent season of the UFC’s reality show, in which he fought on Rashad Evans’ team as a newcomer to the sport. Madsen made it past the show’s preliminary round by pounding out a decision against Abe Wagner but fell quickly to eventual finalist Brendan Schaub in the quarterfinals.
Madsen, who trains alongside Matt Hughes and Robbie Lawler at the H.I.T. Squad, redeemed his TV loss when he defeated fellow castmate Justin Wren at the show’s live finale this past December. Madsen vs. Al Turk is expected to take place on the UFC 112 preliminary card.
