With many of the world’s martial arts originating in Asia, most UFC fans figured it was just a matter of time before the mixed martial arts organization would head there to hold cards. UFC president Dana White recently confirmed that he plans on taking his show on the road to the Far East in the near future.

With a new American television deal in its back pocket, the UFC is pretty stable in the U.S. and Canada for the time being and also has its foot solidly in the door in Great Britain and Australia. Lorenzo Fertitta, CEO of the UFC, said the company is now planning on growing globally to make sure its long-term future is just as solid as the present.

Fertitta said the UFC plans on holding cards in Macau, China in 2012 and then the next year hopes to break new ground in Singapore as it makes its way across the Asian continent. He said the organization has been laying a lot of ground work in China and they’re going to dip their toe in the water to test things out, but are hoping it turns into something more permanent.

He said the show in Macau will depend on what dates work with local Chinese authorities and the broadcasters around the world, but it should take place next year. He added that the UFC recognizes Singapore as a growing market and they’ve been focusing on that nation for some time now for an event in 2013, possibly at the Marina Bay Sands, which is a popular Singapore casino-resort.

It took the UFC a little while to get up and running since the first few years of broadcasts weren’t on mainstream television networks. But you can now see UFC events in over 130 different nations across the globe. In America alone, the seven-year deal it signed with Fox in August rakes in close to $100 million each year. The first card aired on Nov.12 when heavyweight champion Cain Velasquez lost his title to Brazil’s Junior dos Santos by first-round KO in the main event.

Fertitta and his brother paid just $2 million for the UFC in 2001 and have turned it into one of the world’s most popular and recognizable sports organizations. However, some fans still see MMA as nothing more than sheer brutality with little skill and several American states refuse to sanction fights, including New York.

The company started out under the Fertittas with four employees in 2001 and now has about 300 people working for it with offices in Toronto, Las Vegas, London, and Beijing. They’re planning on opening another in Sao Paolo, Brazil and Mumbai, India in the next year or two. In addition, the pay-per-view numbers for the UFC were about 40,000 a year a decade ago and have now grown to approximately seven million, making the company the biggest pay-per-view provider in the world.

Fertitta realizes he’d have a better shot at cracking Chinese market if the UFC had a Chinese fighter to draw crowds. The country’s interest in the NBA rose rapidly when local player Yao Ming made it big and it could be the same scenario if the UFC can find a Chinese fighter that will be able to challenge the best the UFC has. Fertitta said several Chinese fighters will be brought over to train for a month in Las Vegas and it’s his organization’s job to find somebody with MMA talent or to help develop it.

Don King’s been called a lot of things during his 80 years on the planet, including murderer, cheat, and swindler. But love him or hate him he does know how to promote a boxing match. At least he used to. King’s boxing promotions have been suffering quite a bit over the past few years since a new era of boxing stars are raking in millions of dollars by using other promotion companies such as Top Rank and Golden Boy.

Back in his heyday though, King used to put on some of the best cards in history. Who can ever forget the “Rumble in the Jungle” in Zaire when Muhammad Ali shocked the world by knocking out George Foreman and the “Thrilla in Manila” when Ali and Smokin’ Joe Frazier went toe to toe for 15 rounds in one of boxing’s all-time greatest fights?

But these days it’s boxers such as Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Amir Khan who are making the big money and King doesn’t promote any of them. This could be why the senior citizen is now considering getting into the world of mixed martial arts (MMA) and wants to start promoting fights in that sport to compete against the UFC.

King sees the dollar signs spinning in his head when thinking about MMA and is impressed with the way that UFC president Dana White runs his organization. He says he’d like to get in on the action now and that’s the reason he wants to start up his own MMA promotion company. King, who’s always had a way with words and goes by his own dictionary, said he likes MMA because it’s “sophisticated barbarism.” But he said it’ll never be more popular than boxing.

He said he doesn’t have a name for his future MMA promotional company, but he’s definitely looking forward to being involved in the sport. He adds that boxing is committing suicide by not giving the public the fights that it really wants to see such as Pacquiao vs Mayweather. He places a lot of the blame for the downfall of boxing on big shot cable television executives and said they have too much power these days.

King said their experience lies in broadcasting not in sports promotion and they don’t know the first thing about boxing. He said all of a sudden they’re trying to become managers, matchmakers and promoters, but they don’t know a left hook from a right jab. He said the TV networks don’t usually put the best boxers against each other and when they do the public has to pay for it.

Surprisingly, King gave credit to his nemesis Bob Arum, and said he and Arum are the only ones who give the public what they want. Of course, that’s a pretty debatable statement when you consider his top boxers these days are Cornelius Bundrage, Ricardo Mayorga, and Tavoris Cloud, no disrespect to those fighters intended. In addition, King’s biggest event this year has been the Mike Marrone vs Guillermo Jones card which aired on something known as WealthTV.

It’s highly unlikely that King or anybody else is going to be able to challenge the UFC in the near future. That organization basically has a stranglehold on MMA cards and has signed its best fighters even though their paychecks don’t come anywhere near those earned by world-class boxers.

Toronto, Canada used to be a pretty good fight town years ago. The old Maple Leaf Gardens used to get packed to the rafters whenever the likes of Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, and Jimmy Ellis came to town.

But over the years the sport of professional boxing has become almost distinct there. You’ll get to see the odd pro card at some smaller venues just outside of the city, but they usually feature no-name fighters and those who have just entered the sport.

There’s no doubt that Toronto is a hockey town and the NHL’s Maple Leafs are the number one draw. Everybody else takes a back seat to the woeful Leafs, who last won the Stanley Cup in 1967; these teams include the NBA’s Raptors, the MLB Blue Jays, Toronto FC of MLS, the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, and the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL.

Strangely enough, the city drew some huge crowds in the past for wrestling events and is now the North American hotbed for the UFC. Dana White, head honcho for the UFC has noticed this and that’s the reason the missed martial arts organization is heading back to Canada’s largest city.

The Air Canada Centre will host UFC 140 on Dec. 10. The card’s headlining fight will pit Jon Jones up against Lyoto Machida. The first UFC event held in Toronto took place back in April at the Rogers Centre, the home of the Blue Jays, when UFC 129 took place. Toronto probably would have hosted a UFC event before that, but the local government banned MMA shows until the start of this year.

UFC 129 proved that Toronto area fans still love their fights as 55,724 of them showed up for the event, which is a UFC record. White and his organization made just over $12 million on the live gate as well as the usual pay-per-view sales.

However, UFC 140 will only be able to hold about 20,000 since the Air Canada Centre is a hockey rink and home of the Maple Leafs and Raptors. White didn’t say why a smaller venue was being used, but it could be because the UFC is slightly worried about ticket sales. The first event in Toronto featured Canadian hero Georges St. Pierre and since it was the first ever UFC card in Toronto it was guaranteed to be a sellout.

White might have a hard time trying to sell 55,000 tickets for Jones vs Machida and he knows it. He said the Rogers Centre will be used again when the UFC has the right fight to bring to town. He added that while Las Vegas is known as the boxing Mecca of the world, Toronto could be considered the same for UFC events.

Montreal was the first city to host UFC cards and it hasn’t been forgotten as White said he plans on hosting another event there in the near future. If he follows through on the promise, it’ll be Montreal’s fifth UFC show. White added that between Montreal, Vancouver, and Toronto, Canada is definitely the organization’s strongest market.

It’s no secret that the UFC is raking in money hand over fist, but where the money’s going appears to be one. The mixed martial arts (MMA) company is selling out arenas all over the world. It just held its biggest ever promotion in North America on April 30^th when it sold 55,724 seats at the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Canada, for a live gate of $12.1 million. But the fighters are still being paid peanuts when compared to other sports, especially boxing.

This has led Nick Diaz, who’s signed with Strikeforce, to say he wants to enter boxing to make some real money. He’s hoping to take on former IBF and IBO super middleweight champion Jeff Lacy (25-4, 17 Kos), who’s now 33 years old and has lost three of his last four fights.

But UFC boss Dana White doesn’t think it’s a good idea. He admits that Diaz has a clause in his contract which states he’s allowed to box and that deal should be honored. But he doesn’t think it’s in Diaz’s best interests to do so and he’s going to try and talk the MMA fighter out of it. It could be that White doesn’t want one of his fighters being embarrassed in a boxing ring, because there’s not really any other reason to not wanting him to take on Lacy.

However, Diaz, who recently defended his welterweight crown for the third time, isn’t necessarily taking the fight to prove he can box. He said he’s overworked, underpaid, and unappreciated by Strikeforce, which is owned by the UFC.

You can’t blame Diaz for wanting to jump ship, at least temporarily, because MMA fighters are and have been grossly underpaid for years. When you look at the numbers, mixed martial artists are simply getting ripped off by somebody. Brock Lesnar, the former UFC heavyweight king, took home $5.3 million in 2010, which was tops in the organization despite sky-high ticket prices and millions of pay-per-views sold.

Compare that to boxer Manny Pacquiao, who raked in $32 million and only had to fight twice to earn it. Boxing has long been associated with shady characters and the underworld, but compared to mixed martial arts, the elite boxers are making a hell of a living.

This is hard to understand since White would have you believe the UFC is a lot more popular than boxing and the pay-per-view numbers and live gates would support him. So just where is all of the money going? It’s definitely not going to the fighters who put their lives on the line every time they step into the octagon.

UFC fighters are getting a bigger piece of the pie these days, but it’s not enough. Kobe Bryant made $24.8 million last year for throwing a ball through a hoop and Alex Rodriguez took home $32 million for hitting a ball with a bat. MMA fighters are getting kicked in the face literally and figuratively when you consider what they’re getting paid.

For example, UFC 126, which was held in Las Vegas on Feb 5, drew a live gate of $3.6 million. It would have been higher, but more than 10 per cent of tickets were given away. The average price for a ticket was $373.00, ranging from $75 to $750. The base salary of all the fighters combined was just over $1.3 million, with the top salary being $275,000 and the lowest being just $6,000. Out of those salaries, insurance, taxes, and licenses etc. had to be deducted.

This means the fighters were paid off by just 36 per cent of the live gate, leaving 64 per cent as profit. However, we haven’t added in the money made from broadcasting the preliminary bouts on Spike TV and the pay per view totals. It was estimated that 750,000 pay-per-views were sold at about $50 a shot for $37.5 million. Therefore, the total gate was about $40 million, with the fighters receiving $1.3 million, which translates to just over three per cent.

Ironically it was a boxer, James Toney, who was paid the most at UFC 118. Toney embarrassed himself in the octagon and was paid $500,000 for lasting just 199 seconds against Randy Couture, who was paid $250,000. It was Toney’s first and last fight in the UFC. The headliner that night, lightweight champ Frankie Edgar, earned $96,000.

The UFC does have some overhead like everyone else and gives out bonuses at its card for things such as KO of the night and fight of the night. But when you see how little these guys are getting paid by Dana White’s organization, you can’t be blamed for thinking maybe Don King’s not such a bad guy after all.

The UFC’s quest for total domination within the MMA world took a giant step closer to realization with the purchasing of Strikeforce – rumored to be for $40million – the other day. But, really, what does the UFC plan to do with its former rival? The UFC was the major force anyway, so is buying Strikeforce just a way to kill off any competition? Or will the UFC allow Strikeforce to operate as a separate entity?

Well, Dana White, the UFC president, has insisted that Strikeforce will remain detached from his mixed martial arts organization, but also hinted that his leading fighters could well face the best Strikeforce has to offer in the not-too-distant future.

That’s all very exciting, but does this secondary plan not remind you of what has happened to boxing? How many different belts can be won for any single weight division for pugilists? Let’s see – we have the WBO, WBC, WBA, WBF, WBU, IBF, IBA, IBC, IBO, IBU and WPBF. That’s 11 in total  – and 10 too many.

MMA should not go down this path. Certainly, White has previously been unwilling to cross-promote and, although fans are eager to see the big names of both organizations fight, it should only happen under a single banner.

Essentially, either unite the organizations or allow them to remain self-governing and as independent as possible. A halfway house will result in a watered down product, although Strikeforce spokesman Mike Afromowitz has stated it will be “business as usual” for the companies.

It’s pretty obvious the UFC has still to make a definite decision on how to progress with Strikeforce, with White saying he “wouldn’t rule anything out”, but stressing that he wants to “put on the best fights that the fans want to see”. That’s what everyone wants, of course, so a complete integration is the only possible solution.

However, for now, Strikeforce – with veteran chief executive officer Scott Coker still in charge – is to carry on signing its own fighters and will remain on subscription channel Showtime through 2014.

Strikeforce also has promotions scheduled over the next few months throughout the United States. That TV deal and planned events would suggest that no amalgamation is forthcoming, unfortunately.

However, the UFC might use Strikeforce to penetrate global markets after Lorenzo Fertitta, the chairman of Zuffa – the sports promotion company that controls both organizations – admitted that “we’re not fulfilling what the demand is…going to London one time a year, we’re kind of shortchanging that market”.

Fertitta sees the benefits of Strikeforce as a way to have “more fighters, more options…the ability to have a stronger presence in a meaningful way”, primarily throughout Europe and Asia.

This is an interesting development as it may be that Zuffa promotes the UFC as the North American arm of MMA while utilizing Strikeforce as the overseas promotion. That could work. But the crossover of fighters is still a problem – as might be White’s relations with former UFC members – including Dan Henderson, Josh Barnett and Paul Daley – who quit his organization, and not always on the best of terms.

White has also criticized Coker and once referred to the promotion as “Strikefarce”, but he maintains that Strikeforce’s leading fighters should not be concerned as “Scott Coker is the guy who’s going to be running the day-to-day” business, before adding that fighters are “never going to have to deal with me, so it’s not a big deal”.

That might be true now, but what of the future when the UFC absorbs Strikeforce? It’s going to happen – and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise as this exciting sport garners more fans and bigger bucks. The UFC brand is already thought to be worth anything from $1billion to $2billion, depending on who is quoted.

Remember World Extreme Cagefighting, the World Fighting Alliance and Pride Fighting Championships? Yes, they have all been incorporated into the UFC. So how will certain fighters fare under White once Strikeforce ceases to operate? There could be a few internal fights over the next few years. But it’s very rare that purchases of rival companies run completely smoothly.

However, White remains thoroughly optimistic right now, believing that “it’s a great day for the fans” as the UFC pushes into new markets, adding that “we need more fighters” to grow the sport.

This latest deal, as well as the vagueness of Strikeforce’s prospects, has left more questions to be answered. However, it seems no one is quite sure what the future holds – least of White, Coker and Fertitta.

Get ready for an almighty encounter with UFC 128: Shogun vs. Jones when these two guys clash for the light-heavyweight crown at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on March 19 – to be shown live on Spike TV.

With teammate Rashad Evans injured, rising star Jon ‘Bones’ Jones has stepped in on short notice to challenge champion Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua – but he might regret that eagerness to climb up the MMA ladder by facing this Brazilian colossus so soon in his career.

Jones’ previous outing, at last month’s UFC 126, saw him hand the previously undefeated Ryan Bader a first imperfection of his pro career. Right after that victory, the 23-year-old was asked by UFC president Dana White to replace Evans. Casting aside any doubts, Jones swiftly agreed to the fight.

But will this dream fight turn into a nightmare knockout for No.1 contender Jones? It seems likely, given Rua’s experience, aggression and talent.

However, working in Jones’ favor is the fact Rua is just returning from a third knee op following his knockout win over Lyoto Machida at UFC 113 that gave him the 205lb title in Montreal on May 8, 2010. That’s a long time out of the octagon.

The dynamic Jones might well be the favorite, but Rua’s older brother, Murilo ‘Ninja’ Rua, reckons the American will “get hurt when my brother’s punches find his face”. That’s the crunch, right there. Can Jones cope with the 29-year-old’s shots to the face? Murilo doesn’t think so, although he expects “a hell of a good fight” as Jones is “one of the toughest fighters on MMA”.

However, Jones has improved with every fight, almost strolling through the majority of bouts, and finding no one to halt his rapid rise. Every encounter has been dubbed his “toughest challenge” so far. None have been tough, never mind a challenge.

Rochester’s Jones is also determined to become the youngest champion in UFC history, although a more feasible outcome is he will have to wait just a little while longer to dethrone a laidback and relaxed Rua. Then again, his unorthodox approach might just unsettle the champ.

MMA legend Rua, meanwhile, really isn’t interested in the switch of opponent that has added even greater intrigue to UFC 128, stating that, although “Rashad got injured, which is a shame, they are similar and I will continue to train with the same strategy, which is to focus on striking and wrestling”.

Rua’s style will not come as a surprise to Jones, but whether he is capable of halting the legend’s notoriously vicious punches and kicks is another question. Let’s see how his face stands up to a first pummeling.

Murila is in no doubt, though, that “my brother is the favorite for the experience he has”, while adding that “he’s fought tougher guys than Jones” and the matchup will just “be another fight on his career”.

Rua, of course, chooses more respectful words when stating that “they [Jones and Evans] are both tough fighters and the only difference is their body types”.

One certainty is that this is likely to be a contender for fight of the year – the young pretender to the throne challenging the reigning champion and star of the sport.

Be prepared for an exciting evening when the main card gets underway at 9pm ET/6pm PT with American Brendan Schaub’s heavyweight bout with Mirko ‘Cro Cop’ Filipovic, of Croatia.