World’s largest UFC Institute unveiled in Shanghai

MANILA, Philippines — The Ultimate Fighting Championship, the world’s premier mixed martial arts outfit, recently held the grand opening of the UFC Performance Institute Shanghai as a prelude to the UFC Fight Night: Andrade vs Zhang presented by AirAsia set on Aug. 31 in Shenzhen, China.

After a year of planning and construction, the world’s largest, a 93,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art MMA training and development facility, which is three times as large as the original UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas, Nevada in the United States, will serve as a training hub to develop the next generation of not just fighters but also athletes in other sports in China and the rest of Asia Pacific region.

UFC will also use the building as its headquarters in Asia, housing UFC employees and staff including experts in the field of MMA, strength and conditioning, sports science, physical therapy and nutrition with additional features like hospitality suites, dining, retail services, and a fan experience area.

The Aug. 31 event at the Universiade Sports Centre will make UFC’s debut in Shenzhen and its third live event in Mainland China in three years.

It will also mark the first time that a Chinese will fight for a UFC title as Zhang Weili clashes with newly-crowned women straw weight champion Jessica Andrade in the main event of the Shenzhen event.