Edgar eager for UFC return to Japan

The Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to Japan for the first time in more than a decade in February and lightweight champion Frankie Edgar told Reuters on Tuesday the event will help revitalise mixed martial arts in the country.Japan was the major player in the MMA world in the late 1990s and early 2000s, with the Pride promotion attracting the top fighters and staging some of the biggest events ever seen in the sport.The Pride Shockwave event in 2002, which also featured some bouts fought under K-1 kickboxing rules, drew a reported 90,000 spectators at the Tokyo National Stadium.owever, the sport was beset by financial problems in Japan and after the UFC purchased Pride in 2007 (and closed it later that year), interest in MMA began to wane.Edgar, who will defend his title against Ben Henderson in Saitama on Feb. 26, believes the UFC 144 event in Saitama will breathe new life into MMA in Japan."There's such a deep history and tradition of MMA in Japan already so I think it will boost the sport back to where it used to be," the 30-year-old American told Reuters by telephone from Tokyo.    "The Japanese are very knowledgable about MMA and they are excited to have the UFC back in their country."    The UFC's last event in Japan was in December 2000. A month later the company was in new hands following its purchase by Station Casinos executives Lorenzo and Frank Ferttita.