Tbh it's not even that popular here. Most locals don't even care about MMA. They run the indoor stadium which isn't that big to begin with and they rarely if ever sell it out. All the one shows i've been to in singapore had huge huge empty sections. Not a whole lot of local support for specific fighters cos they aren't local. Angela Lee is constantly ridiculed for being the most Hawaiian singaporean ever.
You don't have that last problem in japan.... or anywhere else in the world.
I'm still convinced that it's just some rich dude's vanity project. Kinda similar to how rich oligarchs spend money on football/soccer teams in the UK.
Oh and Chatri's kind of an dishonest dude. But what do you expect from a born into wealth harvard educated thai with an american accent who claims to be and wants to be addressed by a ring name...