UFC now cool with offending China
When the poster for UFC 111 was released, headliner Dan Hardy’s prominent tattoo was missing. It was revealed that the tattoo had been airbrushed out as it was a common Vajrayana and Tibetan Buddhist saying . It was thought to be offensive as the UFC attempted to make inroads in China (the phrase is rather innocuous as you can see from wiki but the government of China regards the Dalai Lama as an equivalent to Osama bin Laden). Zuffa sold 10% of the UFC to a Middle Eastern entertainment consortium in January, and one of the reasons for this alliance was to make headway in markets like China.
Currently, UFC 120 (aka the free event days before the super amazing hype card of UFC 121) is around the corner. Hardy is a co-headliner this time around, and his tattoo is back . To be fair, he’s kind of facing sideways so the writing isn’t 100% visible. Perhaps taking 1 word out of the phrase changes the meaning to ‘All praise under heaven be to the Chinese Communist Party.’
Probably not though.
It’s clear that Zuffa is still targeting China. The recent WEC show had a lot of buzz over its showcase of the first Chinese fighter competing in a US event, and Dana White still talks about global expansion whenever he gets the chance. A season of ‘The Ultimate Fighter’ is being worked on for China (among other countries). With the diplomatic climate pretty much the same (perhaps worse) than 6-8 months ago, it’s a bit of an odd move to unairbrush Dan Hardy.
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