I couldn't help noticing the PSA during Saturdays fight night broadcast with Dana, Chuck, and GSP requesting aid for the victims in Japan through the Red Cross. Now I know this maybe a bit cold to look at it this way but from the first second I saw that I couldn't help seeing Danas eyes glimmer as he spoke and gave up valuable air time to get the UFC and it's fans behind supporting Japan in it's time of need? Especially since I didn't recall the same for the floods in Brazil? As I thought about it more the timeline of all of this began to pop into my head. Two or three days before the earth quake we get word of the near fatal blow of both Dream and Feg with the pullout of support from top sponsor Don Quixote and the dismal state of backing funds and termination of TV deals. I originally heard about the earthquake on BE from a writer in Japan commenting on what he believed to be the death of MMA in Japan. Then we hear the news of the Strikeforce buyout the day after the deadly Tsunami's and we're left with one real player internationally moving forward. So here's the big question. Will this finally be the time that the UFC successfully enters the obstacle laden but highly lucrative Japanese market? Of course that is after all of the nuclear fallout and of rebuilding ruined lives and buildings?
I bet their newfound relationship with Strikeforce will come into place here. They will tap into Scott Cokers intimate relationships with some of his Asian contacts.
And thusly will begin the slow and arduous task of entering the Japanese market. Given the recent ongoing calamities over there, it could take a long time to get going
Honestly i don't think the japanese mma scene will rise again for a long time. They no longer have a lot of top fighter, and they are much less interesting and charismatic than the one of the previous generation (Sundo, minowa, kid, sakuraba). If i'm not mistaken, boxing has become way more popular than mma in japan due to the kameda
