UFC fighters keen to make presence felt in India

Having already built a popular base in the US, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is now looking to spread its wings and many top MMA fighters are keen to make an appearance on Indian shores.
Retired WWE wrestler-turned UFC pro CM Punk, who has a big fan base in India, is not only ready to make an impact in the MMA circuit but also wishes that the sport crosses borders in its popularity chart.
"I love Indians. It is possible that one day you will see UFC happen in India. It's possible, you never know," Punk, who is set to make his UFC debut this year in the middleweight category, told PTI here today before the big interim featherweight title clash between Conor McGregor and Chad Mendes at the MGM Grand Arena this weekend.

Former UFC heavyweight champion Frank Mir is also confident of UFC making headway in the Indian market but said that the country will need its own fighter to identify with the sport.
"I think India has such a huge population of different individuals. And if you really follow, it has a martial arts background. If you trace back the Shaolin temples then Martial Arts originated in India. So actually it will be a cool full circle that we will find time to see us and go back there and fight.
"It will actually be a phenomenal thing. I think breaking into the international arena is awesome," said Mir.

"But right now we need more representatives from India to be doing rounds of UFC. We went to Macau and China and brought in fighters from China first to compete in fights. If we go to Japan we got to have fighters from Japan.