Having already taken Chinese Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) to new heights in 2011 with a string of successful events, the Ranik Ultimate Fighting Federation (RUFF) is raising the bar in 2012, and will return to Chongqing, China for RUFF 3, our most impressive event to date, on Saturday, March 24th at the Chongqing Indoor Stadium.
The first ever government-sanctioned professional fighting organization in mainland China, RUFF is once again partnering with the Wushu Administrative Center of the General Administration of Sport of China to produce and promote RUFF 3, where China’s Zhang LiPeng and Brazilian Rodrigo Caporal will square off in a highly-anticipated main event for dominance in the lightweight division.
Returning to the RUFF cage will be many of RUFF 2’s top performers, including Jumabieke Tuerxun and Irshaad Sayed, who will do battle in the bantamweight division, and Wang Guan, who will be dropping down to featherweight to face newcomer Jiang ZhouWen, who leads a new crop of talented fighters who have recently signed on for RUFF 3.
Once again, RUFF will partner with Chongqing Television, the region’s largest satellite and cable television provider, seen by over 27 million viewers in the municipality alone, and we have renewed our relationships with key sponsors Nike and Ducati to help with our mission to turn Chinese MMA into a viable, mainstream sport.
RUFF is also excited to announce our online media co-operation with QQ Sports, who will air RUFF 3 online, helping us increase our reach around China and bring MMA into more Chinese homes than ever before.
In addition to promoting world-class MMA fights, RUFF remains committed to our efforts to raise the level of officiating, player safety and fight integrity in China, and we will once again be bringing in veteran, C.O.M.M.A.N.D.-certified Canadian referee Jerin Valel to oversee the event, and the implementation of the unified rules.
For more information on RUFF, check ruffchina.com and the China MMA Blog on YouTube.