The UFC’s planned return to China for a December 9 event has been canceled and the card is now expected to take place in Las Vegas, with no official announcement from the promotion on the reason for the switch.
The UFC’s planned return to China has been postponed until 2024. The upcoming card on Dec. 9, originally scheduled in Shanghai, China, is now expected to be moved back to Las Vegas, with the event taking place at the UFC APEX. The news was first announced by MMA manager Shu Hirata on Twitter, and multiple sources have confirmed the switch.
The UFC has not made an official announcement about the change or provided a reason for why the event will no longer take place in China. The card is expected to remain the same with Song Yadong facing Chris Gutierrez in the main event. Over the past few years, the UFC has been expanding into the Asian market, with a particular focus on China. The promotion opened a Performance Institute in China and has been promoting Road to the UFC, which focuses on up and coming prospects competing to earn a spot on the main roster.
The card originally scheduled in Shanghai was supposed to be the UFC’s first card in China since 2019 when Zhang Weili claimed the strawweight title. The global pandemic halted much of the UFC’s international travel, but this event was expected to mark the promotion’s return to China. Unfortunately, it appears those plans will have to wait as the UFC Fight Night card on Dec. 9 is now expected to take place in Las Vegas.