Interview with Andy Pi [part 2]

Here is the second part of my interview with Andy Pi. In it, he answers question about China's young MMA scene.

link to first part

About MMA

China Combat: Can you explain how you created the Art of War organization ?

Andy Pi: At the time, I had already been training BJJ for close to 10 years and I had seen the development and trends of martial arts in China. I knew that the Chinese would enjoy a tournament which was fair and open to all styles of martial arts. My brother has also been training BJJ for just as long. One day we were talking about how China should really have a homegrown MMA tournament, and how great it would be if we could see Chinese fighters competing against world-class fighters. There was a bit of Chinese nationalism speaking from inside our hearts, and rather than waiting for it to happen on its own, we decided to take the initiative and make sure that we were the ones to make that happen. We already had a training center established. It was a logical next step to move into promotion as well.

Does China have any upcoming MMA or BJJ stars ?

China has many upcoming MMA and BJJ stars. We have been working very hard to prepare our stable of fighters, to train them and get them ready for international competition. Some of the outstanding fighters we have now are Zhang Tie Quan, Dai Shuang Hai, Ao Hai Lin, and He Peng.

Have you been approached by bigger organizations (Pride, UFC...) to sendbthem some of your Art of War fighters ?

We have been approached by several international organizations to send Chinese fighters to their events. I feel that these organizations are curious about the MMA situation in China and the technical level of our fighters. From a business standpoint, the major organizations see the revenue potential of having a Chinese fighter appear in their promotion, especially if this Chinese fighter was very skilled and very talented, and could REALLY FIGHT!!! This will also help them carve out a niche in the very large Chinese market, which is currently a huge and untapped source of potential. We have seen almost every country represented inside the MMA ring, with the exception of China. It is our goal to produce a Chinese MMA champion capable of challenging guys like Wanderlei Silva, Emeliananko Fedor, etc...

Have Chinese fighters competed internationally ?
We have brought Chinese fighters to compete internationally. In Dec. 2005, we brought 4 MMA fighters to compete in the Philippines, and all 4 of our athletes won by either KO or TKO. 2 more of our fighters just returned from the USA last week, where they participated in a kickboxing event and defeated their American opponents by KO.

How do you see Chinese MMA's future ? Do you think China will become an important market and talent pool for MMA ?

China will be the largest market for MMA in the world in the next 4-6 years. You can believe that. There will be more fans in just 1 province of China, than all of the entire world MMA market combined. Chinese love martial arts. It is an inseparable part of our culture. China has produced so many great athletes. The fastest hurdler in the world is Chinese. One of the tallest basketball players in the world is Chinese. China holds multiple world records in Olympic power-lifting. China has over 1 billion citizens and I am sure that we will find a Chinese superstar athlete capable of becoming the next big thing! As for MMA, we still have a long way to go, but Chinese martial artists will take to MMA like fish to water. In the not so distant future, some of the best fighters in the world will come from China. You can bet on that!

third part