February 15, 2021, the UFC 256 weigh-in ceremony took place in the City of Magic.
The stadium, which could accommodate eighty-thousand people, was almost fully seated with ninety-nine percent being Chinese spectators who all ca for Wu Power.
February 16, 2021, 7:00 PM.
The Sports Center in the City of Magic.
The sky was dimming, and the square outside the stadium was packed with a sea of people.
People from all over the country, and even a large number from abroad, were roaming, standing, and chatting in groups in the square.
So were holding large cardboard signs that read "Willing to Pay a High Price for Tickets," and there were also a number of anxious-looking young people who would rush to check whenever they saw such signs, asking, "Got any tickets?"
The answer was often "If only I had tickets!"
In fact, this scene had begun around two or three o’clock in the afternoon.
By around seven o’clock in the evening, almost more than ten thousand people had squeezed into this vast square. In addition to scalpers holding up signs to buy tickets, many young people also held up homade signs with slogans such as "Die-hard Wu Power Fan, Begging for Just One Ticket!", "Out-of-towners looking for tickets, willing to pay high price!", "Seeking tickets! Will pay top dollar!" and so on.
The UFC 256 event being held in the City of Magic had started selling tickets online before the Spring Festival, and all eighty-thousand plus tickets had sold out in just one short week!
Late into the sales, the organizers even began selling standing-room tickets, over three thousand of them, which too were rapidly sold out.
The extent of the frenzy was a bit beyond Dana White and the others’ expectations, as even in the United States, only stars at Silvar’s level fighting a championship battle could potentially sell that many tickets.
In Hua Country, no martial arts fight had ever had so many live spectators! Not even after Zhang Weili, who had won two UFC championship belts, had her bouts in Hua Country ever sold that many tickets.
The reason behind it was that Zhang Weili beca famous because of winning the UFC championship, while Wu Power was already famous when he joined the UFC. So in Hua Country, Zhang Weili was made famous by the UFC, but Wu Power made the UFC famous.
It was no exaggeration to say that at least several million people in Hua Country began following the UFC because of Wu Power; many of them hadn’t even heard of UFC’s na before that.
The match Wu Power fought in the United States that sparked a massive chorus of cheering, after videos of it were circulated back ho, touched many hearts, and at the sa ti, left many with the thought: "If only I had been there."
Now, the opportunity had co. Wu Power was going to fight in the City of Magic, and it was for an interim championship battle, so eighty-thousand tickets were far too few for the countless fans who adored him.
The square was densely crowded, with many more people still pouring in from all directions. Everywhere you looked, there were raised signs begging for tickets, anxious faces, pleading... All these just showed the imnse drawing power Wu Power had in the country!
...
Chen Ling, Wu Wenhua, and the family trio, along with Chen Ting, got out of the taxi and were shocked as they looked at the jam-packed street before them, and even further away, the square that seed to be bursting with people. They glanced at each other.
"So many cars!"
"Can’t believe there are so many people here to watch the match," exclaid Chen Ling in surprise.
Chen Ting said with a smile, "They’re probably all here to see Wu Power."
Ever since Wu Power had offered help to his uncle and aunt last ti, the two families had grown even closer—aning Chen Ting and his wife visited Chen Ling and Wu Wenhua much more frequently than before.
Chen Ling looked at the throngs in front of her, frowning slightly, and said sowhat reproachfully to Wu Wenhua, "I said we should have gotten here early after dinner, and you insisted it was not urgent. Now look..."
Upon hearing this, Wu Wenhua wryly smiled. They had arrived at seven for a match starting at eight, which he thought was early enough.
Chen Ting’s son, also Wu Power’s cousin, Chen Yunnan, tried to reassure her, "Aunt, it’s fine. There’s still ti; we’ll make it."
On a very wide road where all sorts of vehicles were completely gridlocked, the four of them walked more than four hundred ters before they finally reached the great square in front of the stadium.
They had just reached the entrance when a few girls looked at them eagerly, and one of them loudly asked, "Excuse , do you have any tickets left? We’re willing to pay a high price, please can you help us?"
The group was taken aback, of course, they had tickets, but they definitely weren’t going to sell them to anyone.
However, that was just the beginning.
All along their path, they could see people holding up signs offering a "high price for tickets," so even boldly wrote "Paying Five Tis the Price!" on their signs!
Chen Yunnan saw with his own eyes a person approach one of those sellers, have a brief conversation, and then the seller really did nonchalantly pull out a phone to scan and transfer paynt before snagging a ticket.
Having the ticket in hand, the buyer called out, and imdiately so others who must have been his companions not far away couldn’t help but cheer and jump for joy!
Chen Yunnan was extrely shocked.
Even though he knew his cousin was very popular, he hadn’t imagined it to be to this extent.
This was a martial arts fight!
Chen Yunnan, who was twenty years old and in college, knew very well what young people like him were fond of: following celebrities, going to concerts, watching basketball gas, watching gaming competitions, but he had hardly heard of anyone who liked to watch martial arts fights live.
If it were a league of legends or Honor of Kings competition, he could understand the sentint of people willing to buy high-priced tickets to watch, but this was a martial arts fight after all, a very niche sport in the country for decades, unheard of to be in such high demand for tickets.
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