The UFC has announced a multi-year agreement with the Chinese Olympic Committee that will see the firm play a ‘key role’ in the training of Chinese athletes for the rescheduled 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympic Games.
As a result of the deal, the UFC will provide Chinese athletes with a range of physical and rehabilitation services, with a specific focus on strength and conditioning, sports science, physical therapy and nutrition. Moreover, the firm will offer its training expertise and provide the athletes with access to its UFC Performance Institute in Shanghai to use the facility’s equipment, all of which will be supervised and administered by UFC staff.
Kevin Chang, Senior Vice President, UFC Asia-Pacific stated: “UFC is proud to partner with the Chinese Olympic Committee and be a valuable resource for their athletes.
“UFC built this facility to demonstrate its strong commitment to China and to serve elite-level athletes who want to develop their skills and achieve excellence in their respective sports. This partnership is a model for how we want to serve the athletic community in Asia going forward.”
The UFC has also been named as the official high performance advisor to the Chinese Olympic Committee whilst the UFC Performance Institute will be the committee’s Official High Performance Training Center.
Additionally, UFC will provide Chinese athletes with a portfolio of services available to them during the partnership, this includes customised training, nutrition, and supplementation plans, daily coaching, access to medical and manual therapy services, and authorisation to use a range of comprehensive recovery capabilities, among others.
“The larger ambition of the UFC Performance Institute is to be a global leader in high performance across all sports, not just MMA,” highlighted Duncan French, Vice President, Performance, UFC Performance Institute.
“While our core mission continues to be to support UFC athletes, we have the resources and expertise to be a difference maker to elite athletes who want to optimise their approach to competition preparation and recovery. We plan to use our staff experts in both our Las Vegas and Shanghai facilities to apply their knowledge and experience to help Chinese Olympians reach their full potential.”
Over the last 18 months the UFC and the Chinese Olympic Committee have also been collaborating on training a selection of China’s national teams representing sports such as cycling, judo, rowing, sailing, speed skating, swimming, track & field, windsurfing, and wrestling.
The mixed martial arts organisation has experienced significant growth in China in recent years, just last year UFC crowned its first world champion from the region when Zhang Weili defeated Jessica Andrade.
