Lawrence Epstein, director of operations of the world’s largest mixed martial arts (MMA) league, the UFC, is working to organize a competition of this sport in France in 2022.
Thus, in Anaheim, California, the heavyweight MMA world championship will be held between Cameroonian Francis Ngannou, defending champion, and Frenchman Cyril Gane, on Saturday January 22, 2022. A competition that should have taken place in France. “We had a lot of discussions about it. But there is the Covid and other logistical problems which means that we simply could not organize this evening there, ”explained Lawrence Epstein to AFP.
MMA in France, an important market
For the UFC, Saturday’s fight is important because it can have a strong impact for the promotion of the championship in France. For Lawrence Epstein, the market for this combat sport “is already very large. We see it through our television audiences, our following on social networks. France is the second largest region in Europe on Facebook, with almost 550,000 fans, the growth is very rapid and there is no doubt that this event this weekend will accelerate this growth.
Note that France is one of the last countries to have authorized MMA competitions on its territory, at the beginning of 2020.