【英语中国】中国人会欢迎美式搏击会吗？

The country that brought the world martial arts is about to get a taste of American-style extreme fighting, with the introduction of the Ultimate Fighting Championship organization in Asia.

The fight organizer and promoter for the form of sports-combat called mixed martial arts, announced that it would be setting up a foothold in Asia. The company didn't specify where, but its new executive Mark Fischer, a former exec with the National Basketball Association Inc., lives in Beijing.

As part of its sop to Chinese audiences, the UFC is also touting the addition of an Inner Mongolian lightweight bruiser Zhang Tiequan to its scorecard for a televised bout through its sister organization, World Extreme Cagefighting. The group also has existing ties with the China National Wushu Federation, which it's also hoping to leverage.

Distinct from stylistically pure pugilistic arts like boxing or wushu, mixed martial artists may combine elements from many styles of hand-to-hand combat or wrestling in their repertoire, or fights can pit combatants who specialize in one type of combat against someone who trained in a different fighting form.

To manage UFC's Asian business, the fight group owned by Las Vegas-based Zuffa LLC is turning to Fischer with the hope that some of his magic touch in marketing the NBA can rub off on their fledgling Asian franchise.

Basketball has been one of the few American sports imports to become a winner in China.

Under Fischer's direction from 2003 to 2008, the NBA managed to ink more than 20 marketing partnerships with leading brands in the country. Tsingtao, for instance, is now the official beer of the NBA in China. The NBA has actually set up a separate corporate entity for its China operations, which was valued at $2.3 billion when it was set up in 2008.

Other sports, which came to the party a little later, just haven't had the hot hand when it comes to gaining acceptance in the Chinese market.

National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing Inc. executives went on a China junket in 2007 to drum up sponsors and gauge what potential interest might exist for its brand of high-octane, fuel-fired racing thrills. So far, the answer appears to be very little. Meanwhile, the National Football League set its sights on China in 2009 and has been staging exhibitions and rebroadcasting games in the country with Chinese color-commentary. However it, too, seems to be getting blitzed in China.

Sports like auto-racing, football, and even baseball suffer from a want of attention in a country where the focus is on winning medals and national glory.

Major League Baseball has a 10-year development program that it has recently put in place in the country, but there are doubts about how successful it can be, according to reports in state media outlets. The marquee stadium in Beijing, built for the Olympic Games in 2008, has already been demolished to make room for new real estate developments.

Some sports fans and industry experts are skeptical about the UFC's prospects as well. 'I think that it's interesting, but not sure how much of a market exists here, since people are very much into wushu, taekowndo and other 'traditional' martial arts,' said one sports marketing professional. 'UFC is a little out of the mold.'

Meanwhile, a 30-year-old Taiwanese fan of the UFC who was educated in the US, said the UFC bouts might be too much for Chinese fans. 'I don't know how the Chinese will react to the violence of the UFC, but it's going to be exciting to see it come home after being treated by the wash cycle of western entertainment.'

着终极格斗冠军赛（Ultimate Fighting Championship）组织进入亚洲，为世界带来武术的中国即将尝到美国式极限格斗的滋味了。

这项被称为综合武术的格斗运动的组织者和推广者宣布将会在亚洲设立办事处。公司未明确指出设立地点，但其新任主管马富生（Mark Fischer）现住在北京，他曾是美国职业篮球联赛（NBA）的中国区主管。

作为其中一个吸引中国观众的举措，UFC同时也正推动内蒙古轻量级拳击手张铁泉参加该组织的姐妹组织──世界极限笼斗冠军赛（World Extreme Cagefighting）举办的一场通过电视转播的比赛。该组织同时也希望能够借助与中国武术协会的关系助其一臂之力。

与拳击和中国武术等纯搏击术不同，综合武术选手们会将各种不同风格的徒手攻击或摔跤融合起来，一场搏斗可以在擅长不同项目的双方之间展开。

UFC是总部位于拉斯维加斯的Zuffa LLC旗下组织。为了管理其在亚洲的业务，该组织将目光投向了马富生，希望凭借他在NBA的优秀营销经验为他们在亚洲即将开展的业务推波助澜。

篮球是少数几项来源于美国而在中国大受欢迎的运动项目之一。

2003年至2008年，NBA马富生的带领下，与中国20多家一线品牌建立了营销合作关系。例如青岛啤酒现在就是NBA在中国的官方指定啤酒。事实上，NBA在中国建立了一个独立的公司实体，2008年建立的时候就达到23亿美元的价值。

其他晚些时候进入中国的运动项目在取得中国市场认可的时候就没这么走运了。

美国全国赛车联合会（National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing Inc）的官员在2007年来到中国招揽赞助商并对其高能耗的刺激赛车运动在中国的潜力进行评估。目前看来，答案是潜力很小。同时，美式足球联盟（National Football League）也在2009年盯上了中国，在中国举办各种展览并转播配有中文解说的赛事。然而，它似乎也只是昙花一现。

赛车、足球甚至篮球这些项目希望在一个高度重视赢取奖牌和国家荣誉的国家吸引眼球的经历都很痛苦。

据官方媒体报道，美国职业棒球联盟（Major League Baseball）制定了一个10年发展计划，最近才开始在中国实施，但有人质疑它到底能否成功。为北京2008年奥运会修建的一座场馆已被拆除，为新的房地产开发腾出空地。

一些体育迷和业内专家对UFC在中国的发展前景也表示怀疑。一位体育营销专家说，我认为这很有趣，但我不确定是否有市场，因为这里的人都热衷于武术、跆拳道和其他“传统”搏斗项目，UFC有点不合口味。

同时，一位生在台湾、在美国受教育的30岁的UFC迷说，UFC的比赛对中国人来说可能太过了。我不知道中国人会如何看待UFC比赛中的暴力，但能够看到它在经过西方娱乐文化洗礼之后最终“回家”也是令人兴奋的一件事。