RUFF CHINA NEWS: SCRATCHES, CUTS, & STREAMS

As the date gets closer to this weekend's RUFF 3 in Chongqing, the China promotion has flown some interesting news under the radar on their website, first of which is an unfortunate card change with the stellar fighter A Mu:

A Qiao replaces A Mu, RiJiRiGaLa a doctor’s scratch
Just a week after being awarded his BJJ purple belt, China Top Team bantamweight Amu RiJiRiGaLa has been diagnosed with a Staphylococcal infection (staph infection) that will keep him sidelined for RUFF 3.  Replacing RiJiRiGaLa is Thailand native A Qiao, a Muay Thai veteran of over 100 fights who currently trains at the K-1 Jiu Jitsu Club in Tianjin.  A Qiao will face Xi'An striker Ayideng Jumayi at RUFF 3. 

Second is an interesting turn of events surrounding Alex Niu, who was in the promotions promo videos and demos prior to their launch, but hasn't fought in an event yet.  To the best of our knowledge, he was training alongside Wang Sai at Ole Laursen's Legacy Gym, at least until the beginning of February.

RUFF cuts Niu, welterweight out of contention for Super Fight
Just two days after announcing the 2013 Super Fight, the million RMB bout to crown China’s first MMA national champions, RUFF has decided to part ways with welterweight Alex Niu.  Citing their frequent inability to contact the Thailand-based fighter, RUFF has officially cut Niu from the promotion, stating that he will not be a part of the upcoming 2012 season and the ensuing Super Fight.  Niu, who originally signed with RUFF in February 2011, was poised to become a staple of the Shanghai-based promotion, even participating in RUFF’s kick-off press conference in December 2010, but his reclusive nature and failure to respond to RUFF’s matchmakers have ultimately ended the relationship.  Unavailable for comment, Niu is rumored to be in Thailand at the moment, although his whereabouts are unconfirmed.

The final bit of news is quite good - if you're in China.  The third event for RUFF will not be live on the portal, but appears to be available the following day

RUFF 3 set to air on QQ Sports
With RUFF 3 just four days away, QQ Sports has, for the second consecutive fight, been named the official online portal of the Ranik Ultimate Fighting Federation.  QQ Sports, a subsidiary of Tencent Holdings, will air RUFF 3 fights beginning on March 25th, and has build a custom portal for all the latest RUFF news.  Tencent QQ is the world's largest online community, reporting over 647 million registered users as of December 2010.  For more on RUFF on QQ Sports, check out the official RUFF page (in simplified Chinese).