Legend Fighting Championship (Legend FC) is a Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...

-based mixed martial arts

Mixed martial arts

Mixed Martial Arts is a full contact combat sport that allows the use of both striking and grappling techniques, both standing and on the ground, including boxing, wrestling, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, muay Thai, kickboxing, karate, judo and other styles. The roots of modern mixed martial arts can be...

 (MMA) organization which invites national champion fighters from throughout the Asia-Pacific

Asia-Pacific

Asia-Pacific or Asia Pacific is the part of the world in or near the Western Pacific Ocean...

 to compete for regional supremacy. Legend is unique among MMA tournaments in that it focuses exclusively on native Asia-Pacific fighters.

About Legend

Founded in 2009, Legend is an MMA organization committed to showcasing the best of Asia-Pacific MMA by inviting national champion fighters from throughout the region to compete in regular tournaments in Asia. Legend is headquartered in Hong Kong, and has held all of its tournaments to date in Hong Kong and Macau

Macau

Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...

.

Legend held its first event in January 2010 at Star Hall

Hitec

Hitec is a company based in South Korea that manufactures radio control devices, including transmitters, receivers, servos, electronics and model aircraft. Later products include robotics, servos with Karbonite gears and the Robonova--a humanoid robot accepted in the Robo one robot competition....

 in Hong Kong in front of an audience of just over 1,000 fans. From this modest start, Legend has grown into one of the most well-known elite-level MMA competitions in the Asia-Pacific, with an international broadcast and some of the top fighters in the region on its roster.

In spring 2011, Legend signed an agreement with Macau mega-resort and casino City of Dreams

City of Dreams (casino)

City of Dreams is a property along the Cotai Strip in the Cotai reclamation area in Macau built, owned and managed by Melco Crown Entertainment, formerly known as Melco PBL Entertainment. City of Dreams is Melco's second mega-sized property in Macau...

 to produce an ongoing series of MMA tournaments, under the title “City of Dreams exclusively presents Legend Fighting Championship.” The first event of this partnership took place on July 16, 2011.

TV Broadcast

On the heels of their successful first event, Legend signed a broadcast agreement with KIX

KIX (TV channel)

KIX is Asia's brand new premier television destination for action from Tiger Gate Entertainment.-Programming:KIX programming strands include blockbuster action movies from Asia and Hollywood, action reality shows, extreme sports, mixed martial arts and fight events, anime, and action...

 (an Asian action TV channel and subsidiary of Tiger Gate Entertainment

Tiger Gate Entertainment

Tiger Gate Entertainment is a Hong Kong based pay-television broadcaster and producer/distributor of action and horror TV programming and films. Tiger Gate launched in 2008 and is a partnership among Lionsgate, a leading independent filmed entertainment studio, Saban Capital Group, a global private...

) to broadcast its MMA competitions in Hong Kong, Singapore

Singapore

Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

, Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

, and the Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

. Since then, Legend has signed agreements with broadcasters in China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

, the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, and Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. In China, Legend is available to more than 300 million viewers nationwide. And Legend also holds the distinction of being the first sports organization in China to be featured on North American Pay-Per-View.

Company Background

Legend was co-founded by Mike Haskamp and Chris Pollak, former classmates and Rugby teammates at Columbia Business School

Columbia Business School

Columbia Business School is the business school of Columbia University in Manhattan, New York City. It was established in 1916 to provide business training and professional preparation for undergraduate and graduate Columbia University students...

. Pollak spent eight years at management consultancy McKinsey & Company

McKinsey & Company

McKinsey & Company, Inc. is a global management consulting firm that focuses on solving issues of concern to senior management. McKinsey serves as an adviser to many businesses, governments, and institutions...

, primarily in their media group. Haskamp was formerly an investment banker at Lehman Brothers

Lehman Brothers

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. was a global financial services firm. Before declaring bankruptcy in 2008, Lehman was the fourth largest investment bank in the USA , doing business in investment banking, equity and fixed-income sales and trading Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (former NYSE ticker...

. The partners started running the company out of a shared apartment in Hong Kong in late 2009.

In July 2011, Legend closed a venture capital investment from CA Media and Diamond Ridge Ventures. CA Media is a fund focused on media and entertainment businesses throughout the Asia-Pacific region. It was founded by Peter Chernin

Peter Chernin

Peter Chernin currently owns and runs Chernin Entertainment and The Chernin Group, both of which he founded in 2009. He was formerly President and COO of News Corporation, and Chairman and CEO of Fox Entertainment Group. He is a Corporate Director for American Express and sits on the Board of...

 (former President and COO of News Corporation

News Corporation

News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...

) and Paul Aiello (former CEO of STAR TV and head of media investment banking at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City serving a diversified group of corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals. Morgan Stanley also operates in 36 countries around the world, with over 600 offices and a workforce of over 60,000....

 Asia). Diamond Ridge is a sports and media investment fund.

Rules

Legend tournaments take place in a five-rope MMA ring, which is eight by eight meters in overall size, and seven by seven meters inside the ropes.

Legend contest rules are a hybrid of the Unified Rules of Mixed Martial Arts and Pride-style MMA rules. Some of the rules unique to Legend are:

• Knees to the head of a grounded opponent are legal, but soccer kicks and head stomps are not.

• All contests (including championship fights) are three rounds of five minutes duration.

• There are no draws at Legend. If two fighters are tied on points on a judge’s scorecard at the end of three rounds, the judge must make a determination as to which fighter he believes won the overall fight.

Weight Divisions

▪ Bantamweight

Bantamweight (MMA)

The bantamweight division in mixed martial arts can refer to a number of different weight classes:*The King of the Cage bantamweight class with upper limit at 145 lb...

: Under 61 kilograms

▪ Featherweight

Featherweight (MMA)

The featherweight division in mixed martial arts can refer to a number of different weight classes:*UFC's & Pancrase's featherweight division, which groups competitors within 136 to 145 lb...

: 61 to 66 kilograms

▪ Lightweight

Lightweight (MMA)

The lightweight division in mixed martial arts can refer to a number of different weight classes:* The UFC & Strikeforce lightweight division with upper limit at 155 lb...

: 66 to 70 kilograms

▪ Welterweight

Welterweight (MMA)

The welterweight division in mixed martial arts can refer to a number of different weight classes:*The UFC's & Strikeforce's welterweight division, which groups competitors within 156 to 170 lb...

: 70 to 77 kilograms

▪ Middleweight

Middleweight (MMA)

The middleweight division in mixed martial arts can refer to a number of different weight classes:*UFC's & Strikeforce's middleweight division, which groups competitors within 171 to 185 lb...

: 77 to 84 kilograms

▪ Light Heavyweight

Light Heavyweight (MMA)

The light heavyweight division in mixed martial arts generally refers to competitors weighing between 186 and 205 lb . It sits between the lighter middleweight division, and the heavyweight division....

: 84 to 93 kilograms

▪ Heavyweight

Heavyweight (MMA)

The heavyweight division in mixed martial arts generally groups fighters between .Although many ambiguities exist within the lower weight classes regarding division naming and weight limits, the Heavyweight division is, for the most part, uniform...

: 93 to 120 kilograms

Current Legend Champions

▪ Welterweight

Welterweight (MMA)

The welterweight division in mixed martial arts can refer to a number of different weight classes:*The UFC's & Strikeforce's welterweight division, which groups competitors within 156 to 170 lb...

   Champion: Bae Myung Ho

▪ Lightweight

Lightweight (MMA)

The lightweight division in mixed martial arts can refer to a number of different weight classes:* The UFC & Strikeforce lightweight division with upper limit at 155 lb...

   Champion: Jadamba Narantungalag

▪ Bantamweight

Bantamweight (MMA)

The bantamweight division in mixed martial arts can refer to a number of different weight classes:*The King of the Cage bantamweight class with upper limit at 145 lb...

  Champion: Yao Honggang

List of Events

Legend Fighting Championship 1 – 11 January 2010

Legend Fighting Championship 2 – 24 June 2010

Legend Fighting Championship 3 – 24 September 2010

Legend Fighting Championship 4 – 27 January 2011

Legend Fighting Championship 5 – 16 July 2011

Legend Fighting Championship 6 – 30 October 2011

External links

• List of Events on Sherdog