When the biggest Japanese MMA Organization, PRIDE, was sold to the owners of the UFC organization in 2007, MMA and its coverage in Japan have changed drastically.
However, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), a combination of wrestling, boxing, kickboxing, jiu-jitsu, and judo, has always been a sport Japanese fighters have excelled in, and with the recent push of UFC in Japan that includes a fight coming to Tokyo on September 20, it seems as though MMA is back on the rise.
In Vice Japan’s latest video, called “Appetite for Strength: The Rebirth of Japanese MMA,” MMA fighters and UFC fans Shizuka Sugiyama and Brittany Decker take to the streets of Shibuya to see how much people know about UFC. Many indeed found these fighters to be “sexy and cool,” and look back with excitement at previous UFC fight footage.
Sugiyama and Decker both believe the future is bright for UFC in Japan, seeing this new surge of popularity for both fighters and fans.
Check out the video below to get a preview of the fighters in the upcoming UFC Fight Night Japan 2014:
You can pick up tickets for UFC Fight Night Japan 2014 here.
