UFC Fight Night Beijing is set for Saturday and the promotion today announced plans to open a state of the art MMA training and development centre in Shanghai. It will serve as a training hub as well as the official UFC headquarters in Asia.

UFC Performance Institute Shanghai will open in 2019 and will span more than 93,000 square feet, approximately three times the size of the original UFC Performance Institute in Las Vegas. UFC President Dana White feels this is an exciting development.

“I could not be more excited about the UFC Performance Institute opening in Shanghai. We know there is a ton of talent throughout Asia and now we will be able to find them and offer them all the incredible training, nutrition, and physical therapy that UFC fighters are getting in the Performance Institute at our headquarters in Las Vegas, right there in China. This is another game changer for the sport, UFC, and potential athletes throughout Asia.”

UFC Fight Night Beijing, or UFC Fight Night 141, will be the promotion’s second card in Asia this year. There was also an event in Singapore in March and in 2017 shows were held in Shanghai, Tokyo and Singapore.

In previous years the promotion has also been to Abu Dhabi, Manila, Macau and Seoul.  There are no other Asian events on the current calendar but with over 40 cards in the works for 2019 the UFC will surely be putting on more shows in this region next year.