Ranik Ultimate Fighting Federation (RUFF) is the first Chinese mixed martial arts (MMA) organization sanctioned by the General Administration of Sport of China. The winners of the title fights will be crowned as the national MMA champions of China in their respective weight classes. RUFF held its first event in August 2011 in Shanghai, before presenting in Chongqing, Hohhot, Nanjing, and Sanya. In February 2013 RUFF awarded Championship belts in five weight classes, at their Superfight event. Together with the Championship belt, each winner was awarded 1,000,000 RMB. RUFF along with Mandt Bros. Productions produced and aired a 10 episode reality series RUFF: Journey leading up to the Superfight. A new episode will air each week and will be nationally televised across ChinaRUFF | MMASucka with TV viewership of over 30 million, over 10 episodes.
Background Founded in 2007 by businessmen Joel Resnick. From the outset, fighter safety was of paramount importance to RUFF. The company brought in well-known and C.O.M.M.A.N.D-certified referee, Jerin Valel to officiate at all events and to train local referees and judges from RUFF 1-8; and has continued its dedication to safety and fairness through training of referees and judges with the world's #1 referee Herb Dean.February 2012 Newsletter | IJF Blog On December 6, 2010, RUFF announced its partnership with China's Wushu Association of the General Administration of Sport, allowing them to award National Champions. RUFF is the first organization with the ability to award the title of National Champion in MMA.RUFF new combat sport to contend with China's traditional martial arts | China Travel Gaining credibility through their partnership with the government, RUFF was able to sign exclusive contracts with many of China's best fighters.
In August 2011, RUFF Genesis was held in Shanghai. RUFF announced its partnership with the L.A. based Mandt Bros. Productions Company in January, 2012.Mandt Bros. Gets RUFF in the Land of the Dragon - SHANGHAI, Jan. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/
Current Operations On September 8, 2012, RUFF made headlines when RUFF 5 was aired LIVE on Chinese TV. The event also played online on PPTV and QQ/TencentChina MMA: RUFF 5 garners near 1.3 million viewers and garnered an audience of over 1.3 million viewers. It was also the first time a combat event was televised live in China. RUFF 4 was re-broadcast in the days before RUFF 5 and gained a total viewership of 4.25 million. Having recently signed deals with satellite and regional broadcasters, RUFF's #s continue to grow reaching 8 million viewer for RUFF 7 and livestream #s hitting 2 million views; with a total potential audience of well over 1.3 billion.UFC on Fuel 6: Why Le vs. Franklin May Not Be the Gateway for the UFC into China | Bleacher Report
RUFF has also been featured on the internet programs such as MMA Inside the Cage, MMA H.E.A.T and MMAMADHouse.RUFFCHINA - RUFF featured on MMA: Inside the Cage
Weight Divisions
▪ Flyweight: 55 kg
▪ Bantamweight: 60 kg
▪ Featherweight: 65 kg
▪ Lightweight: 70 kg
▪ Light Heavyweight: 93 kg
2013 Champions Division Weight limit Champion Since Title Defenses Flyweight Zhang MeixuanFebruary 2, 20130 Bantamweight Irshaad SayedFebruary 2, 20130 Featherweight Wang GuanFebruary 2, 20130 Lightweight Rodrigo CaporalFebruary 2, 20130 Light Heavyweight Zhao ZiLongFebruary 2, 20130
List of Events #RUFF EventDateVenueCity1 RUFF: Genesis August 27, 2011 Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena Shanghai, China2 RUFF 2 December 17, 2011 Jiangnan Sports Center Chongqing, China3 RUFF 3 March 24, 2012 Chongqing Indoor Stadium Chongqing, China4 RUFF 4 June 30, 2012 Hohhot People's Stadium Hohhot, China5 RUFF 5 September 8, 2012 Hohhot People's Stadium Hohhot, China6 RUFF 6 November 3, 2012 Hohhot People's Stadium Hohhot, China7 RUFF 7 December 22, 2012 Zifeng Tower Nanjing, China8 RUFF: Super Fight February 2, 2013 Hohhot People's Stadium Hohhot, China9 RUFF 9 May 18, 2013 MGM Grand Sanya Sanya, China10 RUFF 10 August 24, 2013 Hongkou Indoor Stadium Shanghai, China11 RUFF 11 November 30, 2013 Hongkou Indoor Stadium Shanghai, China12 RUFF 12 March 29, 2014 Hongkou Indoor Stadium Shanghai, China13 RUFF Fu June 7, 2014 Hongkou Indoor Stadium Shanghai, China
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