The Ultimate Fighting Championship makes its sixth trip to Germany, and its second to Hamburg, continuing a somewhat frustrating relationship that the promotion seems to have with the country. When the UFC set out to expand into Europe roughly a decade ago, they targeted two areas: Germany and the United Kingdom. Their UK efforts were a great success, as fighters like Michael Bisping and Dan Hardy quickly became top draws and regular visits to Britain did quite well, but in Germany, things never quite got off the ground. Unlike Bisping and Hardy, German signings such as Dennis Siver and Peter Sobotta washed out in their initial UFC stints -- though both eventually developed into solid veterans upon returning to the company -- and when combined with a sometimes-frosty local attitude towards mixed martial arts, the promotion seemingly pulled the plug on its German aspirations after UFC 122.
Preview: UFC Fight Night 134 ‘Shogun vs. Smith’
